Sunday, 6 December 2015

Blake & Mortimer 21 - Plutarch's Staff



Author: Yves Sente & André Juillard
Based on the Characters of E.P. Jacobs
Age: 10 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 72 colour pages
Publication: September 2015

ISBN: 9781849182645
Price: £8.99 inc. VAT

1944. England is still locked in a struggle to the death with Nazi Germany. But already a new threat looms among the peaks of the Himalayas. For now, though, Squadron Leader Blake, having saved London from a German prototype, is assigned to a top secret mission, during which he meets with an old friend he hasn’t seen since India: Philip Mortimer. Soon, the pair are introduced to an officer working for Allied Intelligence: Colonel Olrik...

Well,this Olrik chap seems pleasant enough. Need to find out how Blake went from an RAF Squadron Leader to a British Army staff officer, albeit as part of Intelligence.  There's a mystery for you military buffs out there!

Seventy-two pages for £8.99 isn't bad. This is a nice chunky read and if you do know your history you will know how what happens in the story reflects what was going on at the time (except for Blake going from Squadron Leader to...well, okay, it seems the Army didn't want to lose a man like Blake so made him an Army Captain.  Very rum do!). 

The art by Juillard, well, how much work did Etienne Schreder do?  No,NOT credited on the cover which I feel is insulting an artist who is credited with "Background inking" -COVER CREDIT! And how about a COVER CREDIT for the wonderful colourist Madeleine DeMille?  Schreder and DeMille are artists in their own right and should get cover credits. Sorry, just makes me angry.

That anger out of the way,this was, as usual, an enjoyable read!

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