2004 - Isaac le Pirate : La Capitale

Page 44, not published, was drawn for "La Capitale", the issue 4 of "Issac the pirate"

bottom right

Regarding his return to the waffle-iron-like layout, Christophe Blain admitted to Hughes Dayez in 2001 about comic strip full of framing effects that "these comic strips are bullshit! It's the artists who are trying cinematic tricks, whereas there is no point in making large, elongated panels with just a close-up look in them; these are rather fake effects!
I was immediately seduced by the waffle-iron-like layout, because its simplicity allows you to better concentrate on the pictorial research, and to have a "children's book" aspect that I really like" (Niffle, The new comic strip)

This page 44, which uses the even waffle-iron-like layout of the panels was ultimately not included in the final version of the album. Christophe Blain re-edited the action and redrew this scene on the lower half of page 44 and the upper half of page 45, removing and adding a few panels.

His characteristic drawing here demonstrates a great mastery of movement. His characters move, run, and jump from one panel to the next with a rare fluidity. To achieve this effect, he uses the spontaneity of his line. For him, an overly elaborate drawing loses both its intensity and its original message.