Written by: Léo Malet, Moynot
Illustrations: Moynot
Coloring: Moynot
Publisher: Casterman
Nestor Burma #11 Tegen QED – Comic Book Review
Last winter we had fun with the tenth issue of Nestor Burma, the rather scruffy and nonchalant detective, who lived out his adventurous days during the second World War. The biggest cities of France used to be, and still are, very ideal locations for detective stories, and the older setting made things that much more authentic. This time the woman-crazy detective finds himself enthralled with a mysterious redhead, while also being linked to a murder. Of course, time has proven more than once that characters such as this will always press on and have a backup plan. At least, most of the time.
Nestor is minding his own business, playing hooky from his own office, strolling around town getting more tobacco. While casually walking downtown, he passes by a bookstore that has an interesting book in the window stall, but the owner is nowhere to be seen, thus he’ll have to make do without being able to purchase this fairly limited item. All of a sudden, the scruffy PI is enamored by a pretty redhead. While the imminent bomb alarm might not allow him to plan a romantic get-together, it grants him the chance to take shelter in the same bomb shelter as this mysterious bombshell. When the danger has passed, he decides to kind-of creepily stalk and follow her, until she uses a few cunning moves to get rid of him. Admitting his defeat, and his regret of not approaching her properly, he heads back to the bookstore to see if the owner has returned. When all of a sudden he hears his name getting called out of the window of a nearby building, he gets invited to a crime scene where the police has uncovered a body. The murder probably happened during the recent bomb attack, and thus no one heard a thing. Even though Nestor declines working together with the police, he soon gets linked to the case as a potential suspect. Now he has two things on his mind, clearing his mind, and the beautiful redhead, and the latter probably has him worried more than possibly being thrown in jail.
This 72 page detective story has a rather slow pace, as you’ll have to plow through a lot of dialogues before the case is properly cracked. The story follows a rather familiar formula, where not that much information is given in the beginning, slowly allowing you to uncover pieces of the puzzle, and place together the story. Of course, like many stories you’ll have a hunch from the beginning, but we’ll not spoil said obvious first hunch for you stating if you’re right or not. Léo Malet truly created interesting stories with the characters Tardi envisioned. Even though this story has been edited by Moynot, it still feels very much in sync with the tenth issue, which was taken care of by Nicolas Barral.
Illustrations were also handled by Moynot, who presents drawings much akin to the previous issue, but also slightly different at the same time. This eleventh album feels a bit sloppier when it comes to the characters and consistent facial features, but at the same time, the shading and the usage of darker and lighter panels is exquisitely handled. Overall you’ll get a typical detective vibe, and the somewhat ‘rough around the edges’ feeling adds a lot to the overall atmosphere and story of this lovely hardcover.
Conclusion
Nestor Burma #11 Tegen QED might have a title that doesn’t really have much to do with the story, it still proves to be a great detective tale, with a nonchalant private eye in the lead. While distracted with a good-looking redhead, the story heats up in more ways than one, making sure you’ll be entertained, thrilled and filled with suspense from start to finish. If you’re into classical detective tales, with an atmosphere that’s on par with many other well-known private investigators, this album, heck this series, will probably entertain you.
Nestor Burma #11 Tegen QED - Comic Book Review,
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