Dans la collection de ChrisK
Description
Page 6 from Alberto Breccia's adaptation of 'The Tell-Tale Heart' from 1975.
Commentaire
A nine-panel page (of a total nine-pages) from Alberto Breccia’s 1975 adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’. Originally published in 1843, the story is a classic of Gothic fiction that tells the tale of an unnamed narrator who is trying to convince the story’s reader that he is sane…while simultaneously describing the murder that he has committed.
It’s hard not to imagine that Breccia’s decision to adapt the story was heavily influenced by the backdrop of intensely dark times in Argentina (his home since his family relocated from Uruguay when he was three years old). The 1970’s marked forty-plus years after the 1930 military coup of the government that effectively ended civilian rule and established an intensely dark period of violent changes from one military-led government to another. At the time of this adaptation, the country is transitioning from dark to completely black – the early-1970’s would mark the establishment of government death squads that would hunt down political dissidents and ‘disappear’ them. A ‘government’ that claims to be a sane actor while committing murder? Seems awfully coincidental to the timing of this adaptation.
Interestingly, Alberto Breccia & Jack Kirby were born within eighteen months of one another and died only three months apart. Two lives lived in completely different corners of the world, but both landmark creators that shared the humblest of beginnings and lived through respectively interesting times – for Kirby, WWII and the post-war economic boom: for Breccia, the harsh political devolution of Argentina. And, even more interestingly as it relates to this page, both creators experimented with collage late in their careers.
Given the collage nature of this page, some collectors would find it of no interest as there is zero original art on the piece. But, for me, the page is the artist’s intent and its glossy, wavy body resulting from progressively modified stats glued to an original board reflect Breccia’s use of visual repetition to establish a rhythm to his layouts that builds a naturally resulting tension as the reader takes in the story.
It's a unique piece from an incredibly important creator. Hope you enjoy it!
It’s hard not to imagine that Breccia’s decision to adapt the story was heavily influenced by the backdrop of intensely dark times in Argentina (his home since his family relocated from Uruguay when he was three years old). The 1970’s marked forty-plus years after the 1930 military coup of the government that effectively ended civilian rule and established an intensely dark period of violent changes from one military-led government to another. At the time of this adaptation, the country is transitioning from dark to completely black – the early-1970’s would mark the establishment of government death squads that would hunt down political dissidents and ‘disappear’ them. A ‘government’ that claims to be a sane actor while committing murder? Seems awfully coincidental to the timing of this adaptation.
Interestingly, Alberto Breccia & Jack Kirby were born within eighteen months of one another and died only three months apart. Two lives lived in completely different corners of the world, but both landmark creators that shared the humblest of beginnings and lived through respectively interesting times – for Kirby, WWII and the post-war economic boom: for Breccia, the harsh political devolution of Argentina. And, even more interestingly as it relates to this page, both creators experimented with collage late in their careers.
Given the collage nature of this page, some collectors would find it of no interest as there is zero original art on the piece. But, for me, the page is the artist’s intent and its glossy, wavy body resulting from progressively modified stats glued to an original board reflect Breccia’s use of visual repetition to establish a rhythm to his layouts that builds a naturally resulting tension as the reader takes in the story.
It's a unique piece from an incredibly important creator. Hope you enjoy it!
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A propos de Alberto Breccia
Alberto Breccia est un auteur de bande dessinée argentin. D'abord influencé par la bande dessinée d'aventures nord-américaine (Milton Caniff), il se forge un style très personnel et en constante évolution, qui emprunte à l'art grotesque, à l'expressionnisme et au clair-obscur.
