BAR2 - Lot 24

BAR2 JOE BAR TEAM Volume 1, Vents d'Ouest, 1990 Hillclimb, original plate no. 32, prepublished in Moto Journal 1989-1990. Signed. India ink and white gouache on paper 35.5 × 42 cm (13.98 × 16.54 in.) This lot is the first plate in the story entitled Jeannot pilote de course (a story which, it should be remembered, is spread over four pages). And the least we can say is that everything in this plate, from the dialogues to the very revealing "crouïk" that gushes from Jeannot's guts, smacks of real life. Which is hardly surprising, given that the author confided to us that, in his youth, he had tried his hand at competition for some time. "That's right. And I know all about pre-race jitters! Because, not content with being one of the slowest drivers, I was also the emotional and cuddly type. Unlike Jeannot, however, I've never taken part in a hill-climb (a hill-climb is a time trial run on a winding, uphill stretch of road). I chose this setting for Jeannot's first official competition because, it seemed to me, speedway racing was too far removed from the world and spirit of my comic strip. What's more, in the 1970s, numerous events of this type were organized all over the country, allowing local "handlebar terrors" to compete at a lower cost. Hillclimbing was therefore an integral part of the motorcycling folklore of the time, and as such, it was imperative that a gag revolving around it feature in my album."