HERMANN ◊ - Lot 12

HERMANN ◊ COMANCHE The Wolves of Wyoming (T.3), Le Lombard 1974 Original plate no. 42, prepublished in Le Journal de Tintin Belge no. 43, October 26, 1972. Traces of glue and superficial soiling on spine. on the back of the plate. India ink on paper 36 × 47.5 cm (14.17 × 18.7 in.) Another magnificent key plate in the series, the one in which Brian Braggshaw, a.k.a. "The Preacher", is left to die, literally destroyed by the last of the Dobbs brothers. The scene, at sunset, is pathetic. It starts with a diving shot, crushing Dust as he is thrown to the ground in the fight. He has done nothing and sees the last of the killers flee, promising to return. A convincing threat. He struggles to his feet, the low angle measuring his overwhelm. Then he discovers the preacher, his neck broken, at death's door. The preacher convinces Dust that he must eliminate the last of the killers for peace to return. This murder takes place in the next album: The Sky is Red over Laramie. The immoralism displayed by Hermann, but also by Greg, then both Comanche scriptwriter and editor-in-chief of Journal de Tintin, struck a chord with readers at the time. He produced this superb anthology page.