VANCE - Lot 123

VANCE WILLIAM VANCE XIII The Day of the Black Sun (T.1), Dargaud 1984 Original plate no. 17, prepublished in Le Journal de Spirou n° 2409 of June 14, 1984. Signed. India ink on paper 35.4 × 49.4 cm (13.94 × 19.45 in.) This is a key sequence in the XIII saga, since it's the first lead XIII follows to discover his identity and the reason why he has a horde of killers on his trail. The Roman numeral XIII on his shoulder, the gray trace of a scar on his temple, his fighting skills and incredible reflexes show that he is no ordinary character. Every new step he takes in the investigation adds a new mystery. Jean van Hamme rediscovers the good old tricks of the 19th-century soap opera writers. When I start the series," confides the scriptwriter, "I don't know where it's going to lead. In the beginning, you always hope that it's going to go on for several volumes, but you don't know where it's going. And I confess, to my great shame, or to my great pleasure, that when I finished this first episode, I had no idea what was going to happen in the second. William Vance is at the top of his game. The sets, both sober and elaborate, set a crazy atmosphere. Of course, readers will be clamoring for Volume 2!