BAR2

BAR2 JOE BAR TEAM Volume 1, Vents d'Ouest, 1990 Original plate no. 4, pre-published in Moto Journal in 1989-1990. Panel no. 7 is a reproduction affixed to the original. Signed. India ink and white gouache on paper 33 × 39 cm (12.99 × 15.35 in.) In this plate, the term nitroglycerimethanol appears for the first time. By the author's own admission, this curious name is a combination of nitroglycerin, the main component of dynamite, and methanol, an alcohol used, among other things, as fuel for dragsters. And this sulphurous potion, with reactions as sudden as they are disastrous, fuels several of the gags in Volume 1. "Of the four bikes ridden by the Joe Bar crew, Édouard's Honda is the least recent. As a result, this machine suffers from a slight power deficit. In an attempt to dominate his rivals, Édouard will never cease to increase the power of his engine, notably by doping it with a powerful fuel additive. And it's not just my imagination that's behind this scurrilous initiative. It turns out that, in the early 1970s, a number of twisted-minded, performance-hungry bikers were testing all sorts of "home-made" additives - such as 90 proof alcohol - to boost their machines. But with the Joe Bar Team, I felt it necessary to go much further than that, to imagine an elixir infinitely more fearsome and effective than any of those employed at the time. And that's how nitroglycerimethanol came about."