Par les Chemins Noir
David B. was one of the initiators of the French alternative editorial house L'Association, and is now well-known for the graphic novels he either wrote and drew himself and the ones he wrote for others. After his Applied Arts studies, Nîmes-born David Beachard had his first publications in magazines such as Chic, Circus, Okapi and A Suivre. Among his early creations are 'Le Timbre Maudit', a story published in Okapi, and the mini-series 'Zèbre' in Chic. As a scenarist, he cooperated with Olivier Legan on 'Pas de Samba pour Capitaine Tonnerre', an album published by Glénat in 1985.
After he co-founded L'Association in 1990, he began using the pseudonym David B. and specialized in short black-and-white stories, detailing nightmarish dreams, collected in the album 'Le Cheval Blême' in 1992. As powerful as his dream imagery is in itself, it is amplified by his masterful use of black and white drawings. In L'Association's magazine Lapin, he published serials like 'Le Prophète Voilé', 'Le Jardin Armé' and 'Le Voyage de l'Est'. Beauchard is biggest claim to fame is autobiographical series 'L'Ascension du Haut-Mal', which was published in six books between 1996 and 2003 and earned him the highest praise from comics critics.
L'Ascension du Haut-Mal
In addition to his work for L'Association, David B. cooperated with the publishing house Cornélius, where he published the quarterly comic book Le Nain Jaune from 1993 to 1994, as well as 'Les 4 Savants' from 1996 to 1998. He was also present in the reviews Fusée and Le Cheval sans Tête. The latter published 'Les Incidents de la Nuit', a series that was collected in book format by L'Assocation from 1999 and 2002.
For Dargaud, he made 'Le Tengû Carré', an allegory of Japanese legends, and the scripts for 'La Révolte de Hop Frog' and 'Les Ogres', two books in the series 'Hiram Lowatt et Placido', illustrated by Christophe Blain in 1999 and 2000. For the publisher's collection Poisson Pilote, he made 'Urani - la Ville des Mauvais Rêves' (script by Joann Sfar) and 'Les Chercheurs de Trésor' (in 2003-04).
La Lecture des Ruines
Since May 2000 David B's work has reached a wider public when his script- and artwork was featured in the popular collection Aire Libre of the publishing house Dupuis. Starting with 'Le Capitaine Écarlate' (with artwork by Emmanuel Guibert) in 2000, David subsequently wrote and drew the album 'La Lecture des Ruines' in 2001. B. made the diptych 'Babel' for Coconino Press between 2004 and 2006 and has published several books with Futuropolis since 2005. These include the series 'Par les Chemins Noirs' (2007-2009) and the books 'Les Complots Nocturnes' (2005), 'Le Jardin Armé et autres histoires' (2006) and 'Les Meilleurs Ennemis' (with Jean-Pierre Filiu, 2011), as well as 'Terre de Feu', which he wrote for Hugues Micol (2008), and 'Les Faux Visages', that was drawn by Hervé Tanquerelle (2011).
Les Meilleurs Ennemis
David B has also been active as an illustrator for Le Seuil, Automne 67, Albin Michel and Coconino Press. B. chronicled his wanderings through Italy in 'Journal d'Italie', published by Delcourt in 2010.
Babel