Written by: Philippe Delzenne
Illustrations: Philippe Delzenne
Coloring: Agnes Nys
Publisher: Ballon Media
Jommeke #277 De Babbelpil – De Bling Bling Editie – Comic Book Review
Even though Jommeke is turning 60 this year, his appearance hasn’t really changed over the years. This boy with everlasting youth is once again ready to dive into a new adventure with us, together with the many companions who joined his adventurous crusade over the years. We hope we still get to see this Belgian icon for many years to come, but for now we were very curious about the ‘Bling Bling’ edition of this 277th album.
The beloved countess Elodie’s birthday is right around the corner and everyone in Zonnedorp is frantically looking for a present to give this lovely lady. Whilst some inhabitants have very beautiful ideas, others are not so grand and luckily there are many spouses who can talk sense into their counterparts to just stick with a nice box of pralines. As expected, Elodie’s husband Odilon pulls out all the stops and buys his treasured wife a beautiful diamond necklace. Sadly for the small count, Anatool, the evil butler, was lurking around the corner and is already scheming on how to steal the diamond to become rich quickly. Of course, Anatool has an original plan, namely training a magpie to fly to Elodie and Odilon’s estate and snatch the diamond from her neck. Training the bird proves to be harder than expected, as something seems to be lost in translation, but an opportunity will soon arise.
Whilst Elodie’s birthday is a very joyous occasion, Tobias, Odilon’s precious pooch has been sad for quite some time, but seeing humans can’t really speak with dogs he can’t tell Odilon what he truly feels. Then Jommeke and his friends just remembered that the professor has a special item that allows humans and animals to speak with each other. When Jommeke asks professor Gobelijn for help, Gobelijn immediately tries to present Jommeke with an even better solution, namely the ‘Babbelpil’ (talking pill), which links the animal to its owner, thus allowing them to chat for 24 hours. But we’ve learned that even though Gobelijn’s inventions might be revolutionary, there are often a few small flaws that present the user with some minor problems.
This album has an amusing pace, albeit a very predictable one at times. Of course the plot twist that occurs halfway the album makes this a rather amusing comic book for a younger audience. Even though some ‘scenes’ could have been handled in a shorter fashion, the album has enough events to stay interesting.
Philippe Delzenne handles both the scenario and the illustrations of this album and succeeds in creating a certain harmony. Everything still stays true to Jef Nys’ original design, which is probably not that easy to maintain. Don’t expect a too elaborate plot but young and old will find a decent amount of amusing scenes.
Conclusion
Jommeke #277 De Babbelpil – De Bling Bling Editie is a fun story about the inhabitants of Zonnedorp talking with their favorite animals, with Anatool lurking behind the scenes. The beautiful cover of the album suits the grand birthday of Jommeke and of course Elodie’s in the album itself. An amusing issue for young and old, albeit simplistic at times.
Jommeke #277 De Babbelpil - De Bling Bling Editie - Comic Book Review,
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