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In March 2001, Albin Michel started to publish a series of comics in the 'clear line' style: Le Tombeau de Raskhenotep, Rendez-vous a Dunmhor & La Malediction des Massais, all three written with what was to be Tintin in the Tibet's new typography, including the funny long z's*. See pages on http://www.bdnet.com/zi/bdweb/images/17/9782226132178_pg.jpg dunmhor http://www.bdnet.com/zi/bdweb/images/10/9782226121103_pg.jpg elephantine
and http://vbg.free.fr/images/scott-planche.jpg cairo

Dargaud publishers considered this was an unfair competition against the Blake & Mortimer albums by E.P.Jacobs; an agreement was made, that wasn't fully respected by Albin Michel, thus all three books were banned by a French court in July 2005 -a most rare event when it comes to comics.
see judgment on http://www.lextenso.com/lextenso/site/chronique_file_copyright.php?IdC hron=331 (bottom)

NB: all 'plagiarized' stories took place mainly in Scotland (about 90% of all 138 pages), with castles on imaginary islands off the NW coast, and a gorilla meant to keep people away... Reminds me of someone different from B&M!

In Science et Vie (April 2002, special issue 'Tintin chez les savants'), the article 'Une histoire de fous' (A Madmen's Story) shows the frame from The Crab with the Golden Claws with Haddock saying 'Je vais la deboucher' (I'm going to uncork it, p.32-D2), written with the very same special digitized* characters as those seen in re-lettered* Tibet.
Strangely, this album isn't yet available in French with this type of lettering; 4 years passed by, though...

Please did anyone notice any other occurrences of this special typography?
Thanks in advance.

* please search for related threads.

Sorry to go a little off topic, but you said 'french courts', does that mean that they can be published elsewhere as they look interesting.

I'm not really qualified to answer this question, but there's a former much less serious case: 1996' Blake & Mortimer cover to L'Affaire Francis Blake was banned (the story was OK!) 'in Belgium' by a local court, thus implicitly authorized in other countries.
Someone selling this faulty book in Belgium would be fined 250 euros per album !
About the trial, see http://www.actuabd.com/article.php3?id_article=1357

About the various covers (13, 13a & 13b), see
http://www.bedetheque.com/serie-1850-BD-Blake-et-Mortimer-(Editions-Bl ake-et-Mortimer)__4.html

Imho, one can reasonably doubt the so-called 'unfair' B&M's imitations done in 2001-2003 by Frederic Marniquet would be allowed in languages already used for B&M comics' translations, but who knows? Maybe you could ask the publishers directly?

When I was in France last, a few years ago now, I saw those 'Adventures de Scott et Hasting' and was astonished at how they looked like out-of-key Blake & Mortimer (and I hated the lettering). But there was something intriguing about them, and I don't know what the stories were like - any good? They were by Frederic Marniquet who also did 'Les Adventures de Sean MacGregor' - another Scottish detective-type.

yamilah
1996' Blake & Mortimer cover to L'Affaire Francis Blake was banned (the story was OK!) 'in Belgium' by a local court, thus implicitly authorized in other countries.
Someone selling this faulty book in Belgium would be fined 250 euros per album !

Thanks for that, Yamilah - I didn't know about that. Was there a reason given for the ban - the cover being printed back to front, or the lack of the headshot logo in the corner? Bizarre all the same ...

tybaltstone wrote: I saw those 'Adventures de Scott et Hasting' and was astonished at how they looked like out-of-key Blake & Mortimer (and I hated the lettering). But there was something intriguing about them, and I don't know what the stories were like - any good?

The drawings are often clumsy, the lettering is typographic, the scenario is sometimes awkward and exaggerated, but the British atmosphere sounds appropriate. Thanks to the ban, these books became collectibles: Raskhenotep can now be found for up to 150 euros, hence over ten times its original selling price.

Richard wrote: Was there a reason given for the ban

All three covers clearly did mention the new authors' names in the title's box, but still:
- the first cover used to read wrongly 'Les Aventures de B&M' de E.P.Jacobs, see http://www.bedetheque.com/Couvertures/blakeetmortimer13_edbm.jpg
- cover 13a. doesn't mention E.P.Jacobs at all, see
http://www.bedetheque.com/Couvertures/blakeetmortimer13a.jpg
- cover 13b. respects the final version of the wishes of the concerned 'Fondation':
'Les Aventures de B&M' d'apres les personnages de E.P.Jacobs, see
http://www.bedetheque.com/Couvertures/BlakeEtMortimer13_08092005.jpg


UPDATE: Posted: 27 Nov 2006 19:45:07
I just read Farr's book in French again and noticed the digitized typography (with the long z's) can be seen on page 52, in the reproduced page 22 of Le Lotus bleu, and nowhere else.
In the book Tintin chez les savants, a unique frame with this typography is the one with Tintin dreaming he's caught in a bottle of wine in Le Crabe aux pinces d'or (p.32-D3), reproduced in chapter 'Une histoire de fous' by psychonalyst S.Tisseron*.

Farr's book was published in French in 2001, and since then not a single original Tintin album -not even Le Lotus bleu or Le Crabe aux pinces d'or- was modified: none came out with the digitized typography.

Which English versions can now be found with the 'new' typography? All of them?

Thanks in advance.

--
[Moderator action: combined 2 consecutive posts.]

yamilah
Which English versions can now be found with the 'new' typography? All of them?


Yes, they've all (Congo-Picaros) been digitally relettered. The font's been used before in the recent English books about Tintin too (Tintin at Sea, Complete Companion).

One more occurrence of digitized typography can be spotted in Tintin and Alph-art, 2004 French version: this special writing is used in explicative texts only -i.e. not for dialogues.

Only two long z's feature in short sentences connected with Tintin's inquiry about "solar power", on p.34 & 35.
What about the English version?
Thanks in advance.


Thus it seems only 3 books in French are connected with a lettering that shows 3-shaped long z's:

- Lotus (1 page, in 2001' Farr's book)
- Crabe (1 frame, in a 2002' magazine)
- Alph-art (whole book, 2004' new edition)

But to date the new typography doesn't feature in any completed 'French' book.
Thanks for reporting any new finding.

yamilah
Only two long z's feature in short sentences connected with Tintin's inquiry about "solar power", on p.34 & 35.
What about the English version?

The English edition is typeset differently; the narrative texts in between the speech are in the same typeface as the dialogue, just in grey and italics.

The new typography is used in the titles (top left of the pages, on a yellow backdrop) but looks a little clumsy at that size.