At the heart of a postmodern dystopia, a review of Enki Bilal’s Trilogy of Nikopol

The year is 2023. The world as we know it is undergoing irreversible changes, the extent of which can be seen when we look at the setting of the first part of the Nikopol Trilogy – Paris. The sight of green snow, bodies covered with a red rash or terrifying cemeteries in supermarkets has become an integral part of the Parisian landscape, and the lack of money and influence on one’s own fate is no longer opposed. A fierce battle for the governor’s position is just underway, but it turns out that politicians and residents will have to face completely different dilemmas.

European dystopias

Enki Bilal is an award-winning Yugoslav comic book writer who moved to Paris as a boy. The artist began to create his first works in the 1980s – although initially his comics appeared sporadically, a wider audience soon became interested in his original style. The characters in Bilal’s comic books often resemble phantoms that roam the city, stunned by the monstrosities surrounding them. Attention is drawn to the combination of dark colors with steel blue and bloody red and the characteristic “jagged” line.

Bilal’s style best describes the mixing of high art with low art, which is particularly evident in the Nikopol Trilogy , where fantastic stories are mixed with Charles Baudelaire’s poetry. In his works, Bilal most willingly presents dystopian visions, and as an author he does not avoid showing the political background. Bilal owes his interest in politics to his father, who was the tailor of Tito’s Josip Broz, leader of the Balkan resistance movement during World War II. Although Bilal is best known for his Nikopol Trilogy , this is not the only interesting work he has in his output. The Black Order Phalanx , The Color of the Air, Julia & Roem or Animal’z are just a few items worth recommending.

A heavenly comedy with a crime story in the background

The Nikopol trilogy is much closer to a graphic novel than to a comic book intended solely for entertainment, and Bilal spins his story around extremely enigmatic characters.  The action of the first volume of the series entitled The Immortal Fair focuses on Alcyd Nikopol, who was hibernated and launched into space for acting in the opposition. It might seem that his release and return to earth after 30 years is a series of happy coincidences, but he quickly arouses the interest of the Egyptian sky god, Horus, who is looking for a way to rise to power in the city. No less colorful is the character of Jill Bioskop presented in the second volume of the series entitled The Trap Woman.. Bioscope is one of the most characteristic characters of the Nikopol Trilogy – an androgynous journalist with snow-white skin and blue hair, she fascinates more men with her personality, and many of them pay for these moments of weakness with their lives. The fates of these characters intertwine unexpectedly in the final installment of the Cold Equator trilogy , which takes the reader to Equator City in Africa.

Comics in the service of politics?

In the Nikopol Trilogy, the author proves that comics are a genre that can serve as a contribution to a discussion on the future not only of Europe but also of the world. Bilal questions concepts such as history, memory or media, showing them as constructs dependent on the whims of the rulers, and the state as a totalitarian machine that crushes the freedom of the individual. Although, from the point of view of today’s reader, the conventions broken by the author can be compared to the creation of an open door, it should be remembered that the Nikopol Trilogyit was first published almost 40 years ago and is today a classic of political comic book. Bilal’s comic book is not easy to read, and its intricate plot may discourage some readers, but it contains many universal truths, showing the catastrophic effects that the pursuit of power has on both the planet and human relationships.