''The Nikopol Trilogy'' is a series of three

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

s written in French by

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

n-born

Enki Bilal Enki Bilal (born Enes Bilal; born 7 October 1951) is a French comic book creator and film director. Biography Early life Bilal was born in Belgrade, PR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, to a Czech mother, Ana, who came to Belgrade as child from Karlovy ...

, published between 1980 and 1992. The original French titles of the series are '' La Foire aux immortels'' (1980), ''

La Femme piège LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

'' (1986), and ''

Froid Équateur (published in English as ''Equator Cold'' and ''Cold Equator'') is a science fiction graphic novel published in 1992, written and illustrated by Yugoslavian-French cartoonist and storyteller Enki Bilal. It is the third and final part of the '' ...

'' (1992), which in 1995 were collected together in a single volume entitled . The individual stories were translated into English and published by

Humanoids Publishing A humanoid is any non-human entity that resembles a human. Humanoid(s) may also refer to: * Humanoid robot, a robot resembling the human body in shape Music * Humanoid (musician), Brian Dougans (born 1965), Scottish musician and composer * ''H ...

under the titles ''Gods in Chaos'', ''The Woman Trap'', and ''Cold Equator''. In 1999, the trilogy was also published in English as a single volume, ''The Nikopol Trilogy''. The series is regarded as one of the most original science fiction comics which have revolutionised the conventions of comic art. The central plot of the trilogy, set in 2023

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, follows Alcide Nikopol who returns from a 30-year sentence spent orbiting the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

under

cryopreservation Cryopreservation or cryoconservation is a process where biological material - cells, tissues, or organs - are frozen to preserve the material for an extended period of time. At low temperatures (typically or using liquid nitrogen) any cell ...

to find France under fascist rule following two

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...

s. The books have been adapted into the video game '' Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals'', published by

White Birds Productions White Birds Productions was a French video game developer. White Birds was founded by Benoît Sokal, Olivier Fontenay, Jean-Philippe Messian and Michel Bams in August 2003. White Birds specialised in adventure games but also handled other work, ...

, and a movie, entitled ''

Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

''.

References

Notes Bibliography * * French graphic novels French comic strips Science fiction comics Graphic novels set in the 2020s 1980 comics debuts 1992 comics endings French comics adapted into films Comics adapted into video games Comic book collection books Comics by Enki Bilal Graphic novels set in Paris {{FrancoBelgian-comics-stub