GIBRAT

JEAN-PIERRE GIBRAT LE SURSIS Volume 2, Dupuis 1999 Original plate n° 54, end page. All the drawings are fixed on a background. The third box is affixed on top of the other drawings. Signed. Acrylic inks and watercolour on paper 35.3 × 43 cm (13.90 × 16.93 in.) This particular plate is symbolic of the story of the Sursis. It is the last plate of the album, a masterpiece of storytelling. We see Cécile waiting for her lover in the station's "salle des pas perdus", and those who know the book know the tragic outcome that is being played out. The red colour of Cécile's little dress plays a role in the bias of the narrative. This is the difference between the illustration and the comic book, in which these significant elements help to weave the thread of the story. A unique piece characteristic of Gibrat's work. "In this last page of Le Sursis, we have, in the background, the explanation of the title, in all its painful dimension. I tried to translate the anguish of a useless wait on Cecile's face. On a graphic level, we can focus on the little red dress, its premeditated role in the story, making Cecile identifiable and identifiable at first glance, even as a small silhouette in the middle of a crowd! A sort of GPS tracker. I wanted to make sure it was effective. It was just to check! It was time, it was the last page. "J-P G.