ROCHETTE

JEAN-MARC ROCHETTE LA DERNIÈRE REINE, Casterman 2022 Original plate no. 164 accompanied by preparatory stage in India ink and wash. Signed. India ink and graphite on paper 29.5 ×41.9 cm (11.61 ×16.5 in.) Preparatory stage: 29.6 × 40.4 cm Jeanne is an animal sculptor and taxidermist. Kangaroo, tapir, antelope, peacock, tiger, chamois, predator or herbivore, she freezes them all for eternity. In a succession of silent boxes and highly varied shots, Rochette gradually dissolves the sculptress in favor of her animal models. The omnipresence of death in these naturalized animals, like the highly successful use of contrasts, is obviously not a good omen. This is one of the album's finest plates in terms of inking. I have great admiration for the comics of Noel Sickles, Milton Caniff, Frank Robbins and other American masters of inking. In the 1930s-1940s, because of the poor quality of paper, printing problems were frequent, and cartoonists had to invent this technique of black-and-white contrasts to preserve legibility. It's one of the most important creations in comics, but unfortunately the genre has fallen somewhat into disuse, no doubt because learning to use light is complex and requires years of practice. J.-M.R.