75 - Schwartz

Schwartz OLIVIER SCHWARTZ BLAKE AND MORTIMER Closed Cases (Vol. 32), Blake and Mortimer 2026 Original page no. 2 from the story “The Brighton Diamonds.” Signed. India ink on paper 43 × 56.2 cm (16.93 × 22.13 in.) Just as André Juillard maintained a highly recognizable style when drawing Blake and Mortimer, Olivier Schwartz makes these characters his own, while acknowledging his connection to Yves Chaland, whom he depicts in panel 6, seated at a table with his wife Isabelle. Jacobs’s artistic conventions are, however, respected. The panel format is identical to the one used for *La Marque jaune*. And the author offers us numerous well-researched details: black-headed sheep typical of the Brighton area, or this autopsy table equipped with a sophisticated shower and drainage system. The panel revolves around two temporal frameworks. From panels 1 to 5, it spans a long period punctuated by ellipses that take us from one location to another. Time then stands still to allow the dialogue between the characters to unfold. Note the remarkable work on the solid black areas of the Wolseley 680, the police officer, the Pier’s bell tower, Inspector Kendall’s hat, and the bartender’s back, which reinforces the elegance and power of the composition as a whole. “In *The Secret of the Swordfish*, the faces of Jacobs’s characters are constantly changing. When you take over a series, you’re faced with the same rough sketches. You have to give the artist time to get used to it. But I find it charming. In the last panel of this page, Blake and Mortimer had never been drawn like this before. Yet it’s the one that most closely resembles Jacobs’ style.” O.S.