By Sente & Juillard
Publisher: Cinebook
ISBN: 9781849180948
It’s hard to put your finger on quite why Blake and Mortimer are as successful as they are. To modern eyes the characters are anachronisms, particularly with their attitudes and facial hair, but for some reason the sum is greater than the parts. There is no doubt that the plot stretches scientific credulity, but what the modern creators of Jacobs classic duo understand is not to bring modern sensibilities to the world in which Blake and Mortimer inhabit, because to do so would shatter the storytelling and render it all useless. Instead we get scientific devices, prehistoric cultures and a villain who re-appears as if on elastic that work because there’s an air of naivety in their construction that deliberately mirrors the broader understanding of science and history of the period. Because of this Blake and Mortimer are able to have the outlandish adventures that are denied more contemporary characters and it all works magnificently.
The Gondwana Shrine follows on directly from The Sarcophagi of the Sixth Continent, and things haven't going well for Mortimer since his return. He’s feeling run down and is very forgetful to the point of being an amnesiac over aspects of his life. His doctor prescribes rest, but instead he finds his interest piqued when his friend Nastasia brings him some results of a patterned rock they returned from Antarctica with. This leads them to discover a newspaper article about a German man who has discovered a similarly patterned ring in Nairobi, and so all thoughts of rest are put to one side and, with Blake in Paris, Mortimer, Nastasia and an old friend of Mortimer’s are off to Africa.
However, during this time, a mysterious man has been paying them a lot of attention and is following up their every step. Once in Nairobi this man strips off his disguise (regular readers won’t require any hints as to the face) and teams up with some old comrades to follow and potentially intercept Mortimer’s party. What follows is rather a shocking loss of local wildlife (again, this story should be perceived with 1950s’ eyes) and the discovery of a hidden complex deep beneath a crater and a secret that’s been kept for millions of years.
I really enjoyed the twist towards the end which turns the whole scenario on its head and is an absolute credit to the creative team. Sente and Juillard, and in their turn Van Hamme and Benoit, are accomplishing an extraordinary feat in keeping this series alive with such careful sensitivity and thought so that it sits perfectly within the world Jacobs imagined for it. It’s daring, extremely bold, and a whole lot of fun.
And if you liked that: Pick up Edgar P Jacobs’ original story the Atlantis Mystery next
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