Limited to 375 copies!
The plates of the album have been scanned and printed in four colors for a facsimile reproduction of the originals, the retouching and all the details (which are lost during reduction or coloring) will be visible, the printing is made in HUV for an astonishing rendering and blacks of incomparable density.
All 57 original plates in facsimile reproduction. 43 pages of color graphic notebook containing research and unpublished illustrations! A screen-printed ex-libris, format 27 x 36, 3 passages produced by the Expérience house, it is signed by Olivier Schwartz, A 2nd book! of 60 pages in A4 format, all in color, containing in facsimile, all the penciled pages of Olivier Schwartz. This version includes previously unseen scenes cut in the final version.
- Editions Black and White, March 2024
- ISBN 978-2-38363-074-6
- 30×40 cm (12″ x 16″), 96 pages, hardcover
- 199,00 €
- Order online: Collector BD, Editions Black and White
As with all AE format material (Artist’s Editions, Artifact Editions, Gallery Editions, Art Editions, Studio Editions, etc.), this is a collection of classic comic material and I’ll be reviewing the book and not the story. For a complete list of all current and announced editions, with review links, please visit our Index. Also, see What is an Artist’s Edition and our Artist Index. This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
Prepare yourself for this deluxe package: the inked original art in oversized hardcover, a smaller softcover of the penciled art, and a signed and numbered print. Not only do we get the full 57 page story, but there is also “le dossier” filled with roughs, character designs, covers, and lots of extras. It’s a numbered edition of 375, mine being 222. The signature plate on the book’s colophon is glued in and contains only the signature. The edition numbed is stamped lower. My same edition number appears on the print’s margin in pencil, but this time the number isn’t written on the box’s sticker which has ” /375″.
The book has this note: “Olivier Schwartz’s original plates are reduced to 85.5% of their actual size“. I wonder why they were reduced?
Let’s start with the hardcover. The art presents without issue: no artifacts or loss of clarity. Blue pencil used in every word balloon for even dialogue. Inks show no gradients. Very few margin notes, but I did see a cool Dupuis stamp on the bottom corner of several pages. Correction fluid used to break the inks.
The softcover notebook has the full pencils. I can’t believe Schwartz lays everything out with such detail and includes the word balloons. Graphite and blue pencils throughout, plus coloured pencils on the occasional page. It’s worth taking the time and comparing each penciled page to its inked counterpart. On the softcover’s colophon we get this note: “This edition of Olivier Schwartz’s pencil pages for La Mort De Spirou is an exclusive supplement which accompanies the de luxe print published by Editions Black and White and under no circumstances can it be sold separately“.
It’s a wonderful design. A quarterbound cloth spine with hot stamping. Or is that production, or a combination of both? One colour palate was used throughout the interior to great effect. The orange from the cover and endpapers is swapped for red, which seems an odd choice when either could have moved from the cover throughout. I appreciate the notes above pieces in the dossier to identify them for the readers.
Production is excellent: a sewn binding of thicke matte paper, 150gsm. Pages lay flat after smoothing the center. The binding is quite relaxed. The notebook is a glued softcover with thin paper. Everything comes in a cardboard case with some bubble wrap to keep the notebook from sliding, and the case bears a colour sticker with the frontispiece image, ISBN with barcode, and edition count. As experienced before, the cardboard case is bigger than the book and a small foam block is inserted at the bottom the keep the book from moving.
I am cutting back on European AE format books as the cost, shipping, and duty is really adding up. I knew I wanted this volume but I sat on it for a while and eventually ordered it, and then that same week found Spirou La femme léopard Edition spéciale so I received two Olivier Schwartz volumes this month!
This one is called a “tirage de luxe” which also covers black and white oversized books. I wish we could get some standard term in play across European publishers. I search for “planches originales” in solicitations and hope for the best.
