Intermezzo: Marshal Blueberry Blueberry (comics)

—vance, 1996, on experiences working on marshal blueberry.

this spin-off series second attempt, time alpen publishers, further capitalize on huge popularity both main, , wilson s blueberry series enjoyed @ time. written co-creator giraud, series set around events depicted in lost dutchman s mine , dealt scrupulous gun runners arming apaches, thereby instigating uprising. chosen publisher art work william vance, accomplished belgian comic artist in own right , renowned xiii comic series. vance, whom giraud had virtually no dealings in person, drew first 2 outings in series, declined afterwards continue, partly because required finish album in 4 months (in europe, 1 year typical mean complete comic book of 48 pages, not exceeds time span in recent decades) , unaccustomed giraud s style script writer. additionally, though first book sold 100.000 copies (while respectable, relatively modest compared contemporary print runs of 2 other series, being printed in numbers @ least double that), fans received book mixed feelings vance s style radical departure tastes of giraud. part of reasons why wilson s work young blueberry favorably received , partly reason why blanc-dumont s not. while conceding found vance s particular style seductive artificial – having been pleased first album, less second – , giraud himself disappointed , hurt defection of professional established vance reasons of aesthetics , integrity, wanted series executed 1 artist, deeming defection disastrous series. unresolved story cycle lingered in limbo 7 years, before giraud in person found fr:michel rouge – style closer – willing finish cycle.

that rouge s style resembled of giraud, hardly surprise, rouge not stranger blueberry. twenty years earlier, when rouge still quite unknown , aspiring comic artist, giraud took him on apprentice , had him ink pages 15–35 of la longue marche in 1980 – thereby doing aspiring artist jijé had done him 2 decades before that. @ time gave rise rumor giraud planning abandon co-creation , rouge groomed take on series. though rumor, there nuanced morsel of truth in it, rouge clarified 2 decades later, no, did not want abandon blueberry, rather sought support , perhaps opportunity create books, ones doing [mister blueberry]. @ time, playing notion of doing parallel series. though not blueberry, rouge did take on other famed contemporary franco-belgian western comic series, hermann s comanche. unfortunately, rouge not able regain popularity series once enjoyed, when still penciled hermann, , series suspended indefinitely after rouge had added 5 titles series. rouge s words notwithstanding though, , while has never acted upon in earnest, giraud did later admit there temptations in period of time.

originally intended become full-fledged series, 3 marshal blueberry titles have remained outings in series, though have seen several foreign language publications. although not in france itself, several european countries have seen serialized magazine pre-publication of first 2 titles. third 2000 title though, invariably directly released in book format virtually countries. no english language editions released. incidentally, in 2013 giraud returned favor vance had provided co-creation, when took on art work of volume 18 xiii series, , has seen english translations.

jean giraud , william vance, page layout rené follet

1: sur ordre de washington (alpen publishers, 1991/11, isbn 2731609885)
2: mission sherman (alpen publishers, 1993/06, oclc 801093625)

jean giraud , michel rouge

3: frontière sanglante (dargaud, 2000/06, isbn 2205042777)




^ ledoux, 2003, p. 66 (quoted winter 1996 sapristi!, issue 36, magazine interview)
^ cite error: named reference telegraaf invoked never defined (see page).
^ ledoux, 2003, p. 66
^ svane, 2003, p. 38; sadoul, 2015, p. 221
^ svane, 2003, pp. 71-72
^ svane, 2003, pp. 68-73
^ svane, 2003, p. 39
^ cite error: named reference croa invoked never defined (see page).