LUZ graphic novel TWO GIRLS NUDE wins ELLE Comics Prize

Another win for Luz as his graphic novel Deux filles nues [tr. ‘ Two Girls Nude ’] became the fourth recipient of ELLE France’s annual comics prize.

Two Girls Nude looks at the march of history from the perspective of an Otto Mueller painting. Starting in 1919 the story traces the chain of the object’s ownership and the darkening society around it over the course of the 20^th century, uniquely from the viewpoint of the object itself.   

The book, published by Albin Michel, has drawn immense critical acclaim in France – having already received the Fauve d’Or prize for best book at Angouleme 2025, the Grand Prize from the Association of French Comics Critics and Journalists (Grand Prix de la Critique ACBD), and Le Point magazine’s annual comics prize.

In an article following last night’s announcement, ELLE said [translated by DeepL]:

“With Deux filles nues, cartoonist Luz slips into the eyes of an Expressionist painting, banned by the Nazis, to recount the vicissitudes of the 20th century. Magnificent and inspired, this graphic novel is the winner of the 4th Grand Prix de la BD ELLE.”

Luz aka Renald Luzier is a former cartoonist of satirical news magazine Charlie Hebdo. He is one of a handful of alumni that joined the realm of graphic novels following the 2015 attacks on their Paris offices. He remains a cartoonist producing satirical work for other French publications. His 2018 graphic novel Indélébiles [tr. ‘Indelibles‘] retracing his time working at Charlie Hebdo won the France Info prize.

Two Girls Nude beat nineteen other competitors in a rather packed shortlist which included Riad Sattouf‘s spinoff of his immensely successful autobiographical series The Arab of the Future, Moi Fadi [tr. ‘I, Fadi‘]; and the latest graphic novel by Aude Picault, itself a 20-years-later follow up to her acclaimed autobiographical debut, Moi Je: Quarantine [tr. ‘Me, I: Quarantine’].

Begun in 2022, this is the fourth year of the ELLE Grand Prix BD. Previous winners include Dessiner encore [tr. ‘Drawing Again‘], by Coco (les Arènes); Le poids des héros [tr. ‘The Weight of Heroes‘] by David Sala (Casterman); and La dernière reine [The Last Queen] by Jean-Marc Rochette (Casterman). Last year’s winner was Manu Larcenet’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road – published in France by Dargaud and released in English by Abrams ComicArts. 

The ELLE literary and comics prizes are chosen by a combination of professional and reader jury. Critics select the shortlist with the winner voted on by a panel of ELLE readers.