From Edgar P. Along with the adventures of this couple in the 1940s comes the first comprehensive volume of Blake and Mortimer, a superb edition published by Norma Editorial.

Norma Editorial has finally decided to publish the stories of Black and Mortimer in a deluxe edition, two European adventure comics. The first comprehensive volume contains the first two adventures, originally published in the late 1940s and titled The Secret of the Great Sword and The Secret of the Great Pyramid.

European comic references

Belgian Edgar P. Jacobs created these British characters that were featured in Tintin magazine in the mid-1940s. On one side we have brilliant Scottish scientist Philip Mortimer and on the other his Welsh MI5 friend Captain Francis Blake.

This couple shares a flat, which helps a lot to strengthen their relationship, just like it happened with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. If we add the eternal existence of his Professor Moriarty, Colonel Olrich, this couple becomes three. The three were previously featured in what we call the prequel to this series, The U Ray, also produced by Jacobs.

His adventures can be described as a richer version of Tintin, starting from the same base and developing in the same environment, but bigger, more ambitious, more documented and more focused on the characters and their environment. The plots often combined historical archeology and political and police intrigue with good detective work and science fiction adventure, and were very avant-garde for the time they were written.

Considering the year this publication began its journey, it’s hard to think of a better classic clear-line reference to European comics than this article. For all these reasons, this comprehensive edition should be appreciated not only for the intrinsic quality of the stories, but also for its value to the world of comics.

The secret of the great army

Perhaps the first story in this volume isn’t the best we’ll get in the series because it’s where we discover what Jacob’s biggest flaws are.

Although Blake and Mortimer is generally a dense series of passages where the author can rely too much on dialogue boxes to explain what is happening, this is more noticeable in this first story than in any other, but not because of its use. Text boxes can exceed any length record but are sometimes abused in terms of repetition (and the use of a special font doesn’t help them blend in more).

But it is fair to say that the plot develops well and this problem does not affect the process, since the story is always interesting from the beginning to the end. In terms of graphics, both the high quality of Jacobs work is amazing, the clear lines with shadows are very interesting, and the reproduction quality of this edition, makes it difficult to believe that we are looking at a conceived work. About eight decades ago.

In this adventure we will have the main character who gave the comic its title, Mortimer: Grace Ward’s invention, a type of supersonic plane with incredible destructive power. The enemies of our adventurers will try to capture this military trick to start a world war in which certain countries from the East will play a fundamental role. Although not the most imaginative of adventures, Jacob manages to paint his story with a magic that is equal parts wit and wonder.

The secret of the Great Pyramid

In the second stories included here, we go to ancient Egypt, there were times when our own planet was still a place of mystery and ancient secrets to be revealed. The difficulties in the first story are flying and the achievements are preserved and even increased this time.

It is precisely one of these mysteries that serves as the driving force of the plot, namely, according to the writings of an ancient historian, the treasure of Pharaoh Akhenaten can be found in a secret chamber hidden in the Pyramid of Cheops. The treasure that leads our adventurous duo and Colonel Ulrich to investigate this mystery may not be just a fortune, but something that could change the global geopolitical agenda…

It is worth highlighting the effectiveness of the documents used by the author in this story, which can be described as encyclopedic. Anyone who has been to Egypt will appreciate how well Jacobs captures the look, feel and life of a place with so much history. After reading it, you feel like you need to take a shower to wash off the accumulated sand and dust…

And it is enviable that this painter is able to transport us to these distant lands. But it’s not just about the settings, we have to appreciate the care with which Jacob handles each of the characters that go through this adventure. And this is enhanced by the quality of the materials used in this edition, with an interesting and searching foreword written by Antonio Altariba and Jorge Garcia.

Blake and Mortimer Integral 1

A comprehensive edition of one of the 9th grade art classes has arrived.

Finally, the general edition, The Adventures of Blake and Mortimer, ed. In 1946 by teacher Edgar P. A legendary couple of adventurers created by Jacobs and continued by the likes of Jean Van Ham, Andre Joulard and Ted Benoit. This edition brings together all the albums in the series with extensive dossiers including many extras and unpublished illustrations.

We begin the collection with two classic pieces.

Includes unpublished art by JACOBS!

Authors: Edgar P. Jacobs