BAR2

BAR2 JOE BAR TEAM Volume 1, Vents d'Ouest, 1990 Original plate no. 2, pre-published in Moto Journal in 1989-1990. Panel no. 2 is a reproduction affixed to the original. Signed. India ink and white gouache on paper 31.9 × 40.1 cm (12.56 × 15.79 in.) This is the second plate of the first Joe Bar Team story. It concludes with the provisional fall evoked by Bar2. "The comic effectiveness of this panel relies heavily on the engine noises and framing. But given that a comic book doesn't produce any sound, it was necessary to give as much volume as possible to the onomatopoeia appearing in the penultimate panel, so that the reader would perceive the funniness of the panel. The idea was to maximize the contrast between the silence that had set in a few squares earlier and the explosion of decibels that sounds behind Édouard the second the light turns green. And this decibel explosion tells us that, contrary to what the previous squares might suggest, Edouard's rivals have not let up. The proof: the moment the light turns green, they're off with a bang. And that, I think, reflects their fierce competitive instinct and lack of loyalty. These are two characteristics which, throughout the rest of the album, as well as in Volume 5, will form the main comic spring of my gags. In this panel, the interjection "merdmerdmerdmerd" appears for the first time. It's often used in my albums, and its role is to convey the anguish or fear felt by the character uttering it.