According to The Hollywood Reporter, Titan Comics’ Hard Case Crime imprint will release “The Prague Coup,” written by Belgian novelist and screenwriter Jean-Luc Fromental, with Miles Hyman co-writing and illustrating. This graphic novel was published last year in French by Éditions Dupuis S.A. Titan Comics will release it in English in December.
The graphic novel is based on the real life 1948 Czechoslovak coup d’état, which has also been called the ‘Prague Coup’ and ‘Victorious February,’ in which the country’s communist party, backed by the Soviet Union, overthrew the Czechoslovakian government and changed international politics forever. This event is in part responsible for the western Allies adopting the Marshall Plan and NATO after the Second World War.
The story’s main focus however, is that of novelist Graham Greene and his connection to the historical events. The book follows Greene as he works on his new project: his screenplay for the Orson Welles film The Third Man. The book asks, “ has Greene found himself in a world as dangerous as the one he’s built for Harry Lime?” While Greene was a member of the Communist Party in Britain in 1922, there’s no clear indication that he was directly involved and Jean-Luc Fromental has taken some liberty with the facts surrounding Greene’s Prague and Vienna visits at the start of 1948 according to radio.cz. The author says “I allowed my imagination to work on some of the gaps in Greene’s itinerary that existed. It led me to reflect on Greene’s trip to Central Europe and the story line that could be developed.” Still, the book seeks to shed some light on some very interesting historical events.
You can pick up “The Prague Coup” on December 12, 2018, in English in the U.S. at your local comic book store. For now, check out some interior art down below:
