The Art of War: A Thrilling Blake and Mortimer Adventure in New York

Blake and Mortimer on a drawing by Floc’h, the association is obvious as the author, rightly considered for decades as one of the best representatives of the clear line, is an indestructible director of ‘a certain image of the United Kingdom.

However, we had to wait more than twenty-five years of “revivals” of the world of Edgar P. Jacobs (the first, in 1996, The Francis Blake Affair, was by Jean Van Hamme on the screenplay and Ted Benoît on the drawing) to see Floc’h tackle the task.

Blake et Mortimer ©Modified by DALIM SOFTWARE

It must be said that the artist had turned his back on comics for several years, preferring to leave the cramped confines of the boxes to display his paw on canvases or on posters for feature films by Alain Resnais or Woody Allen. He also wanted to pay tribute to his partner in a very beautiful and very successful La Femme de ma vie.

Common point between these latest “works”: the intimate. Floc’h can never envisage the blockbuster.

For this notable return to comics, he joined forces with the duo of screenwriters Jean-Luc Fromental and Jean-Louis Bocquet, two accomplices who have already signed the latest adventure of Blake and Mortimer with Antoine Aubin on the drawing (Huit Heures à Berlin).

This time, the screenwriters, despite the very British taste of their designer, set the plot on American soil, in New York in the 1950s.

A world summit is organized there in the new headquarters of the United Nations, an ode to modernity. Captain Blake, inevitably flanked by his scientist friend Mortimer, must give a speech at the end of the session.

A great moment to build bridges and launch a major debate on world peace.

Olrik and the rays

But, obviously, this beautiful mechanism will be stopped by the irruption of Olrik. The sworn enemy of our heroes arrives at night in the Egyptian antiquities section of the Metropolitan Museum.

The intruder, bearded and visibly haggard, vandalizes a stele by engraving the inscription “Par Horus dem”. If he manages to escape from the museum guard, the thug will not be able to play the air girl against the FBI armada for long. Arrested, the individual, visibly unstable, was transferred to a psychiatric clinic located a good hour from New York. There, Blake and Mortimer formally identify Olrik who seems to have lost his memory.

He is under the care of Rosalind Shapiro, a doctor specializing in behavioral disorders linked to psychological trauma. A doctor who will not hesitate to use electroshocks on his patient who will manage to deceive the vigilance of his guards to vanish into thin air.

The start of a real, quite thrilling investigation with its inevitable twists and turns.

The Bocquet and Fromental duo uses all the tricks of the trade to maintain the suspense. Floc’h makes… Floc’h.

A real Blake and Mortimer

The boxes are often more spacious to accommodate his refined drawings and his flat areas of color which contribute to the narrative power of this clear, decidedly timeless line.

Floc’h also multiplies the portraits. In particular, it offers an entire, striking page, composed entirely of faces.

The general atmosphere is exciting. A real New York behind closed doors that focuses on the characters. No crowds. No big broad description. The plans are often tight, the atmospheres very cozy.

The trio works wonderfully. Jean-Louis Bocquet and Jean-Luc Fromental have created a tailor-made album for Floc’h. Real lace.

They succeeded in designing a “real” Blake and Mortimer in which each actor found their place without ever calling into question the Jacobean heritage. The art of war is devoured like a gently dated but terribly seductive enigma.

Floc’h – Fromental – Bocquet: An adventure of Blake and Mortimer in New York, The art of war, Ed. Blake and Mortimer.

2023-11-04 16:48:00
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