WILL ◊ - Lot 107

WILL ◊ TIF ET TONDU Plein gaz (T.7), Dupuis 1959 Original plate no. 12, prepublished in Le Journal de Spirou no. 997, May 23, 1957, with watercolor indications on the back. Signed. India ink and white gouache on paper 34.8 × 48 cm (13.7 × 18.9 in.) In this sequence from one of Maurice Rosy's best Tif et Tondu, Will shows that he's at the peak of his talent. A fine stylist, he profiles both the cars in this fictional race set in South America, and the landscapes, which go from shady undergrowth to desert gates. The original plate has color indications on the back, intended for the chromists at the Dupuis printing works. In those days, incredible as it may seem, color was out of the authors' hands. For Will, a painter and colorist, this was a heartbreaker. The rustic technical side of Dupuis no doubt had a lot to do with the fact that Will, precisely at the time he was drawing this episode, took over the artistic direction of the Journal de Tintin for two years.