BAR2

BAR2 JOE BAR TEAM Volume 1, Vents d'Ouest, 1990 Original plate no. 7, pre-published in Moto Journal in 1989-1990. The third phylactery in panel no. 9 was produced on a stand and affixed to the original. Signed. India ink and white gouache on paper 34 × 39.2 cm (13.39 × 15.43 in.) A cult strip if ever there was one, the "radar" one, in addition to its comic effectiveness, is a masterful expression of the Joe Bar Team spirit. For once, bad faith isn't the story's main comic device, but it does reveal a great deal about the curious psychology of Joe Bar's four enraged members. In fact, this panel could be subtitled: how to use law enforcement and security equipment to humiliate your rivals. "And I was all the happier to have found this gag, as it enabled me to illustrate the state of mind and profound nature of my characters in a very precise way. This panel shows that if Édouard and his gang disregard the laws, at least those governing traffic, it's not at all out of a subversive spirit, or a rejection of the system. Or rather, because they're obsessed with competition and performance. In fact, anything that can help them satisfy their thirst for competition, as well as their irrepressible desire to humiliate each other, is considered by them to be a gift from heaven. Even, as here, in the form of a police radar. And the dismay on Édouard's face when he learns that the speed of his motorcycle could not be recorded, drives the point home. "