La marque Jacobs: une vie en bande dessinée

by Rodolphe (Scénario), Louis Alloing (Dessin)

Né le 30 mars 1904 à Bruxelles, Edgar-Pierre Jacobs est très tôt fasciné par le dessin et par la musique. Tantôt baryton, tantôt illustrateur, il est choisi par Hergé comme collaborateur officiel sur les albums de Tintin avant de voler de ses propres ailes en créant les mythiques aventures de Blake et Mortimer et sa « Marque jaune », qui restent à jamais gravés dans les esprits et dans le monde du
9e Art.

Genres: Bande Dessinée, Biography

112 pages, Hardcover

First published November 14, 2012

About the author

Rodolphe is the pen name for Rodolphe Daniel Jacquette. His works are primarily written in French.

Reviews

[Ulysse · Rating 2 out of 5]

In spite of its unfortunate title, this short bande dessinée could have been a good introduction to the life of Edgar P. Jacobs, father of the immortal (to many a French-speaking 10-year-old who never grew up) Blake and Mortimer series. What is unique about E.P. Jacobs is that he never set out to become a comic book artist in the first place. The early part of his life saw him achieve fame as an opera singer, of all things. How this versatile young man eventually tried his hand at illustration and ended up creating one of the best-selling comic book series of all time is recounted briefly here.
Although a good idea, I was a somewhat disappointed in the drawing style which tries to mimic the famous Belgian ligne claire but without the genius for design of an Hergé or a Jacobs to make the characters jump off the page and hit you right in the eye, she-bang.
Another thing I didn't like is the book's excessive use of ellipsis. Granted, sequential art is in its essence an art of short cuts (panel one: banana peel; panel two: man sitting in a circle of candles) but there are limits to this technique. I didn't get a sense of the complexity of Jacobs' character. I'd hoped to get a better glimpse into the mind of a man who envisioned climate change as a weapon of mass destruction back in 1956. I was looking for a hero who triumphed through his imagination. But what we get instead is a hasty and rather superficial account of the main events of a man's life, typical of your run-of-the-mill cause and effect biopic storytelling style. And in the end poor Jacobs remains trapped in his panels, sad-eyed and lonely, without even a flicker of hope, until death draws a large M on the back of his raincoat. Last panel: tombstone.

[Rumagoso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterpiece. About a full and rich, albeit not always happy life. I had no idea Edgar had been a professional baryton.
Look out for little Blake & Mortimer references!

Sometimes I felt the story arch was fragmented, in the beginning. It's a biography and a hommage.

Scenarios, atmosphere, colors... Superb. They did follow the master.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather than assume any grandiose ambitions for a biography, this one attempts to touch on a few aspects of Jacobs' life in a fleeting sort of way. It's perfectly serviceable on what it sets out to do, but lacks a certain analysis that you expect from a biography (avoiding sore subjects as much as possible).

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nederlandstalige editie 2012
Het Jacobs Teken - een leven in stripvorm.
tekeningen Louis Alloing
scenario Rodolphe
vertaling Kris De Saeger
ISBN : 978-90-88103-74-2

Een mooie biografie in stripvorm van Edgar Pierre Jacobs. Helemaal in de stijl van de klare lijn, een mooiere hommage is bijna niet te bedenken.

[Pedro L. Fragoso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exercício interessante e nada hagiográfico, bem pelo contrário, sobre uma vida criativa complexa e rica, terminada em desolada solidão.

[Juan Fuentes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biografía de Edward Jacobs, dibujante belga de cómics, dibujada en el mismo estilo que sus dibujos. Se deja leer.

[Veronique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacobs is one of my favourite belgian comic author. This biography in the format of a comic, using his own artistic style, is a great idea.