Joubert - Lot 125

Joubert PIERRE JOUBERT BOB MORANE Original cover of L'Orchidée noire by Henri Vernes published by Marabout, in the Marabout Junior collection no. 122, in 1958. Signed. Gouache on paper 31 × 36 cm (12.2 × 14.17 in.) Published in 1958 by Marabout, L'Orchidée noire is Bob Morane's twenty-seventh adventure. The saga, begun just five years earlier by Henri Vernes, was already racking up titles and successes. Two years later, in 1960, the series was adapted into a comic book. But that's another story. The gouache shown here is by Pierre Joubert, best known at the time for his Scout illustrations. However, he has produced most of the covers for the Marabout collection since its inception in 1953. So it was only natural that he was asked to do the Bob Morane covers. He signed some 120 of them until 1973. This twenty-seventh cover is particularly spectacular. Bob Morane, in the foreground and with his rifle, is ready to fire on the crocodiles heading for the unfortunates hanging from the trees. His torn clothes suggest that the adventure was not without risk! Above all, Joubert manages to make his illustration luminous despite the fact that it depicts Bob Morane in a lush, swampy forest. At least, that's the case on this original, as printed works will unfortunately not capture this luminosity. Jean-François Vivier