Epileptic
(Graphic Novel)

"Originally published in France in six volumes as L'ascension du haut-mal, by L'Association, Paris, 1996-2004. Volumes 1, 2, and 3 were or[i]ginally published in a single volume in English as Epileptic 1, by L'Association, Paris, in 2002"--Title page verso.

David B. spent an idyllic early childhood in a small town near Orléans, France, but the family's life changed abruptly when his big brother Jean-Christophe was struck with epilepsy at age eleven. In search of a cure, their parents dragged the family to acupuncturists and magnetic therapists, to mediums and macrobiotic communes, but every new cure ended in disappointment. Angry at his brother for "abandoning" him and at all the quacks who offered them false hope, the author learned to cope by drawing fantastically elaborate battle scenes, creating images that provide a window into his interior life, as well as reliving his grandfathers' experiences in both World Wars through flashbacks. An honest and horrifying portrait of the disease and of the pain and fear it sowed in the family, this graphic autobiography is also a moving depiction of one family's intricate history.--From publisher description.