What if ... : Morpheus

June 15, 2018, by 2DGalleries

This time it is Morpheus' turn to answer the "What if..." !

1. If i could add to my collection any artwork currently displayed in 2DGalleries ?

This one :

This Tintin strip is in Billbaroud's collection

Because Hergé’s strips are so rare and also because Tintin plays such a great part in my childhood reading memories.

These stories always show a perfect balance between text and pictures, dialogue and action, drama and humour.

I have a feeling that all comic books are judged by reference to the Adventures of Tintin, an absolute timeless classic. I just can’t imagine the intense feeling of happiness seeing this work with my own eyes!

2. If i could keep only one piece of art from my collection ?

It would be this Sandman's strip :

This work is quite emblematic of the beginning of the adventure when Dream weakened by long years of detention, finally reaches his kingdom : "It was a DARK and STORMY NIGHTMARE...I had to reach the GATES of HORN and IVORY...to reach my castle..."

Here we find the original creative team at work : Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg and of course Neil G. the greatest architect of this fascinating universe, the father of the "Endless" world.

More than 30 years after the series was released the scenarist is still motivated and very implicated. As proof of this, new spin-off series derived from the main series are being launched this year.

I am a bit sad though to note the saga did not get the recognition it deserved from the French audience . The blame probably rests on a faulty editorial policy and the work being more literary than graphic.

3. If i could get another chance to purchase an artwork that i let slip in the past ?

I would hesitate between 2, both created by Frank Miller. I would select this strip from Sin City :

When this page was published on a US selling site, I immediately sent an order for it. Unfortunately I was second on the deal. I have since learned that F. Miller had got this original strip back as he wishes to keep the whole of the strips from volumes 1 and 2.

Shall we ever see another original strip from these first stories on sale? Nothing could be less certain!

4. If i had 5000€ to buy one of the artworks listed for sale on 2DG ?

Alberto Brescia is certainly one of the greatest masters of the ninth art, a precursor that experimented a lot. I see him as a kind of Leonard de Vinci who would have deserved higher public recognition.

As a legacy (apart from a very talented son) he left a few masterpieces like Mort Cinder, written by the Argentinian scenarist H.G. Oesterheld.

5. If you were a comic book character ?

Sandman so as to be able to penetrate the living people’s dreams, create new nightmares and rub shoulders with Death, my sister, and other immortals.

On top of that I would be Lord in my kingdom of dreams!

6. If you could get the chance to spend a day with a comic book artist from the past ?

Jack Kirby !!

This master often embodies crazy creative energy, enthusiasm and generosity.

I only know him through his immense work but those who got to know him better tell what an exceptional artist and a remarkable man he was. I wish I could bend over his shoulder and watch him drawing all those fantastic characters who shaped the history of comics.

I read somewhere that it is very difficult to realize what American comics would be today if Jack Kirby had not created and experimented as much as he did. And how right that is!

7. And if you could ask him only one question ?

Marvel or DC ?

8. If you had to keep (or own) only one sketched comic book ?

I’m cheating by choosing 2 albums:

Légendes des Contrées oubliées ("Tales from forgotten realms") which reminds me of my first sketch and a nice meeting with Thierry Ségur and Bruno Chevalier. This album represents my first encounter with Adult Comics and Heroic Fantasy universes (I was reading Lord of the Rings at the same time). The pleasure is still there when I open the first pages and immerse delightfully into it.

I would also keep Arkham Asylum (script by Grant Morrison). I remember quivering as Dave McKean was signing his “Batman” for me.

9. if you had the opportunity to read the sequel of a comic book ?

Xenozoic Tales by Mark Schultz. A wonderful series which gets more powerful chapter after chapter but whose author for the sake of perfectionism or by laziness cannot produce new issues.

I recently regained hope when reading the author’s Facebook page where he mentions he is working on new strips. Despite this, how long shall we have to wait before we can read a sequel of the adventures of Jack Tenrec and the irresistible Hannah Dundee, one of the most interesting female characters in the Ninth Art.

Will I have a chance to know about the end of this saga?

Hannah Dundee par Mark Schultz

10. If you could choose the subject of the next article from 2DG’s notebook ?

I would suggest an article about teamwork in French-Belgian comic strip art (not only those from the golden age)

I meant the actual work with assistants and how tasks are distributed during the creation process. We know how the tasks are distributed between the inker and the pencilier in US comics for instance, but as far as the successful FB series are concerned, this seems a little taboo to me.

And finally a question provided by another 2DG collector, MM58 :

Which famous comic animal would you want to have as a pet ?

I’m not very fond of cats and dogs in comics. I would say Hobbes, Calvin’s stuffed tiger.

The “Calvin and Hobbes” series moved me because Bill Watterson managed to capture childhood imagination and because his poetic strips are real treasures.

My inner child would love rolling in the snow with Hobbes!