Preview: Before Blake & Mortimer Came ‘The U-Ray’ — E.P. Jacobs’ Pulp Classic Reprinted At Last

Originally published in 1943, EP Jacobs‘ U Ray is where this master of ligne claire began…

EP Jacobs’ Blake & Mortimer are legends of Euro Comics, the Ninth Art – a quintessentially British post-WWII adventures written and drawn by this Belgian comic maker, relative of Hergé, collaborator on several Tintin volumes.

But before Jacobs’ work on Blake & Mortimer made his name as one of the pillars of ligne claire, we had Jacobs’ first solo work, a war-time replacement for Flash Gordon in occupied Belgium. That, as you might well expect, was The U Ray.

U Ray was Jacobs creating something that filled in the gaps left by the loss of Flash Gordon in occupied Belgium, but although there are many, many familiar point between the two, this wasn’t simply something sci-fi to take the place of Flash Gordon, no direct copy. Instead, he came up with U Ray, a comic that has, by now, achieved something of a mythical status. Originally published with text boxes below the art, similar to what was done with Prince Valiant, it was reformatted by Jacobs in 1974, and that’s the version that’s now been translated by Cinebook.

Sure, the similarities to Flash Gordon are all there and the content is very much of its time, but the greatness of The U Ray comes from Jacobs’ artwork, those meticulous, precise lines and colours, the incredible style that fills every page, and the sheer beauty of the work, it really is a Euro classic.

Anyway, here’s what to expect with U Ray.. from the Cinebook PR…

‘The nation of Norlandia is in conflict with its powerful rival Austradia. The eminent Professor Marduk is tasked by the High Council of Norlandia with militarising a major scientific discovery: the U Ray. However, doing so will require finding a deposit of Uradium, the ore needed to power the ray. And the only known deposit is in an unexplored volcanic archipelago. An expedition is quickly put together, but in the shadows, the Austradian intelligence services are waiting for the moment to act…’

Before Blake & Mortimer – The U Ray –

Written and drawn by E.P. Jacobs
Out now from Cinebook