JACQUES MARTIN - Alix - The Etruscan Tomb - Lot 298

JACQUES MARTIN - Alix - The Etruscan Tomb JACQUES MARTIN Alix - The Etruscan Tomb. Casterman, 1968. In-4 hardback, boards illustrated in color. Eighth album in the mythical historical saga of Alix, originally prepublished in Tintin in 1967. The plot plunges the young Gallo-Roman hero into the heart of Etruria, where ancient traditions and deep-seated resentment towards Roman domination persist. There, Alix discovers a fearsome secret organization, the "Moluochs", devoted to human sacrifice hidden deep in ancient tombs, and must set out to save a young girl from a tragic end. Jacques Martin creates a fantastic, nocturnal atmosphere, drawing on the mysterious aesthetics of Etruscan funerary art. The first plate offers a remarkable composition, playing on the striking contrast between the half-light of the foreground, dominated by a giant statue, and the ochre light projected onto the frescoes of the burial chamber. Justification and dating page : CASTERMAN 1968 - Translation and reproduction rights reserved for all countries. Second cover: column-type catalog listing 10 titles, ending with Iorix le Grand (published in 1972). This offset indicates an early '70s reprint by Casterman. Note the small old handwritten notches in pencil in front of almost all the titles on the second-floor list. Copy in good condition. Solid period boards. The first cover remains fresh, with beautiful, dense, warm colors in the central part. Slight wear and tear to corners and headpieces of red paper spine. The interior is clean, sound and complete, with no erasures or tears. A fine copy of this flagship title with its singular atmosphere. A great classic of Franco-Belgian historical comics.