Lorg - 1 Original page - Christophe Colomb - 1992

This scene depicts the attack suffered by the young Christopher Columbus off the coast of Portugal by Franco-Portuguese corsairs (here called 'barbaresques' in a romanticized extension). This dramatic event, in which his ship is sunk and he barely escapes by swimming to shore, occurs at the very beginning of his seafaring life. It is the opening pages of Volume 1: First Voyage, released in 1992. For historical anecdote, Jijé had initially drawn a first complete version of this biography of Christopher Columbus during World War II, published in Spirou magazine between 1942 and 1943, then issued as a single album by Dupuis in 1946. As the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America (1492–1992) approached, the publisher Hélyode wanted to reissue this work. The original plates from 1946 having been misplaced or destroyed, the publisher entrusted Jijé's son, Lorg, with the task of redrawing and entirely reconstructing the plates, drawing on his father's initial work while bringing his own style. Maritime battles like this are among the visually most sought-after scenes.