JEAN GRATON (ne en 1923) Lot n° 32

■ λ Michel Vaillant - Le 13 est au départ India ink on paper for the end plate. Signed, 46x35 cm. Lombard, 1963. Jean GRATON (born in 1923) Is Jean Graton, the most famous author expert in motor sports, superstitious? One can doubt it, because it was on a Friday the 13th of the year 1951 that he presented himself at the World Press agency in Brussels, which allowed him to make his dream come true: to make comic strips come true. The other important 13 in his life is certainly the album, Le 13 est au départ. Never in his previous stories had Jean Graton created such suspense. From the dark dream of Michel Vaillant's mother on the first page, to the very last pages of the story, the suspense rises to a crescendo, to the level of irrational anguish that Michel himself begins to feel, normally so imperturbable. Not content to show the backstage of the Vaillant factory and the team's town cars, Le 13 est au départ also stands out because, for the first time, the plot revolves around a single race despite the 62 plates. An appealing choice just after the previous Night Road, which did not include motor racing. This time, Graton introduces another key element, a certain Françoise Latour, who will become the wife of the champion. All this is revealed in this last album plate, surprisingly voluble because of the revelations and the final touch of humour. A memorable plate, which concludes with a chequered flag and a humming sound characteristic of Jean Graton's typography. To bid, please visit the "Sales Information" section.