In fiction, in most cases it works like this: the hero wants something, gets into trouble, has to overcome a number of obstacles, often this is accompanied by a fight against a crook, and at the end he or she reaches the goal with which it all began. But every now and then you come across a story like ‘Marée Basse'. This graphic novel starts in the classic way. A pretty young sailor gets into trouble and is picked up by a large cargo ship. It soon appears that the motive for this rescue is not humanitarian. We have a hero, we have a villain and we have the first obstacle; it’s a bit difficult to escape when you’re on the high seas. But after 20 pages, if things start to get exciting, scriptwriter Daniel Pecqueur seems to start a completely different story. Slowly it turns out that a completely different person plays the leading role in this graphic novel.
With this part of the series Long Courrier, Pecqueur proves to be a brilliant screenwriter. He knows how to fascinate me from start to finish. I continuously wonder where this story is this going. There seems to be a deeper message hidden, but what? It seems clear at the end, but I am sure that if I read this graphic novel for a second time I will certainly be as fascinated just as much as the first time. And I will probably also discover new things in it as well. But not only the story structure is very good. The dialogues are also flawless and there are some nice chuckle moments. Anyone who has ever seen a thriller or horror movie knows that it is not so wise to call your dubious host a fool and then volunteer to go to to the hold of the ship.
This is certainly not Pecqueur's ignorance. When this moment occurs we already know that our pretty sailor is not stupid and has already realized that something is not right on this ship. Not only does Pecqueur use this cliché as a joke, he also prepares the reader carefully for the fact that she is not the protagonist.
The beautiful realistic drawings by Jean-Pierre Gibrat make this graphic novel complete. Gibrat knows how to translate the sometimes bizarre elements in the story into visual language. The style reminds me a bit of that of Manara.
To my knowledge this is the only time that Gibrat and Pecqueur have worked together, but I do not think I am the only one who would like to see this combination again.
