Blake and Mortimer, The Yellow Mark

Edgard Félix Pierre Jacobs, (b. March 30, 1904, d. February 20, 1987), better known under his pen name Edgar P. Jacobs, was a Belgian comic book creator (writer and artist), born in Brussels, Belgium. He was one of the founding fathers of the European comics movement, through his collaborations with Hergé and the graphic novel series that made him famous, Blake and Mortimer. Image File history File links Edgar Pierre Jacobs, Blake and Mortimer, La Marque Jaune (The Yellow Mark), 1953 This work is copyrighted. ... Image File history File links Edgar Pierre Jacobs, Blake and Mortimer, La Marque Jaune (The Yellow Mark), 1953 This work is copyrighted. ... March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (90th in leap years). ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... February 20 is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A pen name or nom de plume is a pseudonym adopted by an author. ... A comic book artist at work. ... For other uses, see Brussels (disambiguation). ... European comics is a generalized terms for comics produced in Continental Europe. ... Georges Remi (May 22, 1907 – March 3, 1983), better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. ... Trade paperback of Will Eisners A Contract with God (1978), often mistakenly cited as the first graphic novel. ... Blake and Mortimer, The Yellow M Blake and Mortimer is a comic book/graphic novel series that was created by the Belgian writer and artist Edgar P. Jacobs (1904-1987). ...

Biography

Jacobs remembered having drawn for as far back as his memory would go. His real love though was for the dramatic arts and the opera in particular. In 1919 he graduated from the commercial school where his parents had sent him, and privately swore he would never work in an office. He kept on drawing in his spare time, focusing his greatest attention on musical and dramatic training. In 1929 he received the annual Belgian government medal for excellence in classical singing. Financial good fortune did not follow, since the Great Depression hit the Brussels Artistic community very hard. The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn, starting in 1929 (although its effects were not fully felt until late in 1930) and lasting through most of the 1930s. ...

After a career as extra and baritone singer in opera productions between 1919 and 1940, punctuated by small drawing commissions, Jacobs turned permanently to illustration, drawing commercial illustrations and collaborating in the Bravo review until 1946. This review or periodical was a smashing success, hitting a circulation of 300,000 at times. Sherrill Milnes as Toscas Baron Scarpia Baritone (French: baryton; German: Bariton; Italian: baritono) is most commonly the type of male voice that lies between bass and tenor. ... Ercole de Roberti: Concert, c. ... Sydney Opera House: one of the worlds most recognisable opera houses and landmarks. ... An illustration of a character from a story; also, an illustration of illustrations An Illustration is a visualisation such as drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that stresses subject more than form. ...

When the American comic strip Flash Gordon was prohibited in Belgium by the German forces of occupation during World War II, he was asked to write an end to the comic in order to provide a dénouement to the readers. German censorship banned this continuation after only a couple of weeks. Jacobs subsequently published in Bravo his first comic strip, Le Rayon U (The U Ray), largely in the same Flash Gordon style. This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... Flash Gordon is a science fiction comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond, first published on January 7, 1934. ... Belligerent military occupation occurs when one nations military occupy all or part of the territory of another nation or recognized belligerent during an invasion (during or after a war). ... Combatants Allies: Soviet Union United States United Kingdom and others Axis Powers: Germany Japan Italy and others Commanders Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry S. Truman Winston Churchill Adolf Hitler Hideki Tojo Benito Mussolini Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000,000 Total dead: 50,000,000 Military... The Rhodesia Herald of September 21, 1966. ... The outbreak of war between Germany and the USA in 1941 meant that American comic strips could no longer be imported into Nazi-occupied Europe. ... Flash Gordon is a science fiction comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond, first published on January 7, 1934. ...

Around this time, he became a stage painter for a theatre adaptation for Hergé's Cigars of the Pharaoh. Although the play was only a modest success, it brought him into contact with Hergé and the two quickly became friends. As a direct result, he assisted Hergé in the recasting of his earlier albums Tintin in the Congo, Tintin in America, King Ottokar's Sceptre and The Blue Lotus for book publication. After the project, he continued to contribute directly in the drawing as well as the storyline for the new Tintin double-albums The Secret of the Unicorn / Red Rackham's Treasure and The Seven Crystal Balls / Prisoners of the Sun. Jacobs was a fan of opera, and decided to bring Hergé with him for a concert. Hergé did not like opera, however, and for decades he would gently lampoon his friend Jacobs through the device of Bianca Castafiore, a minor character and opera singer in the Tintin adventures. Hergé also gave him tiny cameo roles in Tintin adventures, sometimes under the name Jacobini, for example in The Calculus Affair where Jacobini is the name of an opera singer advertised as starring alongside La Castafiore in Gounod's Faust, and as a mummified egyptologist on the cover of Cigars of the Pharaoh. Georges Remi (May 22, 1907 – March 3, 1983), better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. ... Cigars of the Pharaoh (Les Cigares du Pharaon) is a one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... English-edition cover Tintin in the Congo (Tintin au Congo) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... English-edition cover Tintin in America (originally Tintin en Amérique) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... King Ottokars Sceptre (in the French-language original Le Sceptre dOttokar) is a one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... English-edition cover The Blue Lotus (Le Lotus Bleu), first published in 1936, is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums written and illustrated by Hergé featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... The Secret of the Unicorn (originally Le Secret de la Licorne) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... Red Rackhams Treasure (Le Trésor de Rackham le Rouge) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... The Seven Crystal Balls (Les Sept Boules de Cristal) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... Prisoners of the Sun (Le Temple du Soleil) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... Sydney Opera House: one of the worlds most recognisable opera houses and landmarks. ... The Adventures of Tintin has several minor characters: General Alcazar General of the army of San Theodoros, Alcazar switches with comedic frequency between being president of the country and leading a rebellion to battle the government led by his arch-rival General Tapioca. ... English-language edition The Calculus Affair (Laffaire Tournesol) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... Categories: Stub | 1818 births | 1893 deaths | Opera composers | Romantic composers | French musicians ... Faust (Latin Faustus) is the protagonist of a popular German tale of a pact with the Devil, assumed to be based on the figure of the German magician and alchemist Dr. Johann Georg Faust (approximately 1480–1540). ... Cigars of the Pharaoh (Les Cigares du Pharaon) is a one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ...

In 1946, he was part of team gathered around the new Journal of Tintin magazine, where his comic strip The Secret of the Swordfish was published, the first of the Blake and Mortimer series. Le journal de Tintin (in its French-speaking version), Kuifje (Dutch-speaking version), was a weekly realist Belgian comics magazine of the second half of the 20th century. ... Blake and Mortimer, The Yellow M Blake and Mortimer is a comic book/graphic novel series that was created by the Belgian writer and artist Edgar P. Jacobs (1904-1987). ...

In 1947, Jacobs asked to share the credit with Hergé for Tintin's adventures. When Hergé refused their collaboration hit a bit of a setback. Hergé still remained a friend however, and as before the adventures of Blake and Mortimer continued to be serialized in Tintin magazine. In 1950, Jacobs published The Mystery of the Great Pyramid. Many others soon followed. Jacobs published in 1970 the first volume of The Three formulas of Professor Sato, which was staged in Japan. 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... The Great Pyramid of Giza, (sometimes spelled Gizeh) is the oldest and last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the World and the most famous pyramid in the world. ...

In 1973 he restyled his first full-length album, Le Rayon U, and wrote his autobiography under the tile Un opéra de papier: Les mémoires de Blake et Mortimer. He then wrote the scenario for the second episode of Les Trois Formules du Professeur Sato, but the artwork remained unfinished at the time of his death. Bob de Moor was drafted in to complete the album, which was published in 1990. Bob de Moor is the pen name of Robert Frans Marie De Moor (1925-1992), a Belgian comic artist born in Antwerp who died in 1992 in Brussels. ...

Jacobs has not one but two stone sphinxes to commemorate him. One of them is in the Bois des Pauvres near Brussels, where his home used to stand, and the other one is over his tomb at the Lasne cemetery, also near Brussels. The cemetery sphinx has a "collar" beard, and his face looks a lot like Philip Mortimer, the protagonist of most of the Jacobs albums. The Great Sphinx of Giza, with the Pyramid of Khafre in the background. ...

From 1987, the Jacobs estate, centred around the still-going Jacobs Studios, has re-published all of Jacobs’s works. In the 1990's, after much debate about story authenticity, the Tintin publishing house got permission to revive the Blake and Mortimer series with a set of new stories by a new team of author/draughtsman. Tintin's in-house writer Jean Van Hamme would provide the storylines while Ligne claire specialist draughtsman Ted Benoit (whose style resembles the later Jacobs's) was contracted for the artwork. 1996 saw the publication of The Francis Blake Affair an although purists immediately objected to the choice of Van Hamme, and upon publication went on to discover some typical Van Hamme plot twists they disliked, the book became a relative success and the publisher decided to continue the line. In the meantime however both Van Hamme as well as Benoit were tied up in other projects and work on the next book started to lag. As an interim solution, writer Yves Sente and artist André Juillard were contacted to publish the second new Blake and Mortimer: The Voronow Complot (1998). Finally, Van Hamme and Benoit managed to finish their album and The Strange Encounter finally appeared in 2001. The team immediately followed up with a two-book adventure: "The sarcophages of the sixth continent" (volume 1,the universal menace in 2003, volume 2,Battle of the Minds in 2004) Estate is a term used in the common law. ... Jean Van Hamme (born January 16, 1939) is a Belgian novelist and scenario writer of comic books. ... Ligne claire, literally meaning the clear line, is a style of drawing pioneered by Hergé (creator of Tintin). ... André Juillard, 2002 Photograph by Rita Scaglia for Dargaud André Juillard (born. ... Blake and Mortimer, The Yellow M Blake and Mortimer is a comic book/graphic novel series that was created by the Belgian writer and artist Edgar P. Jacobs (1904-1987). ...

Jacobs’ style and consistency, his plotting talent and his care in character building varies greatly from one album to another. There are however many common threads, such as the theme of subterranean descent and the consistent Ligne claire drawing style. Ligne claire, literally meaning the clear line, is a style of drawing pioneered by Hergé (creator of Tintin). ...

Bibliography

1. Le Rayon U (The U Ray), in 1943
2. Le Secret de l'Espadon (The Secret of the Swordfish), in 1947 (3 volumes)
3. Le Mystère de la Grande Pyramide, (The Mystery of the Great Pyramid), in 1950 (2 volumes)
4. La Marque Jaune (The Yellow 'M'), in 1953
5. L'Énigme de l'Atlantide (Atlantis Mystery), in 1955
6. S.O.S. Météores: Mortimer à Paris (S.O.S. Meteors), in 1958
7. Le Piège diabolique (The Time Trap) in 1960
8. L'Affaire du Collier (The Necklace Affair) in 1965
9. Les trois Formules du Professeur Sato: Mortimer à Tokyo (The Three formulas of Professor Sato) in 1970 (vol. 1; vol. 2 Mortimer versus Mortimer completed by Bob De Moor, 1990)

The outbreak of war between Germany and the USA in 1941 meant that American comic strips could no longer be imported into Nazi-occupied Europe. ...

References

• Jacobs, Edgar P. Un opéra de papier: Les mémoires de Blake et Mortimer. Paris: Gallimard, 1981. ISBN 2-07-056090-2
• Mouchart, Benoît and Rivière, François La Damnation d'Edgar P. Jacobs, Seuil-Archimbaud, 2003. ISBN 2-02-085505-4
• Mouchart, Benoit. A l'ombre de la ligne claire: Jacques Van Melkebeke, le clandestin de la B.D. Paris: Vertige Graphic, 2002. ISBN 2-908981-71-8

External links

• E.P. Jacobs 2004, the centenary memorial site
• Le site officiel de Blake et Mortimer, official website for the B&M series