BAR2 - Lot 6

BAR2 JOE BAR TEAM Volume 5, Vents d'Ouest, 2003 4 tronches, original illustration for the title page of volume 5, reused at the author's request for reprints of Volume 1. Signed. India ink on paper 29.7 × 21 cm (11.69 × 8.27 in.) These "four faces", as Bar2 calls the "trombinoscope" of his four heroes, first appeared on the title page of Volume 5, and are different from those that illustrated the title page of the first editions of Volume 1. "I wasn't very happy with the first version of these drawings. Over time, my technique progressed, my characters' faces evolved, and when I finished Volume 5, I didn't really want to use the first version of these "four faces" to illustrate the title page. So I redrew them. And I'm glad I did, because they're much better than the previous ones. Which were closer to the Freak Brothers than to characters drawn by a disciple of Franquin. The ones presented here are much better made. That said, whether it's Volume 1 or 5, I've often had problems with these faces. Edouard's, in particular. His huge nose - the biggest, I think, of the "big nose" comics - meant I couldn't show him from the front. Otherwise, Édouard's face would have been completely hidden by his enormous tarbouif. And even from other angles, it wasn't always easy to deal with such a voluminous nasal appendage. But I like them, my four scatterbrains. In the long run, and even though I've only made two albums, their faces have become as familiar to me as those of old pals. I'd go so far as to say that I've become very attached to them.