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Les maîtres de l'orge #1-8
Les Maitres de l'orge
Dorp 1854 - Dorp 1997 : 150 ans d'histoire et cinq générations qui, une à une, ont apporté leur pierre à l'empire des Steenfort. Un géant de la brasserie si solide qu'il a pu résister à deux guerres mondiales et à un krach économique. Mais ces événements ne sont rien comparés aux terribles luttes de pouvoir que se sont livrés les héritiers, et à l'obsession de vengeance qui, de tout temps, a animé ces familles ennemies. Car les empires industriels ne peuvent s'ériger que grâce à la passion, l'enthousiasme et l'obstination des hommes. Après "XIII", "Thorgal" et "Largo Winch", Van Hamme, avec Francis Vallès, manipule un récit haletant où destins d'exception et coups de théâtre se succèdent pour retracer la destinée des "Maîtres de l'Orge".
354 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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60 people want to read
About the author
Jean Van Hamme
748 books181 followersJean Van Hamme, is a Belgian novelist and comic book writer. He has written scripts for a number of Belgian/French comic series, including Histoire sans héros, Thorgal, XIII, Blake and Mortimer, Lady S and Largo Winch.
More on the brilliant, Jean Van Hamme:
http://lambiek.net/artists/v/van-hamm...
More on the brilliant, Jean Van Hamme:
http://lambiek.net/artists/v/van-hamm...
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 17, 2012
"Les maîtres de l'orge" (a literal translation would be "The Masters of the Barley" but the books are not yet translated to English), written by Jean Van Hamme and drawn by Francis Vallès, is one of the most lauded Franco-Belgian comic book (popularly called Bande dessinée or BD) series. It is a chronicle of the Steenfort family, one of the largest beer manufacturers in Belgium, spanning more than 140 years, from 1854 to 1997. It is told through eight episodes, the first seven bearing names of the most important family members and telling the story chronologically with gaps of twenty to thirty years between them, and the eighth one bearing the family name and filling out those gaps.
The story of the Steenforts is a true soap opera with love, death, adultery, murder and all kinds of other events presented in overly dramatic way. Due to its nature, telling about it would take too much time and spoil all the fun so I'll refrain from it. But there's more to this series than the exploits of one family. With the story covering second part of the 19th and the whole 20th century, we see the world changing in the background. Two world wars, social and economic changes, the progress of technology, developments in architecture and changes in fashion are just some of the things Van Hamme and Vallès introduce us to through the story of a family of brewers. At the beginning of each episode there is a short overview of important things that happened in the world that year as well as the information about developments in beer industry. In addition to that, there's a picture of Dorp, a little town in Belgium where most of the story takes place, and we can see it changing as the years go by. All of that makes for an interesting, if incomplete, trip through our recent history.
The drawing and colour by Francis Vallès represent what is considered to be a standard BD look. Realistic colours, expressive faces and detailed backgrounds, as well as movie-like interchange of close-ups and wide shots, create a likeable visual aspect of the story. However, the drawing lacks any original solutions both in its style and framing of the scenes. It also gets a little sloppy in the later episodes, as if Vallès just wanted to get work done without giving too much effort into it.
In spite of its story having characteristics of a soap opera and having a whole family of implausible larger-than-life characters, "Les maîtres de l'orge" is an interesting piece of work. It successfully blends the story with the historical events and changes making a nice stroll through the ages. It's really a shame Van Hamme didn't match Vallès' realistic drawing with a more realistic story and individuals readers can relate to. There's also a case of the last episode which unnecessarily shows the events most of which we already know about, thus leaving very little to the imagination of the reader. In the end, I must say I don't see why this series is held in so high regard for, in a rich BD production, it doesn't rise above the average.
The story of the Steenforts is a true soap opera with love, death, adultery, murder and all kinds of other events presented in overly dramatic way. Due to its nature, telling about it would take too much time and spoil all the fun so I'll refrain from it. But there's more to this series than the exploits of one family. With the story covering second part of the 19th and the whole 20th century, we see the world changing in the background. Two world wars, social and economic changes, the progress of technology, developments in architecture and changes in fashion are just some of the things Van Hamme and Vallès introduce us to through the story of a family of brewers. At the beginning of each episode there is a short overview of important things that happened in the world that year as well as the information about developments in beer industry. In addition to that, there's a picture of Dorp, a little town in Belgium where most of the story takes place, and we can see it changing as the years go by. All of that makes for an interesting, if incomplete, trip through our recent history.
The drawing and colour by Francis Vallès represent what is considered to be a standard BD look. Realistic colours, expressive faces and detailed backgrounds, as well as movie-like interchange of close-ups and wide shots, create a likeable visual aspect of the story. However, the drawing lacks any original solutions both in its style and framing of the scenes. It also gets a little sloppy in the later episodes, as if Vallès just wanted to get work done without giving too much effort into it.
In spite of its story having characteristics of a soap opera and having a whole family of implausible larger-than-life characters, "Les maîtres de l'orge" is an interesting piece of work. It successfully blends the story with the historical events and changes making a nice stroll through the ages. It's really a shame Van Hamme didn't match Vallès' realistic drawing with a more realistic story and individuals readers can relate to. There's also a case of the last episode which unnecessarily shows the events most of which we already know about, thus leaving very little to the imagination of the reader. In the end, I must say I don't see why this series is held in so high regard for, in a rich BD production, it doesn't rise above the average.
October 15, 2013
Poslije ovog stripa imam želju čitati neku obiteljsku sagu, jer je i sam strip obiteljska saga. Prati Steenfortove kroz 7 priča o 7 članova obitelji od 1854.g. do 1997.g., a zajedno s njima politička i ekonomska previranja u Europi i svijetu te razvoj pivarske industrije. U svakoj priči, a osobito između njih dešavaju se promjene u karakteru likova, koje jesu logične zbog odrastanja/starenja i prolaska vremena; ali nisu objašnjenje, pa me to dosta smetalo (osobito u 1. priči s likom Charlesa). Zbog toga likovi izgledaju previše plošno. Međutim, na kraju knjige se nalazi dodatna priča s epizodama o svim prethodno viđenim likovima, pa te epizode popunjavaju dio karakternih rupa. Tako knjiga postaje zaokružena cjelina. Ono što mi se dopalo je povijesni kontekst koji se nalazi na početku svake priče, kao i ilustracija naselja Dorp koja vjerno prikazuje protjecanje vremena. Mali, ali vrijedni detalji. Sveukupno, negdje između 3 i 4 zvjezdice, ali sam danas škrtava.
July 23, 2021
Genijalno, stvarnost koja je neverovatnija od fikcije. Usput, ispričana je priča o ljudskoj prirodi, promenama i trendovima u ekonomiji i nastanku modernog piva i kapitalizma. Još jednom se kroz strip najbolje pripoveda o prevratima, istoriji. Praktično moderna svetska istorija ostavila je trag na proizvnodnju piva.
October 22, 2022
Odlican strip. Malo su mi slabije price novijeg doba, stil sapunice u kombinaciji sa intezivnijom politikom gde se moje interesovanje blago gubi, ali sobzirom da je tu u pitanju licna preferencija a ne sam kvalitet stripa - odlican pet.
March 18, 2020
Ma ovo je stripčina. Točka!!!!!
September 16, 2020
Life, love, hatred, many conflicts... and beer through 150 of history within a Belgian brewer dynasty as superbly told by master Jean Van Hamme. I loved it!
January 11, 2021
Odličan strip - sve je na visokom nivou.
May 6, 2021
Kratka povijest pivarstva 20 stoljeca.
December 15, 2023
La saga è carina, ma la narrazione spesso ha troppi buchi, alcune scene non hanno lo spazio che dovrebbero…
October 27, 2023
Se vi piacciono le grandi saghe familiari, questo fumetto potrebbe fare per voi. Personalmente ho trovato tutti i personaggi detestabili e odiosi, solo con l'ultimo protagonista ho potuto provare un minimo di empatia e fare il tifo per lui. Questo è il terzo fumetto di Van Hamme che leggo, dopo Thorgal e XIII, ma quasi mi dispiace ammettere che soltanto Thorgal mi sia piaciuto.
September 13, 2023
Captivating story and nice graphics . Hidden gem among the graphic novels
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews