Mer Noire

Largo Winch #17

by Jean Van Hamme, Philippe Francq (Illustrator)

Largo Winch est impliqué malgré lui dans une affaire de trafic d'armes et de terrorisme international. Cible d'adversaires très organisés, Largo se retrouve avec le FBI aux trousses. Pour comprendre ce qui se passe, il n'a pas le choix : direction les ports de la mer noire, où les eaux sont manifestement des plus troubles...

Genres: Bande Dessinée, Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Adventure, Action, Fiction

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Jean Van Hamme, is a Belgian novelist and comic book writer. He has written scripts for a number of Belgian/French comic series, including Histoire sans héros, Thorgal, XIII, Blake and Mortimer, Lady S and Largo Winch.

More on the brilliant, Jean Van Hamme:
http://lambiek.net/artists/v/van-hamm...

Reviews

[Des Bladet]

Now this one is actually good, in that intercontinentally incoherent James-Bond-y sort of way. And it manages to achieve a reasonable degree of closure *and* end on a cliffhanger so now I want to read volume 18.

[Koen Claeys]

Het herlezen van deze reeks is als het nemen van een tijdreis. In 2010 speelt Van Hamme in op de gevolgen van de beurscrash van 2008. Deze keer vangt het album aan met een pagina uitleg over de vastgoedbubbel, redelijk snel gevolgd door enkele pagina's uit Newsweek, een interview met Largo over de gevolgen van de economische crisis die velen naar het bankroet hebben geleid. Wat volgt wijkt echter niet af van wat in vorige albums gebeurde : samenzweringen, machtspelletjes, spectaculaire actie, mooie vrouwen,.... allemaal prachtig op strippagina's getoverd door de immer fantastische Philippe Francq.
Wel straf dat de verhalen voorlopig even sterk blijven boeien ondanks (of dankzij ?) het déjà-vu-gehalte.

[Mykhailo Gasyuk]

Стартує як щось про банківську кризу, з величезним шматком тексту від Вінча його співробітникам. Далі вбивство директора департамента торгового флота, натяки на майбутню зустріч з незаконними торговцями зброєю. І трохи справ у Швейцарії, які з цим пов’язані. Халепа вимальовується, але поганці лише на початку цієї частини були активними… Що ж, найцікавіше, мабуть, знову у другій частині арки. І є вірогідність знову відчути розчарування.

[Aljoša Harlamov]

Zgodba sama po sebi ni nezanimiva, razen da se prehitro razvija in si ne vzame časa ne za potrebno vzdušje ne akcijo. In da zaenkrat kaže, da je v ozadju nova zarota proti Largu. Kar bi bila že peta ali šesta v tej seriji. Okoliščine so sicer nekoliko drugačne kot navadno, dogaja se med drugim na ladji itd., ampak nastavljena past in beg pred policijo se res že preveč ponavlja.

[Greg Trosclair]

Largo Winch stories are awesome. I find it sad that it has not found a larger American audience. Every story is solidly planned out the art work is gorgeous and I always finish a story line wanting for more.

[StrictlySequential ArtNarrative]

It's stuck in the smaller book format of Cinebook but it remains an excellent series in story and art. Highly recommended. Van Hamme is consistently clever and Franq renders well his wide range of women.

[Simon Chadwick]

Cold Black Sea underscores the strength of the Largo Winch books as Largo returns for another instalment of intrigue, murder and manipulation set against the backdrop of big global business. The book opens by addressing the recent global economic crisis and its causes, and while I’m sure in many creators' hands this would kill the story dead before it had even begun, what we get is something that immediately pricks your attention and makes it something that's related directly to the reader.

Somebody has blackmailed Largo’s banker into giving them access to Largo’s accounts and the resulting transactions, coupled with a shocking murder at an informal gathering, place the W Group billionaire under some serious scrutiny by the authorities. Although it looks as if his lawyer may have side-stepped the initial problem, Largo takes the opportunity to slip away and visit Lucerne to get some answers. What he reveals is a plot to manipulate and possibly discredit him plus what looks like something sinister going on involving shipping.

Aided by Silky and Simon, Largo’s attempts at revealing more bring him to the attention of an official who feels wronged by him in the past, and, ultimately to the container ship Mataya.

Does it matter that the plot, once again, has Largo on the run trying to clear his name? Well, maybe, but the intelligent and sometimes complex approach of the storytelling deftly steers your expectations elsewhere and rewards your patience and commitment every time. Largo is a billionaire with a conscience, who doesn’t exploit and celebrate his wealth but who appreciates the source of his good fortune and those that rely upon it. He is portrayed as a sympathetic, thoughtful but hard-headed individual which keeps you rooting for him panel after panel, page after page. The fact that it’s so effortlessly illustrated in such fabulous detail only enhances the drama.

In an era of box-set binging, you wouldn’t be doing yourself a disservice to gorge on the entire Largo Winch run to date. There’s little else out there to touch it.

[Merve]

I read this because a friend bought it twice. on general it's an ok read. the graphics are not my favourite though, a little bit old school. but the story board seems promising. I still have the next one to go; will see :)