A graphic account of the riddle of The Black Dahlia

When James Ellroy published his celebrated crime novel The Black Dahlia in 1987, based on the true story of the unsolved 1947 murder in Los Angeles of Elizabeth Ann Short, it established him as one of the leading neo-noire authors, selling millions of copies worldwide. Now Ellroy has agreed to a major project by French publishers to turn it into a graphic novel, with artwork by Paris-based US illustrator Miles Hyman and text by French ‘BD’ writer Matz. Mediapart has gained exclusive access to follow the complex making of this unusual work, from its initial conception all the way through to its publication in 2013. In this first report, with video, Hyman takes Dominique Bry through the early steps and sketches (pictured) of the project, for which the first, essential challenge was to convince Ellroy that it should happen.