Benoit - Lot 169

Benoit TED BENOIT BLAKE AND MORTIMER The Francis Blake Affair (T.13), Blake and Mortimer 1996 Original plate no. 48. India ink on paper 37 × 50 cm (14.57 × 19.69 in.) Ted Benoit is undoubtedly one of Jacobs' most elegant and loyal disciples on the Blake & Mortimer series. But while his strokes are perfectly orthodox and his characters' expressions and attitudes accurate, the result gives the reader the impression that he's looking at something more modern than the work of the Brussels master. Why is this? Jean Van Hamme's script, no doubt, which gives the plot a more dynamic rhythm, using more natural, less redundant dialogue. Ted Benoit also uses a more cinematic approach to animate these stories, which are more oriented towards the spy thriller or political thriller than Jacobs' metaphysical science fiction, as in this plate where the focus shortens or lengthens as the conversation progresses, all set against an airy landscape.