What do you think?
Rate this book
Blake et Mortimer #14
The Voronov Plot
A Soviet rocket falls back to Earth carrying deadly bacteria. KGB Professor Voronov turns the extraterrestrial threat into a terrifying weapon that could be used to devastate the Western world–but he doesn’t take into account the vigilance of Her Majesty’s intelligence services. Soon, Blake and Mortimer are drawn into a lethal, shadowy war, from Moscow to London, where the stakes are no less than international peace and the real enemy may not be so obvious.
72 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2000
5 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Yves Sente
98 books28 followersYves Sente was born in Brussels in 1964. When he was little, he read La Marque Jaune, Jacobs' masterpiece, over and over again. Little did he know at that age that The Adventures of Blake and Mortimer would determine his destiny...!
In 1998, while he was working for Le Lombard, he worked with the cartoonist André Juillard on the script of La machination Voronov, a new episode of the Blake and Mortimer, a Cold War story acclaimed by critics and the public. Yves Sente then went on to write Les Sarcophages du 6e continent, where he reveals the young life of Professor Mortimer. He confirmed his writing talents with La Vengeance du Comte Skarbek (Dargaud; The Revenge of Count Skarbek, Europe Comics) and then Thorgal (Le Lombard; Cinebook/Europe Comics in English), taking over for Jean Van Hamme alongside Rosinski.
In 1998, while he was working for Le Lombard, he worked with the cartoonist André Juillard on the script of La machination Voronov, a new episode of the Blake and Mortimer, a Cold War story acclaimed by critics and the public. Yves Sente then went on to write Les Sarcophages du 6e continent, where he reveals the young life of Professor Mortimer. He confirmed his writing talents with La Vengeance du Comte Skarbek (Dargaud; The Revenge of Count Skarbek, Europe Comics) and then Thorgal (Le Lombard; Cinebook/Europe Comics in English), taking over for Jean Van Hamme alongside Rosinski.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 4, 2012
Like the previous Blake and Mortimer, The Francis Blake Affair, this has none of the pulp sci-fi found in other Blake and Mortimer books. However, it's an excellent cold war-era spy tale. A soviet rocket test goes awry, and the rocket crashes back to earth carrying a deadly bacteria from space -- a bacteria that may be used as a biological weapon against the West.
That's as sci-fi as it gets. The rest is a densely-packed tale of spies and counter-spies as Captain Blake heads undercover to retrieve a sample of the bacteria and rescue a captured agent. It feels like a two-parter condensed into one part. Which is not to say that the story feels rushed or contrived in any way. It's just that there's a lot that happens here and not a moment is wasted. Nor is the narrative ever dependent on the Giant Wall of Exposition that is often a weak spot in Blake and Mortimer. The pacing is excellent, and the book is very hard to put down once you've begun.
It's easy to imagine this same plot being used as the basis for a James Bond adventure -- with very little change to the narrative. (Probably a few more beefed up action sequences would be necessary.)
There are a few interesting "easter eggs" in the story as well. A restaurant in Moscow is a duplicate of one seen in Hergé's King Ottokar’s Sceptre. Action peaks at a Liverpool parish fair where two well-known Liverpudlians are about to meet for the first time. Also, the driver of a Liverbook police car, who takes some rather creative short cuts, is referred to as "Stirling." (Oh, yeah . . . there's a car chase or three.) I'm certain there are more easter eggs for those willing to search.
That's as sci-fi as it gets. The rest is a densely-packed tale of spies and counter-spies as Captain Blake heads undercover to retrieve a sample of the bacteria and rescue a captured agent. It feels like a two-parter condensed into one part. Which is not to say that the story feels rushed or contrived in any way. It's just that there's a lot that happens here and not a moment is wasted. Nor is the narrative ever dependent on the Giant Wall of Exposition that is often a weak spot in Blake and Mortimer. The pacing is excellent, and the book is very hard to put down once you've begun.
It's easy to imagine this same plot being used as the basis for a James Bond adventure -- with very little change to the narrative. (Probably a few more beefed up action sequences would be necessary.)
There are a few interesting "easter eggs" in the story as well. A restaurant in Moscow is a duplicate of one seen in Hergé's King Ottokar’s Sceptre. Action peaks at a Liverpool parish fair where two well-known Liverpudlians are about to meet for the first time. Also, the driver of a Liverbook police car, who takes some rather creative short cuts, is referred to as "Stirling." (Oh, yeah . . . there's a car chase or three.) I'm certain there are more easter eggs for those willing to search.
December 30, 2018
I recently found the 25th comic in this series and was looking forward to re-reading them all and discovered that I was missing one title which I then obtained as quick as possible and discovered that while I knew about the book I had never actually purchased and read it, somehow being convinced that I had.
Anyhow this was the second book after the rejuvenation of the Blake & Mortimer series that was published. While the original comics had always some science fiction element in them this second one had something like that a little.
When the Russian in the race to space with the US under great pressure launch a rocket through a meteorite storm they find their rocket being blown out of the sky. When a team is send to retrieve the remains they whole retrieval team dies. A second team is dispatched and this time after the much safer retrieval they discover a space-born virus that is deadly for adults and not children. While the more sensible voices in the Sovjet Union want the virus destroyed the chairman of the KGB Voronov sees an opportunity to win the cold war.
Through their agents MI5 and colonel Blake find out about the virus and hears about mysterious deaths of important people. They undertake a mission to obtain a sample of the virus and halt the threat unleashed by Voronov on the world.
And a Blake and Mortimer story would not be complete without the appearance of their always archenemy Olrik, he was there from the beginning and makes his expected entrance as always.
Great entertainment as always and the B&M books have made a welcome return to the world of comics and text-wise they are still an textual overload compared with their competition. The drawings feel less secure this time this particular illustrator seems to lack the preciseness that Jacobs and the later illustrators have.
Anyhow this was the second book after the rejuvenation of the Blake & Mortimer series that was published. While the original comics had always some science fiction element in them this second one had something like that a little.
When the Russian in the race to space with the US under great pressure launch a rocket through a meteorite storm they find their rocket being blown out of the sky. When a team is send to retrieve the remains they whole retrieval team dies. A second team is dispatched and this time after the much safer retrieval they discover a space-born virus that is deadly for adults and not children. While the more sensible voices in the Sovjet Union want the virus destroyed the chairman of the KGB Voronov sees an opportunity to win the cold war.
Through their agents MI5 and colonel Blake find out about the virus and hears about mysterious deaths of important people. They undertake a mission to obtain a sample of the virus and halt the threat unleashed by Voronov on the world.
And a Blake and Mortimer story would not be complete without the appearance of their always archenemy Olrik, he was there from the beginning and makes his expected entrance as always.
Great entertainment as always and the B&M books have made a welcome return to the world of comics and text-wise they are still an textual overload compared with their competition. The drawings feel less secure this time this particular illustrator seems to lack the preciseness that Jacobs and the later illustrators have.
September 1, 2011
I really want to like these books more than I do, but they're hamstringed by subsequent creators' adherence to the shortcomings of Edgar P. Jacobs' style: excessive text, cramped layouts and rudimentary characterisation. 'The Francis Blake Affair' actually promised an improvement on the original, but subsequent stories and creative teams have stuck more closely to the original, something that's lovingly iterated in the creator interviews in the back of the book. Still, what we have here is a reasonably gripping Cold War thriller in the classic FrancoBelgian style, a little densely plotted and executed for its own good, but reasonably entertaining of its kind.
January 11, 2015
Weapons of mass destruction
Die russische Rakete, die plötzlich notlanden muss, hat etwas aus dem All mitgebracht. Schon die ersten Hilfskräfte, ausgeschickt zur Bergung der Rakete, antworten plötzlich nicht mehr auf Funksprüche - und der russische Doktor Voronov erkennt schnell, dass sich hier eine einmalige Chance auf die Entwicklung einer neuartigen, tödlichen Waffe bietet...
Massenvernichtungswaffen sind ein beliebtes Thema in Kalter-Krieg-Geschichten. Die bösen Russen, die sich immer was einfallen lassen, mit dem sie den guten Westen wegputzen können, und nur gerade so von Sean Connery, Tom Cruise oder Mike Myers daran gehindert werden.
Dieser Band aus der "Blake und Mortimer"-Reihe geht ähnlich, dann aber auch leicht anders an die Thematik heran. Erstmal wird die mögliche Massenvernichtungswaffe nur chirurgisch gegen einzelne Personen eingesetzt (das ist gar nicht so unrealistisch, man vergleiche die diversen Polonium-Anschläge auf unliebsame Regimekritiker), und dann stellt sich auch bald heraus, dass die Sowjets nicht die sind, für die der britische MI6 sie hält. Vom Plot her also durchaus spannend, und ich vermisse hier keine Dinosaurier oder andere SF-Elemente, die früher die Reihe aufgrund ihrer mangelhaften Ausführung etwas belasteten. Hier kriegen wir eine reine, saubere Spionagegeschichte mit James-Bond-Charme.
Die Autoren wollen sich offensichtlich an den frühen Jacobs-Bänden orientieren. Das ist einerseits sicherlich gut, andererseits hätten sie ein paar der Macken der frühen Bände durchaus sein lassen können. Ein Beispiel für die "gute alte Zeit" der Reihe: Mehr Text als Bild.
Wenn die Autoren nun noch das "Zeigen" dem "Erzählen" vorziehen würden, und ein bisschen mehr Dynamik in die Panels bringen könnten - da könnte was draus werden!
Die russische Rakete, die plötzlich notlanden muss, hat etwas aus dem All mitgebracht. Schon die ersten Hilfskräfte, ausgeschickt zur Bergung der Rakete, antworten plötzlich nicht mehr auf Funksprüche - und der russische Doktor Voronov erkennt schnell, dass sich hier eine einmalige Chance auf die Entwicklung einer neuartigen, tödlichen Waffe bietet...
Massenvernichtungswaffen sind ein beliebtes Thema in Kalter-Krieg-Geschichten. Die bösen Russen, die sich immer was einfallen lassen, mit dem sie den guten Westen wegputzen können, und nur gerade so von Sean Connery, Tom Cruise oder Mike Myers daran gehindert werden.
Dieser Band aus der "Blake und Mortimer"-Reihe geht ähnlich, dann aber auch leicht anders an die Thematik heran. Erstmal wird die mögliche Massenvernichtungswaffe nur chirurgisch gegen einzelne Personen eingesetzt (das ist gar nicht so unrealistisch, man vergleiche die diversen Polonium-Anschläge auf unliebsame Regimekritiker), und dann stellt sich auch bald heraus, dass die Sowjets nicht die sind, für die der britische MI6 sie hält. Vom Plot her also durchaus spannend, und ich vermisse hier keine Dinosaurier oder andere SF-Elemente, die früher die Reihe aufgrund ihrer mangelhaften Ausführung etwas belasteten. Hier kriegen wir eine reine, saubere Spionagegeschichte mit James-Bond-Charme.
Die Autoren wollen sich offensichtlich an den frühen Jacobs-Bänden orientieren. Das ist einerseits sicherlich gut, andererseits hätten sie ein paar der Macken der frühen Bände durchaus sein lassen können. Ein Beispiel für die "gute alte Zeit" der Reihe: Mehr Text als Bild.
Wenn die Autoren nun noch das "Zeigen" dem "Erzählen" vorziehen würden, und ein bisschen mehr Dynamik in die Panels bringen könnten - da könnte was draus werden!
July 14, 2016
To my relief I liked this tale of Blake and Mortimer after being disappointed by The Yellow "M". The word balloons are less intrusive and the font decisions mean the text sits nicely within said word balloons. I then realized that "The Voronov Plot" is actually not one of the original stories written by Edgar P. Jacobs, but is in fact part of the revival of the characters from the late 90s/early 2000s. The art is great. The story is great. I now wonder if it's the new team of Sente and Juillard that I prefer over Jacobs, or if I just don't like The Yellow "M". Either way, I'll be reading more of this series.
November 23, 2011
Felt a little nostalgic for the Lille days. Wish I could still read Francais, bit it would take me a year to read this. It was fun. Not great. Next one I'll go back to the original Edgar P. Jacobs penned bds. When is Speilberg and Jackson going to make this movie?
August 20, 2020
Ännu ett album om Edgar P. Jacobs äventyrslystna hjältar, kapten Francis Blake och professor Philip Mortimer, gjort långt efter Jacobs död. Då jag tidigare läst och uppskattat Jean Van Hamme och Ted Benoits två Blake och Mortimer-album,
Affären Francis Blake
och
Det mystiska mötet
, även de publicerade av Cobolt, samt det något annorlunda, men likväl bra albumet
Den siste faraonen
av Jaco Van Dormael, Thomas Gunzig och François Schuiten, kändes det givet att ge detta album en chans.
Inledningsvis slogs jag av två saker: dels att tecknaren André Juillard, likt Benoit (och till skillnad från Schuiten) använder sig av Jacobs visuella paradigm på ett väldigt slående sätt; och dels att Yves Sente tycktes ha anammat Jacobs ofta problematiska tendens till för texttunga pratbubblor (till den grad att anblicken fick mig att frukta att det skulle bli en närmast oläslig serie att läsa). Och ja, Sente använder sig av mycket text (ibland kanske för mycket), men (precis som Jacobs när han är som bäst) lyckas ändå driva på berättelsen.
Den här gången rör det sig om en spionthriller i 50-talsmiljö. Under ett test med rymduppskjutningar får titelns doktor Voronov tag på ett utomjordiskt virus och ser potentialen i ett biologiskt vapen. Detta i sin tur sätter handlingen i rullning då spioner försöker se till att Storbritannien får information och ett prov av viruset för att kunna skydda sig. Givetvis blir Blake och Mortimer indragna, och tvingas bege sig in i Sovjet för att hjälpa till.
På det hela taget en spännande spionhistoria med flera vändningar.
Inledningsvis slogs jag av två saker: dels att tecknaren André Juillard, likt Benoit (och till skillnad från Schuiten) använder sig av Jacobs visuella paradigm på ett väldigt slående sätt; och dels att Yves Sente tycktes ha anammat Jacobs ofta problematiska tendens till för texttunga pratbubblor (till den grad att anblicken fick mig att frukta att det skulle bli en närmast oläslig serie att läsa). Och ja, Sente använder sig av mycket text (ibland kanske för mycket), men (precis som Jacobs när han är som bäst) lyckas ändå driva på berättelsen.
Den här gången rör det sig om en spionthriller i 50-talsmiljö. Under ett test med rymduppskjutningar får titelns doktor Voronov tag på ett utomjordiskt virus och ser potentialen i ett biologiskt vapen. Detta i sin tur sätter handlingen i rullning då spioner försöker se till att Storbritannien får information och ett prov av viruset för att kunna skydda sig. Givetvis blir Blake och Mortimer indragna, och tvingas bege sig in i Sovjet för att hjälpa till.
På det hela taget en spännande spionhistoria med flera vändningar.
March 23, 2025
Malheureusement, c'est un livre qui ne réussit pas à poursuivre les histoires de Blake et Mortimer.
L'idée du décor est très intéressante car il se déroule en Union soviétique, mettant en avant le KGB et faisant tourner l'intrigue autour d'une tentative de coup d'État au pouvoir, dans la période qui a suivi la mort de Staline à Moscou, avec des implications pour l'équilibre mondial.
Edgar Pierre Jacobs dans le livre S.O.S. Météores, une histoire à l'atmosphère de guerre froide, avait laissé entendre qu'il s'agissait d'une conspiration contrôlée par l'Union soviétique.
Mais avec ces bases, l'histoire ne fonctionne pas, ni au niveau du texte (qui est excessif), ni au niveau du dessin. A la lecture de l'album, on reste avec une grande déception.
L'idée du décor est très intéressante car il se déroule en Union soviétique, mettant en avant le KGB et faisant tourner l'intrigue autour d'une tentative de coup d'État au pouvoir, dans la période qui a suivi la mort de Staline à Moscou, avec des implications pour l'équilibre mondial.
Edgar Pierre Jacobs dans le livre S.O.S. Météores, une histoire à l'atmosphère de guerre froide, avait laissé entendre qu'il s'agissait d'une conspiration contrôlée par l'Union soviétique.
Mais avec ces bases, l'histoire ne fonctionne pas, ni au niveau du texte (qui est excessif), ni au niveau du dessin. A la lecture de l'album, on reste avec une grande déception.
May 23, 2019
Tweede verhaal na de dood van Edgar P. Jacobs. Yves Sente en André Juillard hebben goed werk geleverd, maar ik vond het scenario van Jean Van Hamme en de tekeningen van Ted Benoit in "De zaak Francis Blake" toch nog iets beter en gedetailleerder.
Wanneer een aantal hoge pieten in de Sovjet-Unie een geheimzinnige dood sterven en daarna gebeurt dit ook in het Westen. Is het de start van een nieuwe oorlog, is het een interne machtsstrijd of beide?
Wanneer een aantal hoge pieten in de Sovjet-Unie een geheimzinnige dood sterven en daarna gebeurt dit ook in het Westen. Is het de start van een nieuwe oorlog, is het een interne machtsstrijd of beide?
May 26, 2022
There is a real Cold War feeling throughout this realistic spy story.This 62 pages long comic book takes a long time to read because of its abundant text. The quality of the drawings and coloring is just fantastic and extremely well detailed. Along with Blake and Mortimer, a young woman, Natasia Wardynska play an unusually important part in an action oriented plot. Recommended for a complete immersion in this critical time period. Fascinating read: five stars.
May 18, 2018
I'm surprised the Russians didn't find exception to this story but as they now don't want to know anything about Stalin, I suppose, they don't really care now.
Political leaders are dying of a strange fever - What is the clue as it's hardly a coincidence? Even Russia's political elite have been struck down. An outstanding read.
Political leaders are dying of a strange fever - What is the clue as it's hardly a coincidence? Even Russia's political elite have been struck down. An outstanding read.
June 19, 2019
Solid bandes dessinees in the old-style: this is really a graphic "novel", with its complex plot and lots of dialogue/text heaviness. Part of the Blake and Mortimer series, set in the cold war, with a dash of science fiction. A spy story about a bacterial virus, something like an earnest James Bond story. For fans really, but I enjoyed it enough.
March 19, 2023
Sempre avventure di spionaggio al massimo livello per Blake e Mortimer, ed anche questa, che coinvolge i “nemici” sovietici, non fa eccezione. Imperdibile non solo per i fan della serie, ma anche per chiunque voglia leggere avventure disegnate migliori di molti libri.
March 21, 2020
Act 3 or the second part of the book is really boring with a lot of exposition bubbles.
September 11, 2020
c'est correct.
August 23, 2022
Not exactly the greatest in the series, but a Nice story nontheless
May 29, 2023
Het tweede verhaal in de nieuwe reeks met Sente en Julliard aan het roer. We krijgen een spionnenverhaal tijdens de Koude Oorlog met een beetje sci-fi. Goed genoeg, maar niet de beste.
August 5, 2024
Mauvais. Plein de clichés et sans originalité. Exclusivement pour les fans finis.
July 8, 2016
Avevo grandi aspettative su questo volume e tutte sono state pienamente soddisfatte.
Un capolavoro ambientato nel posto giusto, nel tempo giusto. E finalmente un nuovo cattivo crudele, e più scaltro di Olrik (del quale poteva farne anche a meno).
Sarebbe da approfondire questa cosa di come Olrik sia sempre dappertutto e di come riesca sempre a salvarsi.
Unici punti deboli:
Un capolavoro ambientato nel posto giusto, nel tempo giusto. E finalmente un nuovo cattivo crudele, e più scaltro di Olrik (del quale poteva farne anche a meno).
Sarebbe da approfondire questa cosa di come Olrik sia sempre dappertutto e di come riesca sempre a salvarsi.
Unici punti deboli:
November 3, 2012
marvelous story!
February 24, 2015
I recommend this book to people who love adventure stories. It's a graphic novel and the pictures make you feel as if you are in the story.
August 7, 2016
Decisamente una bella storia, molto virata sullo spionaggio e meno sulla fantascienza, ma un'ottima storia ben scritta e disegnata.
May 17, 2023
Het uitgangspunt voor dit verhaal komt uit het Andromeda boek van Michael Crichton. En dat is hier tot een spannend spionnen verhaal omgebouwd. Goed geschreven en mooi getekend.
October 27, 2023
Mooi, goed uitgewerkt spionage verhaal, in de lijn van Edgar P. Jacobs
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews