Introduction Published in French by Casterman, Les Cités Obscures, while written by Benoît Peeters, is a series most known for the precise but fantastic architectural realizations of artist François Schuiten. In fact, while mostly consisting of graphic novellas, the series has also featured illustrated text, photographs, an audio CD, a children's book, and a DVD -- as well as a website. Furthermore, the books themselves are of varied sizes and dimensions, sometimes using photography by Marie-Françoise Plissart alongside Schuiten's artwork, and are sometimes dedicated in part or in whole to reproducing documents from the fictional world of the series. Les Cités Obscures is seen as anticipating retrofuturism, featuring futuristic elements as past eras have imagined them. (One can think here of the work of Dean Motter in the U.S.) The stories often have, at least as their subtext, the life of the city, including the influence of architecture on society and vice versa. The theme of the interplay between reality and fiction runs throughout the series as well, sometimes implicit in the books as objects themselves. The series has a considerable following in France and has been translated into several languages. The series is most criticized for feeling dry and intellectual, or at least emotionally uninvolving -- a just criticism, however irrelevant to the goals of the series. (It is a criticism also levelled at Motter's work.) The series began, modestly enough, with the beginning of the serialization of Les Murailles de Samaris (The Walls of Samaris) in June 1982 the pages of the French periodical À Suivre (which literally translates as "to follow" but which means "to be continued"). Les Murailles de Samaris was, humbly enough, the first graphic novel Peeters had ever written and the team's first collaboration. The volume was collected in 1983. That same year, La Fièvre d'Urbicande (Urbicande's Fever) -- perhaps the most popular episode -- began serialization in the September issue of À Suivre. A hardcover followed in 1985. L'Archiviste (The Archivist) was published in 1987. Casterman had planned a series of oversized volumes featuring full-page illustrations by their artists. Schuiten and Peeters convinced Casterman to allow text on the back of the illustrations and organized the volume around an archivist interpreting prints of cities in his possession -- allowing additional information about cities already shown and hints about others to come. La Tour (The Tower), published in 1987, took the last illustration and from L'Archiviste and strung a narrative around it. La Route d'Armilia followed in 1988. 1990 saw Le Musée A. Desombres (The A. Desombres Museum, but a verbal pun because "le musée A. Desombres" sounds like "Le musée a des ombres," or "the museum has shadows"). Included with a catalogue of the museum exhibition was an audio CD that had a narrative on it, one in which our world and the fictional world of the series intersected through our world's (fictional) late 19th-Century artist, Augustin Desombres. Brüsel, showing the ambitious reconstruction of the city of Brüsel, followed in 1992. 1993's L'Écho des Cités collected newspapers from this fictional universe, showing how events already seen and some unseen were perceived by people at the time, adding information along the way. Mary la Penchée (Leaning Mary), a children's book about a girl who leans, followed in 1995 and was not explicitly connected to the series. 1996's graphic novel L'Enfant Penchée (The Leaning Child), however, retold much of the same story in altered form, extending it considerably, and concluded with a passage in which Mary referred to the fact that her story has become a half-true tale for children, thus ingeniously rendering Mary la Penchée an artifact from this fictional world. Moreover, L'Enfant Penchée included Augustin Desombres's first visit to the fictional world and his meeting Mary, thus establishing L'Enfant Penchée as the prequel to Musée A. Desombres. 1996 also saw, to the delight of fans, Le Guide des Cités, a book produced in the fashion of the famous Michelin guides and containing scores of information about the fictional cities and their characters. 1996 also saw the launch of the official website for the series. The next book, L'Ombre d'un homme (The Shadow of a Man), would have its first half or so serialized first on the website before its full publication in 1999. 2002 saw La Frontiere Invisible, Tome 1 (The Invisible Frontier, Book 1).

IMAGE	TITLE	DESCRIPTION	STATUS
1. Les Murailles de Samaris
	Les Murailles de Samaris [original edition]	the first volume published in the series; collects material originally serialized in À Suivre #46-49; a young army officer (Franz Bauer) in Xhystos is hired to leave his woman and investigate Samaris, from whence loud sounds eminate; in Samaris, he meets Carla, a young woman who looks very much like Clara, his lover's sister who left for Samaris years ago and never returned; he discovers Samaris, with its tall buildings lacking windows and its inhabitants' routine speech and habits, to be one massive trompe-l'oeil, then returns to find Xhystos changed; published by Casterman in 1983	0
	Les Murailles de Samaris [1984 revised edition]	includes a revised, clearer ending (briefly featuring the architect Eugen Robick, protagonist of the sequel) and a redrawn page; published by Casterman in 1984	0
Larger Version Available	Les Murailles de Samaris [1988 revised edition]	includes (along with 1984 revisions) "Retour à Samaris," a new non-fictional illustrated prose epilogue written by Peeters and reflecting on the volume; 62 (mostly color) pages; published by Casterman in April 1988 [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.FR]	1
2. La Fièvre d'Urbicande
	La Fièvre d'Urbicande [original edition]	the second volume published in the series; collects material originally serialized in À Suivre #68-73; focuses on Eugen Robick, an architect of cities, in Urbicande, who wants to connect the poorer North with the reconstructed South; a massive hollow cube that continues to grow until it has connected North and South, altering society; includes a préface entitled "Lettre à la commission des hautes instances"; published by Casterman in 1985	0
	La Fièvre d'Urbicande [signed and numbered limited edition]	signed and numbered limited edition; includes an illustrated booklet of Eugen Robick's voyage; very rare (1000 copies are believed to exist); softcover; published by Casterman in 1985	0
	La Fièvre d'Urbicande [signed and numbered limited hardcover]	extremely rare (20 copies are believed to exist); hardcover	0
Larger Version Available	La Fièvre d'Urbicande [1990 edition]	includes a report (as a postface) by Isidore Louis (of L’Archiviste), about the cube and its effects on the world's social fabric; published by Casterman in 1990 [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.FR]	0
Larger Version Available	Fever in Urbicand	in English; softcover; published by NBM [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.COM]	0
2a. La Mystère d'Urbicande
	La Mystère d'Urbicande	writing attributed to R. de Brok; illustrations attributed to R.L.M. de La Barque (actually François Schuiten); signed by E. Robick and accompanied by a letter by professor Von Scholz and by a library card; rare (1900 copies are believed to exist); published by Schlirf Book in 1985	Much Needed
3. L'Archiviste
	L'Archiviste [original oversized ediiton]	the third volume published in the series; features Isidore Louis, an archivist; told in full-page illustrations on the right with Isidore Louis's text on the left about the cities illustrated and the rumors surrounding them; includes information on Xhystos, Brüsel, Calvani, Roth, Mylos and Alaxis, providing glimpses of books to come; quite large, designed to show off the art; published by Casterman in 1987	0
Larger Version Available	L'Archiviste [2000 edition]	normal (magazine) size; published by Casterman in 2000 [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.FR]	1
4. La Tour
Larger Version Available	La Tour [softcover edition]	the fourth volume published in the series; collects material originally serialized in À Suivre #96-106; focuses on Giovanni Batista, who has for years been maintaining in isolation the interior of a massive tower, unable to contact his superiors; note that L'Archiviste featured the an image of Giovanni near its end; softcover; published by Casterman in April 1987 [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.FR]	1
	La Tour [hardcover edition]	hardcover; published by Casterman in April 1987 simultaneously with the softcover	0
4a. L’étrange cas du Docteur Abraham
	L’étrange cas du Docteur Abraham	reprints material first published in À Suivre #109; offered when one purchased two volumes in the series; published in 2001	Much Needed
5. La Route d'Armilia
	Vejen Til Armilia	notably different from its (later) French publication as La Route d'Armilia; published in Denmark by Bogfabrikken in 1987	0
Larger Version Available	La Route d'Armilia [typewritten words]	the fifth volume published in the series; contains material first published in À Suivre #123; has one narrative in Mylos (mentioned in L'Archiviste) and another focused on Ferdinand Robur Hatteras, a young boy on a mission to Armilia, at the North Pole; Hatteras's journey takes us past Porrentruy, seaside Muhka, sky-scraping Brüsel, opera-crazy Bayreuth, glass-enclosed Calvani, somber Genova, and København of a thousand towers; introduces Axel Wappendorf; published by Casterman in 1988 [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.FR]	1
	La Route d'Armilia [lettered words]	words lettered by E. Schréder; published by Casterman in 1988	0
5a. Encyclopédie des transports présents et à venir
	Encyclopédie des transports présents et à venir	published solely by À Suivre; in the Italian format; very rare (800 copies are believed to exist); published in 1988	Much Needed
	Der Weg nach Armilia	signed and numbered limited edition; includes, in addition to the German edition of La Route d'Armilia, "Handbuch des Gegenwärtigen und Zukünftigen Verkehrsmittel" (the German edition of Encyclopédie des transports présents et à venir); very rare (999 copies are believed to exist); softcover; published in German by Feest Comic in 1992	0
	Der Weg nach Armilia [hardcover edition]	extremely rare (99 copies are believed to exist); hardcover	0
6. Le Musée A. Desombres
	Le Musée A. Desombres	the sixth volume published in the series; a package including a book, entitled Catalogue raisonné des œuvres et des biens ayant appartenu à Augustin Desombres, that pretends to be a catalogue (featuring photographs by Marie-Françoise Plissart in addition to François Schuiten's work) of paintings by Augustin Desombres, supposedly a later 19th-Century painter in our world, and an audio CD telling a story (of a man named Koelber and how Desombres's paintings are actually gates to the world of the series, where Desombres visited, befriending Mary von Rathen, Eugen Robick, and Axel Wappendorf -- all of whom are trying to open a door to our world; Koelber becomes obsessed with Mary and it seems that his flash bulbs make the paintings doorways) published by Casterman in 1990	0
7. Brüsel
	Brüsel [original edition]	the seventh volume published in the series; collects material originally serialized in À Suivre #158-160, 171-173; a sick man (named Constant Abeels) who makes plastic plants in the name of progress is drawn into the city of Brüsel's ambitious attempts to demolish itself and build a futuristic city of massive skyscrapers, finds love in the process (with Tina Tonero, a bureaucrat who pours coffee in the new computer and who comes on to the protagonist), is incarcerated in an overly large hospital (where Polydore Vincent gives a surgical demonstration) filled with doctors of conflicting schools of thought, and finally escapes with a few others (including Tina; Freddy De Vrouw, mastermind of the reconstruction; and Professor Wappendorf) as the bankrupted and malfunctioning city floods; 112 (black-and-white) pages; published by Casterman in 1992	1
Larger Version Available	Brüsel [1992 edition]	includes a preface (first published in À Suivre #176) entitled "De Bruxelles à Brüsel" (written by Peeters with photos by Plissart); published by Casterman in 1992 [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.FR]	0
Larger Version Available	Brüsel [English edition]	in English; hardcover; published by NBM [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.COM]	0
8. L'Écho des Cités
	L'Écho des Cités	the eighth volume published in the series; contains material first published (with some different text) in À Suivre #158, 167, and 171; also contains material first published in Urbanismes et Architecture #231/232 (a combined October/November 1989 edition with one page of L’Echo des Cités) and #233-254 (2 pages each, except for #254, dated February 1992 and featuring 4 pages); Habitat and Hochparterre also included material from this volume; reproduces newspapers from the series's universe; uses photographs by Marie-Françoise Plissart for the latter entries; quite large, designed to show off the art (as with L'Archiviste); published by Casterman in 1993	0
Larger Version Available	L'Écho des Cités	normal (magazine) size; published by Casterman in 2001 [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.FR]	0
9. Mary la Penchée
	Mary la Penchée	the ninth volume published in the series (though not identified as such); an illustrated children's book; young Mary wakes up one morning leaning; she is taken by her suspicious family to the doctor, who puts her in a camp where the other girls ridicule her; she escapes and makes her way to a city, where she can't find food until she joins the circus, becoming a big star; she leaves the circus with the monkey, who she has befriended, and journeys until she finds an area in the forest like the blue planet she has been dreaming about; there, where everything leans as she does, she finds a place set at the table with her name on it and a family waiting for her; published by Casterman in 1995	0
Larger Version Available	Mary la Penchée	different cover; published by Casterman in 2002 [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.FR]	1
10. L'Enfant Penchée
Larger Version Available	L'Enfant Penchée	the tenth volume published in the series; collects material originally serialized in À Suivre #193-212; focuses on Mary von Rathen, who, while visiting an amusement park in Alaxis with her family, finds herself strangely leaning after a mysterious eclipse; a second narrative uses photographic art by Marie-Françoise Plissart and tells of Augustin Desombres, an artist in our world who purchases an large abandonned building in remote France in the late 19th Century; in the end, we learn that Mary la Penchée has become a children’s story in the series's world and, though based on truth, is not believed; effectively a prequel to Le Musée A. Desombres; published by Casterman in January 1996 [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.FR]	1
	L'Enfant Penchée [German edition]	includes "Quelques souvenirs par Mary Van Rathen" (with 4 illustrations and 4 photos); in French; softcover; published in 1996	0
	L'Enfant Penchée [German edition hardcover]	in French; hardcover; published in 1996	0
10. Le Guide des Cités
Larger Version Available	Le Guide des Cités	the eleventh volume published in the series; contains material first published in a rather different form in Les Saisons #1 (Winter 1990) and #2 (Summer 1991); in the format of the famous Michelin guides; published by Casterman in 1996 and again in April 2002 [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.FR]	0
12. L'Ombre d'un homme
Larger Version Available	L'Ombre d'un homme	the twelfth volume published in the series; about a newly wedded man (named Albert Chamisso) who works for an insurance company in the city of Blossfeldtstad (formerly Brentano) and who is prescribed (by Polydore Vincent) a drug to combat his nightmares, only to have the drug make his shadow a colored projection, causing him to lose his wife and find a new life; Albert visits Wappendorf, who is giving a presentation; the first part of this book was first published online on the official website; 87 (color) pages; published by Casterman in March 1999 [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.FR]	1
13. La Frontiere Invisible
	La Frontiere Invisible, Tome 1	the thirteenth volume published in the series; about a cartographer named Roland de Cremer; occurs in the year 761; 62 (color) pages; published by Casterman in February 2002	1
Larger Version Available	The Invisible Frontier, Volume 1	English translation by Joe Johnson; hardcover; published by NBM in 2002 [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.COM]	1
MISCELLANEOUS
Larger Version Available	Voyages en Utopie	a non-fiction book on Schuiten's work, sometimes with Peeters, on exhibitions and installations, some of which reference Les Cités Obscures; 149 (color) pages; published by Casterman in October 2000 [REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON.FR]	1

On None at present.	Off-Site Please be aware that the continued quality, and even existence, of these sites cannot be guaranteed. urbicande.be The official site, in French, housed in Belgium. Can be hard to navigate. The Obscure Cities A site in English.
PersianCaesar The website of author Julian Darius, creator of The Continuity Pages.
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