L'Ascension du haut mal

David B.'s monumental six-issue graphic novel, L'Ascension du haut mal (published by L'Association from 1996 to 2003), is a deeply personal and formally inventive autobiographical work. It chronicles the artist's childhood and youth growing up alongside his older brother's severe epilepsy, weaving together family history, dream imagery, and the stark realities of medical treatment. The series is celebrated for its expressive black-and-white linework and its unflinching, poetic exploration of illness, memory, and the creative process, establishing it as a landmark of the European autobiographical comics movement.