115 - Martin

Martin JACQUES MARTIN Alix, Lefranc & Jacques Martin Distri BD 1975 Original cover, accompanied by its cover design, which also serves as a color guide, in India ink, watercolor, and gouache. India ink on paper 36.4 × 47.5 cm (14.33 × 18.7 in.) Cover sketch: 27 × 35 cm This cover by Jacques Martin illustrates the first monograph dedicated to him. Published in 1975, this book was both written and edited by André Leborgne, a leading figure in the Belgian comic book fandom. It was published under the RTP imprint—an acronym for the fanzine *Ran Tan Plan*—which Leborgne had created with Morris in February 1966 as part of Belgium’s first comic book club, while *Distri-BD* was the publishing and distribution organization he founded at the same time. The book draws heavily on interviews with Jacques Martin. In it, he recounts his early career and publishes, for the first time, drawings he created while serving in the STO (Compulsory Labor Service) in Germany during the Occupation. The book includes a gouache painting, which serves both as a rough draft of the cover (Jacques Martin always produced two or three versions for his publishers) and as a color guide for the colorist.