For decades, David B. (pen name of creator David Beauchard) has been recording his dreams. Usually violent, sometimes dark and complex, and always fascinating as stories in their own right, his dreams have been collected into the eerie collection Nocturnal Conspiracies.

It’s another winner from David B., who’s always been a pioneer, both in his native France and here, as an influence on writers and artists of all stripes. He’s been innovating comics in many ways for years, first as a founder of an independent press and now as a storyteller of enormous prominence. In this interview, he discusses his career, his impact, and his newest work. As a bonus, you can read his answers in French or in English. (Our thanks to Terry Nantier at NBM Publishing for handling the translation.)
 
You founded an independent comics press in France in 1990. What was the independent comics scene like there at the time? How has it changed now?
A cette époque l’édition de bande dessiné était, à quelques exceptions près, très uniforme, c’était le règne de l’album cartonné en couleur de 46 pages et tous les dessinateurs devaient se conformer à ce standard. L’apport de la maison d’édition l’Association dont j’ai été un membre fondateur au côté de JC Menu, Killoffer, M Konttture, S Barthélemy et L Trondheim et d’autres éditions qui se sont crées aux alentour de cette époque a été d’imposer l’idée que l’auteur devait choisir lui même le format, la pagination et l’aspect de son livre et non pas faire entrer son projet dans un moule prédefinie par l’éditeur.

At that time, graphic novels were, generally speaking, very, very cookie-cutter. All books were hardcover in color at 46 pages and all the artists had to conform to that standard. The basis for the publishing company L’Association, of which I was a founder, along with JC Menu, Killoffer, M Kontture, S. Barthélemy, and Lewis Trondheim, along with other publishing companies that were started around that time, was to impose the concept that the author should choose the format, length, and aspect of the book and not have to make it fit a mold predefined by the publisher.
 
Could you explain a little about how and why you’ve come to create a book based on your dreams?
J’avais déjà réalisé un livre sur ce thème, “Le Cheval Blême” qui portait sur des rêves antérieurs à ceux des “Nocturnal Conspiracy” et j’ai eut envie de continuer à mettre en scène ces petits scénario que mon inconscient invente durant la nuit.

I had already created a book on the theme “Le Cheval Bleme” (“The Pale Horse”), which had dreams prior to those in Nocturnal Conspiracies and I wanted to continue to commit to paper those little scenarios that my subconscious invents at night.
 
Have you always recognized the importance of your dreams and recorded them? Do you analyze them often?
Je ne cherche pas à les analyser, certains sont suffisament clairs et n’ont pas besoin d’analyse, ils m’interressent pour la puissance graphique de leurs images ou de certaines séquences, c’est quelque chose de formidable pour un dessinateur que de pouvoir ensuite les coucher sur le papier, j’ai toujours été fasciné par ce cadeau que m’offrait le sommeil.
Aujourd’hui je n’arrive plus à me souvenir de mes rêves, peut être n’en ai-je plus besoin.

I don’t try to analyze them. Some are sufficiently clear and don’t need analysis; they’re interesting for the graphic power of their imagery or of some sequences. It’s fantastic for an artist to put these down on paper afterward. I’ve always been fascinated by this gift that sleep gave me. These days, I can’t remember my dreams. Maybe I don’t need them anymore.
 
What kind of insights do these stories based on your dreams offer to your fans? What kind of insight did they offer you while you were writing and drawing them?
J’essaye de faire partager à mes lecteurs des images intimes qui m’ont séduites ou choquées. J’essaye de leur offrir en dessins une traduction la plus exacte possible de ce que j’ai vue et des sentiments qui s’attachent à ces visions nocturnes sans y ajouter des réactions que je pourrais avoir au réveil en me souvenant de ces rêves. Je recherche là quelque chose qui pour moi tient de la poésie même s’il sagit d’une poésie noire.

I try to share with my readers intimate images that seduced me or shocked me. I try to offer in art a translation as exact as possible of what I saw and the emotions attached to these nocturnal visions without adding any reaction that I might have when I wake up and remember them. I’m seeing them as something that for me comes from poetry, even if it may be dark poetry.
 
The earliest of these dreams dates back to 1979. Do you still vividly recall it now, or did you draw it up back then? Does it still resonate with you today?
Les rêves que ja’i fait, même il y a longtemps sont toujours présent dans ma tête. Lorsque je reprends le cahier ou je les ai noté et que je les relis les images en sont toujours aussi fortes et précises, je n’oublie rien de ce monde de la nuit.

The dreams I’ve had even a long time ago still remain fresh in my mind. When I get back to the notebook where I jotted them down and reread them, the images remain just as potent and clear. I don’t forget anything of that world of the night.
 
A lot of your dreams are dark, violent, ominous. What do you think that says about you?
Je fais le lien avec la maladie de mon frère, l’epilepsie et avec la violence de ses crises. Et avec la répétition de ses crises. Cette violence m’a toujours énormément frappée même si je ne manifestais pas d’émotion devant elles, au moment d’une crise j’essayais d’aider mon frère à ne pas se blesser.L’émotion ressortais durant la nuit dans ces rêves ou j’évoluais dans un univers noir et agressif.

I link them to my brother’s sickness, his epilepsy, and the violence of his attacks. And the repetition of his attacks. This violence always struck me deeply, even if I didn’t show any emotion in front of them. During one attack, I was trying to help my brother to not hurt himself. The emotion came out during the night in these dreams where I moved in a dark and aggressive universe.
 
Many people know you from your bestselling book Epileptic. How do you think those fans will react to Nocturnal Conspiracies?
Je l’ignore, les livres une fois terminé, échappe à l’auteur, pour moi ce livre est une sorte d’Epileptic nocturne, un tableau de ce que mon inconscient pouvait me réveler sur la violence de la maladie de mon frère.

I don’t know. Once books are finished, they escape the hands of the author. For me, this book is a kind of nocturnal Epileptic, a painting of what my subconscious could reveal to me of the violence of my brother’s sickness.
 
One of the most striking things about Nocturnal Conspiracies is the beautiful use of blues mixed into the black and white. How did you develop the “look” of the stories mixing the color effect with the art?
J’ai voulu ajouter une couleur pour apporter un peu de la subtilité, du glissement qu’il y a dans certaines images des rêves. J’ai deux couleurs, le noir et le bleu, en les tramants j’obtiens des gris et un bleu clair, ensuite en superposant les bleus et les gris j’obtiens une combinaison de gris colorés., tout ce travail étant réalisé à l’ordinnateur.

I wanted to add a color to bring a bit of subtlety, the sliding present in some of the images of dreams. I have two colors, black and blue; in screening them, I get gray-tones and clear blues. Then by superimposing them, I obtain a combination of colored grays, all this work being done on a computer.
 
Do you dream in color or black-and-white?
Je rêve toujours en couleur.

I always dream in color.
 

You’ve had a huge influence on American artists and the graphic novel scene here, and you’ve been part of its resurgence. What do you think of the growth of the industry recently, including the influence of manga that has happened in America and Europe in the past five years or so?

J’aime beaucoup regarder ce qui se fait de nouveau et de différent, je lis des comics américains, des mangas. Les mangas sont interessant car ils proposaient déjà ce pour quoi nous nous sommmes battus en France: de long récit en noir et blanc et en petit format, plus proche dans la narration de la littérature. Les mangas séduisent beaucoup les enfants et les adolescents qui avaient un peu perdu le gout de la BD, il beaucoup de choses à jeter mais aussi des chefs d’oeuvre: Ikkyu, Vagabond de Inoue, Dragonherd de Mochizuki et Taniguchi ou Maruo bien sûr.

I like looking into what is being done that is new and different. I read American comics, mangas. Mangas are interesting because they present just what we were fighting for in France: long stories in black & white in a small format, closer to the narration of literature. Manga are seductive to kids and teens who had somewhat lost the taste for comics. There’s a lot to be thrown out but also some masterpieces: Ikkyu, Vagabond by Inoue, Dragonhead by [Minetaro] Mochizuki, and [Jiro] Taniguchi or [Suehiro] Maruo, of course.