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Description
A group of little people find themselves without a home in this horror fantasy classic Newly homeless, a group of fairies find themselves trying to adapt to their new life in the forest. As they dodge dangers from both without and within, optimistic Aurora steps forward to organize and help build a new community. Slowly, the world around them becomes more treacherous as petty rivalries and factions form. Beautiful Darkness became a bestseller and an instant classic when it was released in 2014. This paperback edition of the modern horror classic contains added material, preparatory sketches, and unused art. While Kerascoët mix gorgeous watercolors and spritely cartoon characters, Fabien Vehlmann takes the story into bleaker territory as the seasons change and the darkness descends. As with any great horror, there are moments of calm and jarring shocks while a looming dread hangs over the forest. Read more
Publisher : Drawn and Quarterly
Publication date : October 30, 2018
Language : English
Print length : 112 pages
ISBN-10 : 1770463364
ISBN-13 : 63
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Reading age : 14 years and up
Dimensions : 6.65 x 0.35 x 8.75 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #77,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #8 in Drawn & Quarterly Comic & Graphic Novels #119 in Literary Graphic Novels (Books) #290 in Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy Comics
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Top Amazon Reviews
Format: Hardcover
Beautiful Darkness begins with a bunch of adorable fairy-like creatures crawling out of the corpse of a young girl, which is lying on a forest floor. We don’t know what happened to the girl – murder? Freak accident? Heart attack? – but it doesn’t matter, because the girl’s corpse is just part the setting; the story belongs to the fairies, who are woefully unprepared for surviving in the material world. Most of the little fairies don’t seem to have much personality or emotional depth, to the point that they seem indifferent to each other’s deaths (and those deaths happen frequently). In most books that would be a flaw, but in Beautiful Darkness it seems intentional. My interpretation – and this is only my interpretation, the book would easily support other readings – the fairies are the characters from the stories the dead girl made up to tell herself, somehow able to escape into the real world upon the girl’s death. A few of the characters were major protagonists or villains, and those characters have more personality; in particular, the main character, Aurora, goes through amazing development and changes as the story goes on. Most of the other fairies were just simple background characters, and act like it. beautiful_pg28(About that name, “Aurora”: Early in the book, we see that the dead girl had a notebook with “Aurora” handwritten on the cover; I interpret this as meaning that this was the book the girl wrote stories about Aurora in, but I’ve seen other people suggest that the girl’s name was Aurora, and that the fairy Aurora is named that because represents the girls idealized self-image. Another possibility is that Aurora the fairy just named herself after the notebook.) This book is brutal, ambiguous, incredibly original, and stuck with me a long time after reading it. The artwork is excellent; Kerascoet (a pen name for a married pair of cartoonists, Marie Pommepuy and Sebastien Cosset) switches between a loose, airy cartoon style for the fairy-like creatures and impressive fully-painted realism for the big humans. (I’d find that sort of fully-painted realism heavy-handed and oppressive for a full comic, but here – used in brief passages interspersed throughout the book – it’s very effective at making the humans seem alien and often a bit threatening, and also quite beautiful to look at).
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Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2016 Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2016 by Barry Deutsch
Format: Hardcover
This book plays with the lines between innocence, ignorance and evil. In the opening pages, we see what is pretty clearly the lifeless body of a girl in the woods. Then the scene seems to shift to a cozy environment in which a fairy girl is entertaining her guest, Prince Hector. Her devoted servant Plim pours the tea, but before Hector can drink it, a drop of something nasty plops into it. Then more drops fall and pretty soon the homey façade melts away – the fairies are running for their lives – dozens of them frantically emerging from the dead girl’s mouth, nostrils and ears. We quickly figure out, if we hadn’t already made the connection, that these sweet, innocent fairies were actually living in the girl’s dead body. And apparently for long enough that none of them have ever known any differently. As the fairies emerge, bewildered, into their new world, we soon understand the aptness of their having lived in a putrefying corpse. These adorable fairies are not the sweet little things of our imaginations. They are, in their own way, innocent, but a dangerous kind of innocent – innocent of the knowledge of good and evil, innocent of any concept of “society” or a “greater good”. Left to fend for themselves, each fairy adapts in his or her own way. Many take to emptying the contents of the girl’s purse for their personal use (in the process of which we learn that both she and our main character are (were) named Aurora). Others forage for food. Still others forage for others’ food or otherwise resort to deception and deviousness. One just eats maggots. Aurora alone seems to be trying to hold things together while the rest go full-tilt Lord of the Flies. She tries to make sure the food is evenly distributed. She builds houses for others, comforts others, tries to make sure others’ needs are met. She even makes overtures to the animals in an attempt to work together. But animals are animals, fairies are fairies and neither can change their spots. We witness countless acts of both thoughtless and thoughtful cruelty – humiliation, maiming, murder and cannibalism. Every fairy turns against every other, or gets turned against. Even Hector. Even Plim. Even Aurora herself. And they don’t call it a graphic novel for nothing – when I say “witness”, I mean graphically. If the decaying hand on the front cover is not already enough of a clue, this is not a children’s book, no matter how cute the fairies are. But we needn’t feel sorry for our heroine (using that term lightly) for long. She is, of course, a fairy herself and all’s fair in love and war. I find it quite difficult to rate this book. I most certainly did not love or even like this book. In fact, I pretty much hated it, which, by Amazon’s system should mean a one-star rating. But hating the book is rather the point. One would certainly hope that you would be disturbed and offended and grossed out by this book. But the gruesomeness and cruelty are not gratuitous. This book isn’t, in fact, about fairies. It’s about us and our rotting “survival of the fittest”, dog-eat-dog competitive, every man for himself “society”. Or, as Margaret Thatcher famously said, “There is no society.” Our survival as a species in any meaningful way depends on the type of mutual cooperation and collective interest that Aurora tried to build. But none of the fairies, even ultimately, Aurora herself, could overcome self-interest, so the only “survival”, such as it is, is on cold, brutal, individual terms. Are we humans any better? Can we be?
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Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2015 by Dienne
Format: Paperback
God's d@mn!! Kk so, first off this book is beautifully illustrated. The water color palette is incredibly dreamy and lends itself so well to the charming character design as well as the realistic depiction of the forest and animals. However this story is not a happy go lucky fantasy romp with magic, sunshine and rainbows. Infact it is a survival story where the little fantasy creatures are evacuated from there home and thrust out into the harsh elements of the Forest. There are a lot of deaths naturally and, the amount of deaths or how they die are not what is disturbing about this story no, what makes it disturbing is the characters childlike Nievete towards there own deaths or the deaths they themselves cause. Do not let that turn you away however because this book is enjoyable as a dark fantasy. I just kinda feel the same way about it as I do watership down. No regrets on experiencing it but, I'm sad now.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2020 by K. Brown
Format: Hardcover
(Spoilerless review) This graphic novel starts out with little explanation as to who the characters are, how they got there, or what they're doing. But the story telling is so involving that you'll ultimately not care, with both writing and art that is fast paced and engrossing enough that by the time you realize the beginning was not a dream sequence you're already off and running into the next surprise. When you reach the ending you'll realize nothing was explained along the way, but will be strangely OK with it. The story centers around what appear to be a bunch of small fairy-tale type folk who live in the woods. Or are they dolls come to life? And where did they come from, and how long have they been there? They almost feel as if they have just recently arrived, and at times you wonder if the small female lead is some manifestation of the real world body of a dead girl that is near their homes. As the only ethical person in the lot, she takes up the mantle of provider, trying to help others in this "lost boys" tribe of immature and bratty wee-folk, just as the decomposing dead body helps the nearby animals of the forest floor. Fans of Vertigo's "Fables" will like this, particularly those who think that long running series is now growing a little stale and could use a shot of creativity like what is on display here. The painted color artwork is often cartoony but still proficient, and works well with the little houses and their interiors for animals (think David Peterson's "Mouseguard" series, "Stuart Little" , "A Cricket in Times Square", "The Rescuers", etc.). It also provides a nice foil to this fairy tale like story that starts out sweet but quickly turns the darkest shade of black. A strangely satisfying book considering it seems like it is both missing a beginning and leaves you wanting more at the end. Originally published in France, this english hard bound version comes in at 94 pages. No information on the writers or artist is included, making who put this book together and what else they have worked on almost as much of a mystery as the story they wrote. If you're looking for something fresh and new this is a great way to go.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2014 by A customer
Format: Paperback
The artwork is fantastic, and the designs are very well thought out. I was happy to have been able to buy it for my bookcase! In my purchase, I bought some geodes too, and they packed the two together. It scuffed the books corners ever so slightly, as it was lying loose in the box with the packed geodes. I bought something lighter too, so it's odd how they didn't pack those two things together, or sent it by itself. I'm just happy it didn't ruin the book more, but I suppose people should be aware of the possibility!
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Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2025 by Sleepy
Format: Paperback
I didn't know what to expect when a fellow artist and friend recommended this comic. I hadn't been moved so deeply by something I had read in such a long time, that I wondered if it was still possible. Was I just numb to everything? Nope! Turns out, if you want a quick and gut-wrenching read, this is your book. Be warned, it's not something you're likely to want to read again, ever, let alone indulge in. Though the illustrations are beautiful and clearly display a professional and polished dexterity, as well as a distinctive voice. But the themes this fairy tale explores are far from uplifting. One is left trying to recall if *any characters had even a shred of empathy (I can think of just two out of its robust cast). This story cleverly thrusts the mirror of human nature at its readers in a relentless slippery slope that is remarkably well-rendered, brutally honest, and depressing. I found myself shocked and disturbed and also refreshed--read this and then go look at humans through fresh eyes.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2019 by In the Forest
Format: Paperback
Lord of the flies x alice in wonder land. Terrifying and beautiful. Will haunt. Trigger warning: death of a child and decay of her body. The hand on the cover is NOT a garden statue
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2025 by s
Format: Paperback
I couldn't put it down, read it all in one sitting, wonderful art and storytelling.
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2025 by Happy Reader