Archives : Tardi

The renowned cover illustrations of the Adèle Blanc-Sec albums are to be printed (in chronological order) in a format that will best compliment Tardi’s graphic talents. This screenprint series will render homage to the artist who was (along with Jacobs) one of the earliest bande dessinée artists to embrace the possibilities of the screenprint. The publication of “Adèle et la bête” introduces the series, which will continue to grow every year with the publication of two prints annually. Connoisseurs should perhaps reserve a considerable amount of wall space to accommodate the many masterpieces of this collection.

As is the case with those of Jacobs, Tardi’s covers are very theatrical…“and quite static” says the artist responsible for “Cri du Peuple”, in the booklet that presents the collection. “I’m not an artist of the moving image; my characters tend to be fixed, and I create a kind of freeze-frame…though this is not cinema! Coming across the cover of “La Marque Jaune” in the window of a bookshop in my neighbourhood was a real jolt for me. I looked, at length, at these two characters who seemed to return my gaze, and at that strange yellow sign behind them (…) This cover admirably achieved its purpose, namely, to attract the eye through fascination, rather than through some gaudy device in the way that advertising does.”