The fearless Alix is back.
On the occasion of the centenary of the birth of its creator Jacques Martin (1921-2010), whom the historian Georges Bischoff qualified as
"great picture book of Antiquity"
, a new tandem takes up the torch of the adventures of the valiant son of a Gallic chief, freed slave who became Caesar's indispensable emissary through the barbarian worlds in 50 BC.
See also
Noir Burlesque
or the sparkling tribute of Enrico Marini to Hollywood noir films
In this 40th album, entitled
L'Œil du Minotaure
, screenwriter Valérie Mangin (already at work in the
Alix Senator
series
) and young designer Chrys Millien stage a mysterious jewel once offered to Brutus' mother, mistress of Caesar.
“It all begins with a pearl of fire that shines in the night,”
says the screenwriter, a distinguished Latinist and in love with the world of Alix
.
Servilia, Brutus' mother is slowly dying, poisoned by this strange stone originally intended for Caesar. The latter decides to send Alix, Enak and Brutus in the footsteps of the Greek merchant who sold him this really cursed object. Thus begins a thrilling chase in the Mediterranean.
"
Over 12 million albums sold
Born in 1948, in the pages of the
Journal de Tintin
, let us recall that the intrepid Alix has conquered an increasingly large audience over the decades.
More than 12 million albums of the Forty Adventures of the Gaul have been sold, translated into sixteen languages, praised for both their realism and their thoroughness.
Since 2010 and the death of its creator Jacques Martin, many teams of designers and screenwriters have taken up the torch of the hectic adventures of its hero.
It is now the turn of the duo Chrys Millien (designer of an album by Gil Saint-André) and Valérie Mangin.
“My first Alix,
The Wild God
, was given to me by my parents at the age of 12,”
recalls the screenwriter
.
It was one of the big shocks of my teenage years.
This is probably why I ended up becoming a comic book writer, and that I imagined the Alix Senator series.
After ten years, Casterman asked me if I would take on an episode of the classic series.
I answered yes, because I now felt ready to revisit the youth of Alix. "
“For me, like its creator Jacques Martin, Alix is a 'frontier man'.
He assumes both his Gallic roots, but accepts his romance and his role as Caesar's agent.
"
Valerie Mangin
Putting back in the saddle, sword in hand, an icon of Franco-Belgian comics like Alix is not given to everyone.
“For me, like its creator Jacques Martin, Alix is a 'frontier man'
, she analyzes.
He assumes both his Gallic roots, but accepts his romance and his role as Caesar's agent. He is a hero who manages to reconcile all civilizations, however different they may be. His righteousness and loyalty do not prevent his open-mindedness. There is in Alix a rejection of Manichaeism. He's a positive character, but he knows the darkness of the world. This was innovative in the Franco-Belgian comics of those years. This is one of Jacques Martin's great contributions to the ninth art.His series was more adult than the others, more subtle, richer.
"
What really pleased Valérie Mangin when she started this 40th album is being able to bridge the gap between two series.
On the one hand,
The Eye of the Minotaur
tells an adventure of young Alix.
It will soon find a conclusion in the Alix Senator saga,
The Minotaur's Lair
, which will be released in January 2022.
Between the cover of The Eye of the Minotaur and The Minotaur's Lair (to be released in January 2022), the reader can clearly see many similarities.
And for good reason ... © Casterman
And Valérie Mangin to specify
: “Our dear Alix senator will return to the scene of his youthful adventure and once again face the mysterious minotaur who gives his name to the two albums.
The two albums can, of course, be played separately without any problem.
But they also form a diptych and each resonate with one another.
Linking the two series in this way was not an easy task and I must thank Chrys Millien, Thierry Démarez and Jean-Jacques Chagnaud for playing the game to the full with me.
"
THE BD BOX
Page 45 of The
Eye of the Minotaur
is both an emblematic plate in the style of Jacques Martin, but it is also a spectacular and disturbing plate.
© Casterman
Page 45 of
The Eye of the Minotaur
is at the same time an emblematic plate of the style developed by Jacques Martin, but it is also among the most spectacular and disturbing of the album.
"From the first box, Alix Appears on her knees, her red tunic torn, her head raised,"
explains Valérie Mangin
.
We hear a threatening growl.
Despite the heavy atmosphere, I find Alix still beautiful and sexy.
When I was a teenager I thought he was cute.
It must be said that Martin has always been passionate about Greco-Roman statuary and attached great importance to the reproduction of the human body.
"
Valérie Mangin: “
Alix is right to be frightened by the minotaur god, because originally this mythological character was a cannibal god.
"© Casterman
In the first three boxes, Alix is here shown in a state of surprise and astonishment.
"He is trapped in an underground temple,"
says the screenwriter.
He puts his hand to his head as if to protect himself.
He's sweaty.
Looks like his personal unease is communicating to the collapsing room.
Alix is right to be afraid of the minotaur god, because originally this mythological character was a cannibal god.
Alix thinks that the suddenly animated Minotaur god will devour him.
"
Valérie Mangin: “
The minotaur is like the King Kong of history
.
I did as a variation on the theme of the monster.
"© Casterman
In the next three boxes, Alix finds himself caught in the hand of the minotaur.
"The minotaur is like the King Kong of history,"
decrypts Valérie Mangin.
I did as a variation on the theme of the monster.
Like the myth of King Kong, that of the minotaur is regularly reactivated, as for example in the video game
World of Warcraft
.
Alix in the hand of the minotaur god has bulging eyes.
The minotaur destroys the temple and sinks into the sea. This is of course reminiscent of the images of cataclysm that surround the volcanic islands, like that of Thera. ”
Valérie Mangin: “We are
beginning to perceive that this giant monster who delicately holds Alix in the palm of his hand is more of a protective divinity.
"© Casterman
With the seventh fret, panoramic, we see the minotaur moving away from the island where a big black smoke begins to come out of the mouth of the volcano.
"Despite the scowl of the minotaur,
we begin to perceive that this giant monster who delicately holds Alix in the palm of his hand is rather a protective deity
,
"
notes the screenwriter.
We can also observe two strange anachronistic white chimneys which emit a thick smoke.
"Perhaps they are the chimneys from a nuclear complex built by the Atlanteans
," recognizes Valérie Mangin with a little amused and mysterious air.
We must not forget that according to Plato, the civilization of Atlantis was located at the peak on the island of Santorini-Thera.
Could it be a nuclear accident that would have triggered the eruption of the Santorini volcano and buried Atlantis?
Mystery ...
"
Valérie Mangin: "
With this strange, nightmarish vision, this board navigates between the dreamlike nature coming from the depths of the mythological abyss, and the documented reality of the Hellenistic era."
© Casterman
In the last box, also panoramic, Alix understood that he had been saved by the minotaur.
"Here, Alix has turned around and contemplates the spectacle of desolation that awaits him,"
concludes the screenwriter.
The volcano erupted. Lava gushes out. It is a strange, nightmarish sight. This board navigates between the dreamlike nature coming from the depths of the mythological abyss, and the documented reality of the Hellenistic period. A mixture that Jacques Martin loved above all. Very often, in Martin's albums, one finds at the same time a deep historical realism, mixed with points of fictions which border the fantastic ... "
Finally, we note that Alix remained passive, looks at the situation by taking the field.
“
If it is a character in action like all the Franco-Belgian comic book heroes of his time,
he is also able to stop to contemplate the things around him.
This is part of its charm.
Like Jacques Martin who transmitted this character trait to her, Alix is an art lover.
He loves nature and readily admires the beautiful ... Alix has a taste for beautiful things. "
L'Œil du minotaure, Alix Tome 40,
by Jacques Martin, Valérie Mangin and Chrys Millien, 48 p., Published by Casterman, € 11.95.