Giraud - Lot 4

Giraud JEAN GIRAUD BLUEBERRY L'Aigle solitaire (T.3), Dargaud 1967 Original plate no. 14, based on the scenario by Jean-Michel Charlier, prepublished in Pilote no. 267, December 3, 1964. India ink on paper 30.7 × 39.5 cm (12.09 × 15.55 in.) By the third volume, the Blueberry series has taken off. Jean Giraud's virtuoso drawing reached new heights, and the "Alexandre Dumas of comics", Jean-Michel Charlier, was not to be outdone. L'Aigle solitaire stands out as one of the most tense episodes in Blueberry's Indian cycle. The lieutenant, always on the bangs of his hierarchy, is given a suicidal mission: to escort a convoy of munitions through a territory where every hill hides an Apache warrior. General Crook's army is waiting for these weapons to establish its authority in Arizona. But along the way, Blueberry has to deal with an incompetent and drunken steward, O'Reilly, and face the fury of Quanah, aka "N'a-qu'un-oeil", a broken Apache scout and symbol of a revolt as desperate as it is legitimate. Charlier displays all his talent as a storyteller: the West becomes a moral theater where loyalty, military stupidity and revenge collide. As for Giraud's drawing - nervous and mineral - it captures the dust and tragedy with almost cinematographic precision. What's striking is the harmony between the two authors; the strokes are as abundant as the texts. It's a winning strategy, because while you read the text, your eye scrutinizes the drawing, creating a unique reading experience.