The Eighth Day of Classic Comics Christmas 2015
Dec 22, 2015 7:37:28 GMT -5
DubipR, Prince Hal, and 2 more like this
Post by Confessor on Dec 22, 2015 7:37:28 GMT -5
Playing catch up again, my #5 pick is Edgar P. Jacobs for his Blake & Mortimer series...
Yes, I know that Jacobs, like Hergé, had assistants who helped out with backgrounds, inking and the like, but it was definitely Jacobs who did the creative "heavy lifting" on the Blake & Mortimer books. I was first introduced to the series by way of a recommendation from our very own Roquefort Raider, who correctly guessed that if I liked the Tintin adventure The Cigars of the Pharaoh, then I would almost certainly enjoy the Blake & Mortimer story The Mystery of the Great Pyramid. I was then coincidentally offered both parts of that particular tale by the same guy from my local comic book shop who recommended the Aldebaran series by Léo to me (see my post on the Fifth Day of Classic Comics Christmas).
As a huge fan of Hergé's Tintin books, the Blake & Mortimer series always feels very familiar to me whenever I dive into it. Jacobs's artwork is really lovely and highly detailed, employing the same ligne claire style of drawing that was pioneered by Hergé in the Tintin adventure The Blue Lotus. At it's heart, the stories are great detective yarns, in the "whodunit?" mold, while the inseparable team of Captain Francis Blake and Philip Mortimer give the books a "buddy adventure" vibe. However, these particular "buddies" are both upstanding, 1950's-style, pipe-smoking, stiff upper lipped, English gentlemen from the upper classes and as such, there's more than a touch of Boys' Own adventure magazine to these books. ...and Frankly, coupled with Jacob's meticulously historically accurate drawings of the 1950s world that the characters inhabit, I really love that.
Yes, I know that Jacobs, like Hergé, had assistants who helped out with backgrounds, inking and the like, but it was definitely Jacobs who did the creative "heavy lifting" on the Blake & Mortimer books. I was first introduced to the series by way of a recommendation from our very own Roquefort Raider, who correctly guessed that if I liked the Tintin adventure The Cigars of the Pharaoh, then I would almost certainly enjoy the Blake & Mortimer story The Mystery of the Great Pyramid. I was then coincidentally offered both parts of that particular tale by the same guy from my local comic book shop who recommended the Aldebaran series by Léo to me (see my post on the Fifth Day of Classic Comics Christmas).
As a huge fan of Hergé's Tintin books, the Blake & Mortimer series always feels very familiar to me whenever I dive into it. Jacobs's artwork is really lovely and highly detailed, employing the same ligne claire style of drawing that was pioneered by Hergé in the Tintin adventure The Blue Lotus. At it's heart, the stories are great detective yarns, in the "whodunit?" mold, while the inseparable team of Captain Francis Blake and Philip Mortimer give the books a "buddy adventure" vibe. However, these particular "buddies" are both upstanding, 1950's-style, pipe-smoking, stiff upper lipped, English gentlemen from the upper classes and as such, there's more than a touch of Boys' Own adventure magazine to these books. ...and Frankly, coupled with Jacob's meticulously historically accurate drawings of the 1950s world that the characters inhabit, I really love that.
