Written by: Daniel Couvreur
Illustrations: Philippe Delaby
Coloring: /
Publisher: Dargaud
Murena Artbook – Comic Book Review
With the passing of Philippe Delaby last year, Dargaud felt it was time to pay their respects to the legendary Belgian artist by diving deeper into the series that ended up being the cornerstone of his career, Murena. Today we’ll simply sit back and relax and learn more about Delaby’s love for the series and of course his love for drawing and other fun facts and confessions, but most of all we’ll enjoy the sketches that led to his legacy.
No elaborate plot or thrilling storyline this time, just facts, trivia and quotes from Philippe Delaby himself, with many of his sketches on the background. Pretty much everything will revolve around Murena, and why this series was of great importance to Philippe and what aspects he loved the most about it. Together with his explanation of how certain sketches were designed, and a great opening quote, it’s clear that this man could have offered us much more if the hand of time would have been kinder and not take him away from us when he was only 53 years old.
Throughout the artbook it’s clear that Delaby also had a great talent for making facial expressions as realistic as possible, while also drawing beautiful, sensual women. Not only did he love sketching and building up his characters, he also had a great passion to bring them to life with aquarelle paint, giving them a rather timeless feel and look.
The raw framework of the drawings is rather charming, while some finished drawings (which are colored by other artists from time to time) simply feel like real ‘art’, as they stand on their own, rather than in a panel of a comic book. Seeing his work in another fashion, shines a new light on the deceased artist, showing he was capable of many things.
Conclusion
Murena Artbook is indeed a beautiful book filled with art by a man who was taken from us too soon. Nonetheless, this beautiful legacy, filled with trivia is certainly something to check out if you’re a grand fan of Murena or Philippe Delaby himself.
Murena Artbook - Comic Book Review,
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