50 - Schwartz

Schwartz OLIVIER SCHWARTZ AN ADVENTURE OF SPIROU AND FANTASIO Dupuis What’s in store for Spirou?, original illustration created in 2026. Signed. Gouache on paper 35.5 × 46 cm (13.98 × 18.11 in.) How can one not feel dizzy when looking at such an illustration? We are above the leopard woman who is carrying Spirou along the overhead wires of the Brussels tram, while she is being pursued by the Nazis. The two main characters appear as a target surrounded on all sides. To convey this sense of imbalance and danger, Olivier Schwartz plays with the depth between the top and bottom of the composition, as well as with a circular composition that accentuates the swirling movement unfolding in the street. The artist has included a nod to Hergé’s 1940s universe by drawing Quick and Flupke—very small—clinging to the back of the tram on the left side of the image. We can also make out a worried Fantasio in the tram on the right. The use of solid colors and airbrushing in the same illustration, combined with finely chiseled highlights along the contours of the characters’ clothing, gives the drawing a silky appearance and creates a 3D effect that draws us even deeper into the heart of the scene. “This illustration is sort of a synthesis of the three Spirou albums I created with Yann. I added a touch of unreality by having the leopard woman walk along the overhead wires. She should have been electrocuted. But that’s the nature of comic book superheroes—they can do extraordinary things.” O.S.