Collection S.K. - Lot 13

Collection S.K. JACQUES MARTIN LEFRANC Le Mystère Borg (T.3), Casterman 1965 Original plate no. 17, prepublished in Le Journal de Tintin belge no. 24, June 16, 1964. India ink and white gouache on paper 36.3 × 48.6 cm (14.29 × 19.13 in.) Le Mystère Borg marks Guy Lefranc's return to Tintin after a four-year absence. As in La Grande Menace, the action begins in Switzerland, against a backdrop of mountains, sports cars and spectacular explosions: Lefranc narrowly escapes death when an Alfa Romeo explodes on the road, the prelude to a new plot by Axel Borg. This time, the threat is bacteriological, the result of the research of a scientist overwhelmed by his discovery. Published in 1964 in Tintin, the album is captivating for its fabulous snow scenes: storms, hotels, ski resorts and competitions, providing an unprecedented visual framework for the series. This plate concludes with the famous ski chase that is so characteristic of this album. Martin's claim to fame is not so much a "vein" as a scenic necessity: to create a suspenseful mountain hideaway. Yet this beautiful, icy setting concludes with a striking contrast: the denouement in the Venetian lagoon. The author, a perfectionist, works "whole nights" to restore the brilliance of the landscapes and the precision of the atmospheres. His drawing, now free of Jacobs' influence, reached full graphic maturity. Ironically, this Mystère Borg, hailed as one of the most successful of the series, was the last Lefranc drawn by Jacques Martin, who then devoted himself entirely to Alix.