ROCHETTE

JEAN-MARC ROCHETTE LA DERNIÈRE REINE, Casterman 2022 Original plate no. 1 accompanied by preparatory stage in India ink and wash. Signed. India ink and graphite on paper 29.6 × 41.9 cm (11.65 × 16.5 in.) Preparatory stage: 29.5 × 40.5 cm Tragedy in the Vercors. One hundred thousand years ago. A bear and her cubs are attacked by wolves. The confrontation turns to the wolves' advantage. Even the power of the plantigrade is no match for the numbers and tactics of the pack. Separated from its mother, one of the cubs is in a bad way. Mute, dynamic, full of light and shadow, and extremely meaningful in its ellipses, this panel is a model of Rochette-style graphic storytelling. I wanted to convey the savagery of the fight, the power of the mother who bursts in, but without overdoing it. I refuse to go overboard visually, preferring to play with half-tones and suggestion. J.-M.R.