Vincenzo Balzano - Le Démon de la Colline aux Loups - Original comic art page 14

Some books you read; others you live through. Le Démon de la Colline aux Loups belongs to the latter. With his watercolours, Vincenzo Balzano turns a shattered childhood into a dark fairy tale of haunting beauty, where wolves emerge from the mist and light still manages, against all odds, to break through. Every page of this book, one of the most striking comics of the autumn season, is a unique artwork painted directly on paper, and we invite you to discover this world through the original art.

Vincenzo Balzano, the artist

Born in Italy in 1985 and trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, Vincenzo Balzano has established himself, in just a few books, as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary comics. He made his name in France with Clinton Road (2020), then confirmed his talent with ADLIVUN (2022) and Bunkerville (2024, written by Pascal Chind and Benjamin Legrand), all published by Ankama.

His work, at the crossroads of comics, illustration and painting, has been shown in Europe and the United States, from the Angoulême International Comics Festival and Quai des Bulles to San Diego Comic-Con and New York Comic Con. The gallery, which has been exhibiting his original art since 2020, is now dedicating its fourth exhibition to him.

Le Démon de la Colline aux Loups, a critically acclaimed graphic novel

Released on 2 October 2026, the book adapts the debut novel by Dimitri Rouchon-Borie, a court reporter, published by Le Tripode in 2021 and honoured with more than ten literary awards, including the RTBF Prix Première and the Prix Louis Guilloux. Co-written by the novelist and Gaët's, the story follows Duke, a prisoner on the threshold of death, as he looks back on a childhood ravaged in the house on Wolf Hill.

From the moment it came out, the book was hailed as one of the highlights of the season: Positive Rage called it "one of the best comics of recent months", Mots Tordus et Bulles Carrées described it as a true aesthetic shock and compared Balzano's line to that of Teddy Kristiansen, while BDGest praised powerful artwork driven by a remarkable mastery of watercolour. For his debut in Dupuis's prestigious Aire Libre collection, Vincenzo Balzano delivers his most ambitious book to date: 200 pages of rare intensity!

Vincenzo Balzano's artwork

Vincenzo Balzano draws and colours directly in watercolour and ink: each page is therefore a finished, one-of-a-kind artwork, with no separate colouring and no digital retouching. To carry a story of great darkness, he chose restraint and metaphor.

The book alternates between two styles: a realistic, pared-down line in near black-and-white tones for the prison present, and a freer, misty, at times incandescent watercolour for the childhood memories. Throughout the pages, motifs return like obsessions: the house perched on the hill, the bare trees and above all the wolves, black silhouettes with towering legs and bristling jaws that embody the violence Duke endured and the demon within him.

Rooted in the tradition of fairy-tale illustration, the artwork often breaks free from the panel grid to fill the entire page, giving these originals the presence of genuine paintings.

Two sculptures on display

In a rare move for a comic artist, Vincenzo Balzano extends the world of the book into three dimensions: two original sculptures by the artist are on display and available for purchase as part of the exhibition.

Artwork details

• Year: 2026
• Medium: Watercolour on Canson paper
• Sheet size: 42 x 29.7 cm
• Signed

Shipping

Every artwork can be collected free of charge from our Paris gallery. If you would like it delivered, it will be carefully packed and protected for shipping in an extra-sturdy tube.

Shipments within France and Europe are handled by Chronopost or Colissimo for fast, secure delivery. In Paris, courier delivery is also available on request.