{"id":16691,"date":"2017-04-08T08:00:20","date_gmt":"2017-04-08T08:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=16691"},"modified":"2017-04-07T15:06:56","modified_gmt":"2017-04-07T15:06:56","slug":"clifton-volume-7-elementary-my-dear-clifton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2017\/04\/08\/clifton-volume-7-elementary-my-dear-clifton\/","title":{"rendered":"Clifton volume 7: Elementary, My Dear Clifton"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Rodrigue<\/strong> & de Groot<\/strong>, translated by Mark Bence<\/strong> (Cinebook)
\nISBN: 978-1-84918-198-3<\/p>\n

An infallible agent of Her Majesty’s assorted security forces, Clifton<\/strong> was created by Raymond Macherot for the weekly Tintin<\/em><\/strong>. The doughty exemplar of Albion debuted in December 1959, just as a filmic 007<\/strong> was preparing to set the world ablaze and get everyone hooked on spycraft\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

After three albums of strip material – all compiled and released in little more than a year – Macherot defected to arch-rival Spirou<\/em><\/strong> and his bombastic British buffoon was benched. Tintin<\/em><\/strong> reactivated him at the height of the Sixties’ Swinging London scene and that aforementioned spy-craze, courtesy of Jo-El Azaza & Michel R\u00c3\u00a9gnier (code-named Greg to his millions of fans).<\/p>\n

Those strips were subsequently collected as Les lutins diaboliques<\/em><\/strong> in French and De duivelse dwergen<\/em><\/strong> for Dutch-speakers in 1969.<\/p>\n

Then it was back into retirement until 1971 when Greg – with artist Joseph Loeckx – took another shot. They tinkered with the True Brit until 1973 when Bob De Groot & illustrator Philippe \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Turk\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Liegeois fully regenerated the be-whiskered wonder man. After ten more tales, in 1984 artist Bernard Dumont (AKA B\u00c3\u00a9du) limned de Groot’s scripts before eventually assuming the writing chores as well. The series concluded in 1995.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6But You Only Die Twice\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 or thrice, or lots\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

In keeping with its rather haphazard Modus Operandi and indomitably undying nature, the Clifton strip returned yet again in 2003, crafted now by De Groot & Michel Rodrigue for four further adventures. Although the humorous visual vein was still heavily mined in these tales, now the emphasis was subtly shifted and the action\/adventure components strongly emphasised\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Bob de Groot was born in Brussels in 1941, to French and Dutch parents. He became art assistant to Maurice Tillieux on F\u00c3\u00a9lix<\/em>, before creating his own short works for Pilote<\/em><\/strong>. A rising star in the 1960s, he drew 4 \u00c3\u2014 8 = 32 L’Agent Cam\u00c3\u00a9l\u00c3\u00a9on<\/em>, where he met Liegeois, consequently began a slow transition from artist to writer. Together they created Archim\u00c3\u00a8de<\/em>, Robin Dubois<\/em> and L\u00c3\u00a9onard<\/em> before eventually inheriting Macherot’s moribund spy.<\/p>\n

In 1989, de Groot – with Jacques Landrain – devised Digitaline<\/em>, a strong contender for the first comic created entirely on a computer, and co-created Doggyguard<\/em> with Rodrigue, even whilst prolifically working with the legendary Morris on both Lucky<\/strong> Luke <\/strong>and its canine comedy spin-off Rantanplan<\/em>.<\/p>\n

He’s still going strong with strips such as L\u00c3\u00a9onard<\/em> in Eppo<\/em><\/strong>, P\u00c3\u00a8re No\u00c3\u00abl & Fils<\/em> and Le<\/em> Bar des acariens<\/em> (both published by Gl\u00c3\u00a9nat) and so much more.<\/p>\n

Michel Rodrigue was born in Lyon in 1961 and really, really likes Rugby. He pursued higher education at the National School of Fine Arts, where he also studied medieval archaeology and from 1983-85 was part of the French Rugby team. In 1987, he designed France’s mascot for the World Cup.<\/p>\n

His comics debut came in 1984 with sports (guess which one) strip M\u00c3\u00a9zydugnac<\/em> in Midi Olympique<\/strong><\/em>. After illustrating an adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac<\/strong> in 1986 he and collaborator Jean-Claude Vruble produced a volume of La R\u00c3\u00a9volution Fran\u00c3\u00a7aise<\/strong>, scripted by Patrick Cothias.<\/p>\n

Rodrigue then joined Roger Brunel on Rugby<\/em> en B.D.<\/em>, Du Monde dans la Coupe!<\/em>, Concept<\/em>, Le Rugby en Coupe<\/em> and La Foot par la Bande<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For Tintin<\/strong><\/em> he drew Bom’s Les Conspirateurs<\/em> and produced Rugbyman<\/strong><\/em>, the official monthly of the French Rugby Federation, amongst a welter of other strips. Along the way he began scripting too, and, after working with de Groot on Doggyguard<\/em> joined him on the revived Clifton<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

He also remains astonishingly creatively occupied, working on Ly-Noock <\/em>with Andr\u00c3\u00a9 Ch\u00c3\u00a9ret, Br\u00c3\u00a8ves de Rugby<\/em>, La Grande Trambouille des F\u00c3\u00a9es<\/em> for Ren\u00c3\u00a9 Hausmann, Futurama<\/strong> comics, Cubitus<\/em> with Pierre Aucaigne, and many more\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

For Your Eyes Only<\/em>: Pompous, irascible Colonel Sir Harold Wilberforce Clifton<\/em> is ex-RAF, a former officer with the Metropolitan Police Constabulary and recently retired from MI5. He has great difficulty dealing with being put out to pasture in rural Puddington<\/em> and takes every opportunity to get back in the saddle, assisting Her Majesty’s Government or needy individuals as an amateur sleuth whenever the opportunity arises. He occupies his idle hours with as many good deeds as befits a man of his standing and service. He is particularly dedicated to sharing the benefits of organised Scouting with the younger generations\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Originally released as El\u00c3\u00a9mentaire mon cher Clifton<\/em><\/strong> in 2006 this yarn is a little off the far-from-sedentary sleuth’s beaten paths. As the cover and title might lead you to deduce, Elementary, My Dear Clifton<\/strong> takes its lead from that unflinching bastion of British fiction Sherlock Holmes<\/em>, but not quite in the way you might imagine\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

This rollicking caper begins with the old soldier and his svelte sidekick Jade<\/em> inspecting a fleet of outrageously expensive luxury cars before getting into a headbanging prang whilst driving home in Clifton’s own stylish sports-roadster.<\/p>\n

When he regains consciousness, Jade is missing, abducted by a shadowy figure from the vintage car which forced him off the road\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

After another frustrating and infuriating interview with Highway Code martinet and personal gadfly Constable Strawberry<\/em>, Clifton sets in motion the wheels of protocol that will enable his intelligence community contacts to find the missing assistant, before staggering home to bed and passing out.<\/p>\n

Next morning, he finds his multi-talented housekeeper Mrs. Partridge<\/em> chatting with a distinguished gentleman. Clothed in outmoded attire, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the Doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u009d claims to know what’s happened to Jade but if Clifton wants to save her he’ll have to return with him to October 7th<\/sup> 1912\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

The physician claims that he and his partner – a certain unnamed consulting detective – were on the trail of a nefarious inventor named Professor Hamilton<\/em>. That villain was nosing about the preparations for the gala celebrations of a Maharaja on the eve of a sumptuous nuptial event when the Doctor fortuitously trailed him to a warehouse and saw him vanish into a bizarre contraption. Having keenly observed, the stealthy stalker then followed and ended up here and now\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Refusing to believe the cock-and-bull story but equally unable to disprove the evidence before him Clifton eventually concedes defeat and follows the crime doctor back in time and into his strangest adventure ever\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

What follows is a hilarious and gripping romp with eerie personal echoes and foreshadowings for our temporally-misplaced manhunter: a ripping yarn all devotees of crime capers and time travels will love\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Funny, fast and furiously thrill-packed, Elementary, My Dear Clifton<\/strong> reveals hidden depths to our Old Soldier whilst playing deliriously fast and loose with history in the grandly enticing manner of Nicholas Meyer’s Time after Time<\/strong> and Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits<\/strong>; a confection guaranteed to astound and delight thrill and laughter-addicts of every age.
\nOriginal edition \u00c2\u00a9 Les Editions du Lombard (Dargaud-Lombard SA) 2006 by Rodrigue & De Groot. English translation \u00c2\u00a9 2014 Cinebook Ltd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rodrigue & de Groot, translated by Mark Bence (Cinebook) ISBN: 978-1-84918-198-3 An infallible agent of Her Majesty’s assorted security forces, Clifton was created by Raymond Macherot for the weekly Tintin. The doughty exemplar of Albion debuted in December 1959, just as a filmic 007 was preparing to set the world ablaze and get everyone … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Clifton volume 7: Elementary, My Dear Clifton”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[75,63,125,132,169],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-crime-comics","category-european-classics","category-humour","category-older-kids","category-spy-stories"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-4ld","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16691\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}