137 - Hermann

Hermann HERMANN BERNARD PRINCE Le Port des fous (Vol. 13), Le Lombard 1997 Original cover for the reprint of the album. Signed. Watercolor on paper 25.4 × 38 cm (10 × 14.96 in.) This is the second cover Hermann created for this thirteenth volume, and the final Bernard Prince comic written by Greg and illustrated by Hermann, before the latter turned his attention to the Jeremiah series and then to *Les Tours de Bois-Maury*, which he wrote and illustrated alone. Whereas up until now, the silver-haired hero had faced jungle or desert landscapes, the adventurer and his companions now find themselves confronting the white wilderness of northern Canada. The “Mary-Novembre” is trapped in the ice, and its cargo—drugs—attracts the greed of dangerous criminals… The image centers on Bernard Prince, shown from a low angle, with Barney Jordan following behind him. They are being pursued by an airplane, an allusion to Cary Grant in the scene from Hitchcock’s *North by Northwest*. What is remarkable is the use of color and light, which are particularly representative of Hermann’s style: very minimalistic, yet with emotions pushed to their peak.