Blake et Mortimer, tome 1 : Le secret de l'Espadon [Hardcover]

Edgar Pierre Jacobs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 7, 1996

1947. Alors que dans le monde se multiplient les pactes et les conférences destinées à sauvegarder la paix, le mystérieux « Empire Jaune » de Basam Damdu « l'usurpateur », empereur du Tibet, lance une offensive généralisée. En quelques heures, la gigantesque armada anéantit les principales villes de la planète. Paris, Londres, Rome, Bombay, sont réduites à l'état de ruines fumantes, la flotte américaine du Pacifique gît au fond de l'océan, tandis que les couleurs de l'empereur sont hissées par ses parachutistes sur les gratte-ciel du nouveau monde...Cependant, dans la base militaire de Scaw-Fell, en Angleterre, le professeur Mortimer met au point une arme secrète dont la puissance de feu devrait permettre de contrer la fulgurante progression de l'armée « jaune » : l'Espadon.Mis au courrant par ses espions, Olrik, aventurier habile et sans scrupules qui s'est mis au service de l'Usurpateur, attaque la base avec sa flotte aérienne. Le capitaine Blake, de l'Intelligence Service, ainsi que le professeur Mortimer s'enfuient à bord du « Golden Rocket », emportant avec eux les plans de l'Espadon. Ils ne laissent derrière eux que les décombres de Scaw-Fell.Une fantastique poursuite s'engage alors dans les airs et sur terre entre Olrik, qui veut récupérer les plans, et Blake et Mortimer qui tentent de rejoindre une base secrète du Moyen-Orient où, déjà, s'organise la résistance, et où il leur sera possible de mener à bien la construction de l'engin qui représente le dernier espoir du monde libre : l'Espadon...

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 55 pages
• Publisher: Blake et Mortimer (June 7, 1996)
• Language: French
• ISBN-10: 2870970021
• ISBN-13: 978-2870970027
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,927,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you liked Tintin, you'll enjoy Mortimer and Blake!, December 7, 2011

By 

Paul Weiss (Dundas, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blake et Mortimer, tome 1 : Le secret de l'Espadon (Hardcover)

With the imminent release of Steven Spielberg's latest animated movie, there are probably very few North Americans, young and old alike, who are unaware of TINTIN, the world famous creation of Belgian author Hergé, whose classic cartoon albums have sold 350 million copies in over 80 different languages. Most of us however (including myself, I don't mind admitting, until very recently by happy discovery) are unaware of a similar cartoon creation by Hergé's fellow author and contemporary, Edgar Jacobs. Jacob's characters, MORTIMER AND BLAKE, first appeared in the Belgian magazine TINTIN in 1946.

Just as Hergé's stories and Tintin's investigations were children of their times, Jacobs has not hesitated to place his stories firmly in the rapidly chilling climate of the post WWII Cold War in which the Russians and the yellow hordes of the Far East were now seen as megalomaniacal enemies to be feared and stopped at all costs. Jacobs' main characters were Professor Mortimer, a leading physicist of Scottish descent and the stereotypical British gentlemen; Captain Blake, a Welsh born officer in Her Majesty's armed forces, later head of MI5; and, finally, the villainous Captain Olrick, head of intelligence for the Oriental dictator and would-be ruler of the world, Basam Damdu.

LE SECRET DE L'ESPADON, TOME 1 (The Secret of the Swordfish, Vol 1), opens as Basam Damdu and Captain Olrick unleash a virulent attack on the world. One after another - Paris, London, Rome, Bombay - the world's greatest cities are reduced to smouldering rubble. Narrowly escaping the bombing of Scawfell, a military base in England, Blake and Mortimer flee in the "Golden Rocket" with top-secret plans to a powerful new weapon - Swordfish - probably the world's last and only chance to turn back certain defeat by the "Golden Empire". But Olrick is hard on their heels, engaging in a desperate chase to capture Mortimer and Blake and recover the secret plans. Not surprisingly, Volume 1 ends on a cliff-hanger with the yellow forces cornering Mortimer and Blake on the second story of their hotel and bursting into their room. Of course, we won't find out what happens next until Volume 2.

Exciting stuff indeed that will appeal to readers both young and young at heart. Despite the level of war-oriented violence, I found nothing sufficiently graphic that, in my opinion, would render this comic album inappropriate for virtually any age. Very enjoyable indeed. I look forward to Volume 2.

Paul Weiss