By Edgar P. Jacobs, coloured by Philippe Biermé & Luce Daniels translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-84918-161-7
Belgian Edgard Félix Pierre Jacobs (March 30th 1904-February 20th 1987) is rightly considered to be one of the founding fathers of the Continental comics industry. Although his output is relatively modest compared to most of his iconic contemporaries, the landmark serialised epic he created practically formed the backbone of the straight action-adventure comic in Europe, and his splendidly adroit yet roguish and thoroughly British adventurers Blake and Mortimer, conceived and realised for the very first issue of Le Journal de Tintin in 1946, swiftly became an crucial staple of post-war European kids’ life, in exactly the same way that Dan Dare was in 1950s Britain.
Edgar P. Jacobs was born in Brussels, a precocious child who was always drawing but was even more obsessed with music and the performing arts – especially opera. He attended a commercial school but loathed the idea of office work and instead avidly pursued the arts and drama on his graduation in 1919.
A succession of odd jobs at opera-houses (scene-painting, set decoration and even performing as both an acting and singing extra) supplemented his private performance studies, and in 1929 Jacobs won an award from the Government for classical singing.
His dreamed-of operatic career was thwarted by the Great Depression. When arts funding suffered massive cutbacks following the global stock market crash, he was compelled to pick up whatever dramatic work was going, although this did include more singing and performing.
Jacobs switched to commercial illustration in 1940, winning regular work in the magazine Bravo, as well as illustrating short stories and novels. He famously took over the syndicated Flash Gordon strip when the occupying German authorities banned Alex Raymond’s quintessentially All-American Hero and the publishers desperately needed someone to satisfactorily complete the saga.
Jacobs’ ‘Stormer Gordon’ lasted less than a month before being similarly embargoed by the Occupation dictators, after which the man of many talents simply created his own epic science-fantasy feature in the legendary Le Rayon U, a milestone in both Belgian comics and science fiction adventure.
During this period Jacobs and Tintin creator Hergé got together, and whilst creating the weekly U Ray strip, the younger man began assisting on Tintin, colouring the original black and white strips of The Shooting Star (originally run in newspaper Le Soir) for an upcoming album collection.
By 1944 Jacobs was performing similar duties on Tintin in the Congo, Tintin in America, King Ottokar’s Sceptre and The Blue Lotus. He was also contributing to the drawing too, working on the extended epic The Seven Crystal Balls/Prisoners of the Sun.
After the war and liberation, publisher Raymond Leblanc convinced Hergé, Jacobs and a few other comicstrip aristocracy to work for his proposed new venture. Founding publishing house Le Lombard, Leblanc also commissioned Le Journal de Tintin, an anthology comic with simultaneous editions in Belgium, France and Holland, edited by Hergé and starring the intrepid boy reporter plus a host of newer heroes.
Beside Hergé, Jacobs and writer Jacques van Melkebeke, Le Journal de Tintin featured Paul Cuvelier’s ‘Corentin’ and Jacques Laudy’s ‘The Legend of the Four Aymon Brothers’.
Laudy had been a friend of Jacobs’ since their time together on Bravo, and the first instalment of the epic thriller serial ‘Le secret de l’Espadon’ starred a bluff, gruff British scientist and an English Military Intelligence officer (who was closely modelled on Laudy): Professor Philip Mortimer and Captain Francis Blake…
The initial storyline ran from issue #1 (26th September 1946 to September 8th 1949) and cemented Jacobs’ status as a star in his own right. In 1950, with the first 18 pages slightly redrawn, The Secret of the Swordfish became Le Lombard’s first album release with the concluding part published three years later. These volumes were reprinted nine more times between 1955 and 1982 in addition to a single omnibus edition released in 1964.
Hergé and Jacobs purportedly suffered a split in 1947 when the former refused to grant the latter a by-line on new Tintin material, but since the two remained friends for life and Jacobs continued to produce Blake and Mortimer for the weekly comic, I think it’s fair to say that if such was the case it was a pretty minor spat. I rather suspect that The Secret of the Swordfish was simply taking up more and more of the diligent artist’s time and attention…
In 1984 the story was reformatted and repackaged for English translation as three volumes with additional material (mostly covers from the weekly Tintin added to the story as splash pages) as part of a push to win some of the lucrative Tintin and Asterix market here, but failed to find an audience and ended after seven magnificent if under-appreciated volumes.
Now happily Cinebook has finally released the tale – albeit after publishing many later adventures first – and this second instalment carries the tale of the struggle against world domination to next epic level…
Although all the subsequent Blake and Mortimer sagas have been wonderfully retranslated and published by Cinebook in recent years, this initial epic introductory adventure and its concluding two volumes remained frustratingly in the back-issue twilight zone, possibly due to their superficial embracing of the prevailing prejudices of the time.
By having the overarching enemies of mankind be a secret Asiatic “Yellow Peril†empire of evil, there is some potential for offence – unless one actually reads the books to find that any presumed racism is countered throughout by an equal amount of “good†ethnic people and “evil†white folk, so please if you have any doubts please quell them and get these books….
Here and now, however, let’s recap The Incredible Chase, wherein a clandestine clique in the Himalayas launched a global Blitzkrieg at the command of Basam-Damdu, malign Emperor of Tibet. The warlord ruled a secret cabal of belligerent conquerors, whose arsenal of technological super-weapons were wielded by an army of the world’s wickedest rogues such as the diabolical Colonel Olrik who dreamed of ruling the entire Earth, and his sneak attack almost accomplished all his schemes in one fell swoop.
Happily however, English physicist Philip Mortimer and MI5 Captain Francis Blake were aware of the threat and were already racing to finish the boffin’s radical new aircraft at a hidden British industrial complex.
When the attack came the old friends swung into immediate action and narrowly escaped destruction in a devastating bomber raid…
The Golden Rocket launched just as Olrik’s bombers attacked and easily outdistanced the rapacious Empire forces, leaving ruined homes behind them as they flew into a hostile world now brutally controlled by Basam-Damdu…
Seeking to join British Middle East resistance forces, the fugitives’ flight ended prematurely when the Rocket crashed in the rocky wilds between Iran and Afghanistan. Parachuting to safety, Blake and Mortimer survived a host of perils and escaped capture more than once as they slowly, inexorably made their way to the distant rendezvous, before meeting a British-trained native Sergeant Ahmed Nasir.
The loyal Indian had served with Blake during the last war and was delighted to see him again, but as the trio laboriously made their way to the target site, Olrik had already found it and seized their last hope…
Using commando tactics to infiltrate the enemy camp and stealing the villainous Colonel’s own Red-Wing super-jet, the heroes made their way towards a fall-back point but were again shot down – this time by friendly fire as anti-Lhasa rebels saw the stolen plane as an enemy target…
Surviving this crash too, the trio were ferried in relative safety by the apologetic tribesmen to the enemy-occupied town of Turbat and sheltered by a friendly Khan administrator. However the man’s servant, a spy of the Empire-appointed Wazir, recognised the Englishmen and Nasir realised far too late the danger they all faced…
Sending his loyal Sergeant away, Blake tried valiantly frantically to save Mortimer whilst a platoon of Empire soldiers rapidly mounted the stairs to their exposed room…
The frantic action resumes here in Mortimer’s Escape with soldiers bursting into an empty chamber before being themselves attacked by the Khan. After a bloody firefight the Englishmen emerge from their cunning hiding place and flee Turbat, which has been seized by a furious spur-of-the-moment rebellion.
Unknown to the fugitives, the devious spy Bezendjas is hard on their heels and soon finds an opportunity to inform Olrik. With the city in flames and fighting in every street the callous colonel abandons his own troops to pursue Nasir, Blake and Mortimer into the wastes beyond the walls…
On stolen horses the heroes endure all the ferocious hardships of the desert but cannot outdistance Olrik’s staff-car. After days of relentless pursuit they reach the rocky coastline and almost stumble into another Empire patrol, and whilst ducking them Blake almost falls to his doom. Narrowly escaping death, the trio continue to climb steep escarpments and it is dusk before the Intelligence Officer realises that he has lost the precious plans and documents they have been carrying since they fled England…
Realising that somebody must reach the British resistance at their hidden Eastern base, the valiant comrades split up. Blake and Nasir continue onwards whilst Mortimer returns to the accident site. Finding the plans is a stroke of sheer good fortune, immediately countered by an ambush from Olrik’s troops.
Despite a Herculean last stand the scientist is at last taken prisoner but only after successfully hiding the lost plans…
Three months later Olrik is called to account in the exotic city-fortress of Lhasa. Basam-Damdu’s ruling council are unhappy with the Colonel’s lack of progress in breaking the captive scientist, and even more infuriated by a tidal-wave of sabotage and armed rebellion throughout their newly-conquered territories. Even Olrik’s own spies are warning him that his days as an agent of the Yellow Empire might be numbered…
Given two days to make Mortimer talk, the Colonel returns to his base in Karachi just as another rebel raid allows Nasir to infiltrate the Empire’s HQ. Blake is also abroad in the city, having joined British forces in the area.
With less than a day to act, the MI5 officer rendezvous with a British submarine and travels to a vast atomic-powered secret installation under the Straits of Hormuz, where the Royal Navy are stoically preparing for a massive counter-attack on the Empire. With raids liberating interned soldiers all the time, the ranks of scientists, technicians and soldiers are swelling daily…
Meanwhile, Nasir has begun a desperate plan to free Mortimer, who is still adamantly refusing to talk of the mysterious “Swordfish†Olrik’s agents continually hear rumours of…
Aware of his danger and the Sergeant’s efforts, Mortimer instead cunningly informs Nasir of the lost plans’ location, even as the impatient Emperor’s personal torturer arrives from Lhasa…
Always concerned with the greater good, Blake and a commando team secure the concealed plans and are met by Nasir who has been forced from Karachi after realising the spy Bezendjas has recognised him. It appears that time has run out for their scholarly comrade…
Mortimer, however, has taken fate into his own hands. When the devious Doctor Sun Fo begins his interrogation, the Professor breaks free and escapes into the fortress grounds during an earth-shattering storm. Trapped in a tower with only a handgun, he is determined to sell his life dearly, but is rescued by Blake and Nasir in a Navy Helicopter.
Using the storm for cover the heroes evade jet pursuit and an enemy naval sweep to link up with a British sub and escape into the night…
To Be Concluded…
Gripping and fantastic in the best tradition of pulp sci-fi and Boy’s Own Adventures, Blake and Mortimer are the very epitome of True Brit grit and determination; always delivering grand, old-fashioned Blood-&-Thunder thrills and spills in tried and true timeless fashion and with staggering visual verve and dash. Despite the high body count and dated milieu, any kid able to suspend modern mores and cultural disbelief (call it alternate earth history or bakelite-punk if you want) will experience the adventure of their lives… and so will their children.
This Cinebook edition also includes a tantalising preview of the next volume as well as excerpts from stand-alone adventure S.O.S. Meteors, plus a biography feature which offers a chronological publication chart of Jacobs’ and his successors’ efforts and a handy comparison and chronological publishing order of the Cinebook releases.
Original editions © Editions Blake & Mortimer/Studio Jacobs (Dargaud – Lombard s.a.) 1985 by E.P. Jacobs. All rights reserved. English translation © 2013 Cinebook Ltd.