2023-07-27 20:30:08
Plate taken from “Archers” (1985), ninth album of the famous “Thorgal” series, by Jean Van Hamme and Grzegorz Rosinski. THE LOMBARD
On paper, the series Thorgal, created in 1977 by Jean Van Hamme, 84, and Grzegorz Rosinski, 81, should never have been successful. It is difficult to find a more heterogeneous hodgepodge than this story recounting the adventures of a man from a vanished civilization, taken in as an infant by the Vikings, brooded over by the goddess Frigg but jealous of the other gods of Asgard, only aspiring to live in peace with the family but spend their time fighting… « Thorgalit’s a mix of heroic fantasy, science fiction, Scandinavian mythology and soap The Little House On The Prairie. No editor would accept that today”laughs Robin Recht, author of a recent album derived from the series (Farewell AariciaLe Lombard, 112 pages, 24.50 euros, digital 10 euros).
Almost half a century after its creation, Thorgal has nevertheless established itself as one of the best-sellers of realistic comics. Sold in more than 16 million copies, translated into twenty languages, the series now has 40 volumes. The forty-first, thousand eyeswill be published in November, under the pen of Yann and Fred Vignaux, at the helm of the saga since 2019. Several parallel series, devoted to different characters from the universe Thorgalwere also launched from 2010, without meeting the same enthusiasm.
His success, Thorgal owes it, of course, to the scenarios of Van Hamme, who wanted “telling an ordinary family story in an extraordinary context”, but for many, also, to the drawing of Rosinski, considered by his peers as a “monster” of black and white. Taken from the album The Archers (Le Lombard, 1985), ninth volume in the series, plate 18 is a significant example. We see the young warrior Kriss of Valnor held prisoner by bandits, one of whom is about to abuse her, before being freed by Thorgal and two of his companions.
Glued to his characters
At first glance, this totally mute board does not show off. His “waffle iron” of seven boxes, divided into three strips of equal size, is a classic of Franco-Belgian comics. But, by cutting his strips symmetrically, the author makes the action converge in the central box, the one where Kriss de Valnor sees one of his executioners approaching, his threatening shadow silhouetted against his half-naked body. For the anecdote, Rosinski had to dress his heroine in a shirt for the version intended for the United States. This economy of means is reflected in the staging. Unlike many authors, who use visual effects (low angle shots, on-axis zooms, etc.) to support their narrative, the Polish artist remains, in fact, glued to his characters, in a to immerse the reader in the action. “Rosinski is a war reporter. His staging is very flat, he does not play the demiurge but puts himself at the service of his story »welcomes Robin Recht. “I think that if I hadn’t done comics, I might have become a reporter-photographer”confided Rosinski himself in the monograph dedicated to him by Patrick Gaumer in 2013 (RosinskiThe Lombard).
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