Beltran, Fred - 1 Original page - Megalex - 2006

Megalex (literally: the Great Law), a series in the vein of the jodorowskian universes of the Incal, the Metabarons, and the Technomancers. The story of a rebellion, on a totalitarian planet that Queen Marea has transformed into an immense and singular city, where reproduction is forbidden and where growing the slightest plant is a crime. Light-years away from nature, citadins are born in test tubes and their lifespans depend on their social rank. But this new order is challenged by rebels, by "objecteurs", whose struggle forms the framework of the series and who are led by a hero, Zéraïn.

For volumes 1 and 2, the entire planet and everything on it were modeled in 3D by Fred Beltran, who then drew from this virtual database to compose his settings, his layouts, and his panels, which he completed and finalized entirely with a graphics tablet. This process, far from producing a cold and smooth work, led to two magnificent albums, with strong imagery and a striking impact.

For the third volume from which this panel is taken, Fred Beltran once again wanted to change his technique, return to Chinese ink, and make use of the experience he gained on the series Les Technopères (digital coloring and page layout based on a very solid black-and-white). This has been achieved and beyond any expectation. Fred Beltran has never drawn so well and has never mastered black and white so thoroughly.

As for the page itself, in a large format, consisting of two large panels, Fred Beltrán demonstrates several of his many qualities: drawing virtuosity, evocative power, the intensity of the gazes, young women who are beautiful, sexy, and buxom, strength and subtlety in the inking, etc. This magnificent page is presented on the following site, in Spanish: http://www.cuevadelobo.com/megalex-lo-nuevo-de-jodorowsky-y-beltran/