Description

The Return of Captain Nemo by Franςois Schuiten and Benoit Peeters

Hardcover – Alaxis Press – 2024 – 96 pages

A hybrid creature emerges from the water. Part animal and part underwater craft, The Nauti-Octopus carries a disoriented man. Where is this little vessel taking him, as it travels through more or less familiar territory? “Captain, I was a captain… I am Captain Nemo.”

Share Nemo’s journey of self-realization as his Nauti-Octopus carries him around the world under the sea and ultimately to Samarobrive (the ancient name of Amiens, France), home of Jules Verne.

The 96-page book features four major sections. The first 54 pages are designed as 27 spreads featuring text and a spot illustration facing a full page Schuiten illustration. Following this part of the story are 7 pages of sequential art panels, moving from b&w to color panels. This is followed by a 2-page essay on the origins of Jules Verne’s career by Benoît Peeters. The next section features 18 full-page illustrations François Schuiten created for the limited French edition of Jules Verne’s lost book, Paris in the Twentieth Century. Next is a 9 page Benoît Peeters essay on the later life of Jules Verne leading into François Schuiten’s concept art for the Jules Verne tribute sculpture which will be installed in Amiens, France in 2025 to honor the 120th anniversary of Verne’s death.