THE FIERY ARROW

Before Blake & Mortimer, Edgar P. Jacobs had created a first comic that has now attained mythical status. This rare strip was a war-time replacement for Flash Gordon in occupied Belgium! Here, at last, is the sequel, penned by the legendary Jean Van Hamme himself. The Marduk expedition has returned victorious to Norlandia, bearing a precious sample of Uradium. Now the professor can test his revolutionary U Ray's potency when combined with the miracle ore. But Austradia, the old enemy, won't take this lying down. So the dastardly Captain Dagon didn't succeed in stopping Marduk from finding the Uradium deposit? No matter! The Imperial Austradian Army will simply take possession of it in a military operation -- and who cares if that's where Prince Nazca's people live? After assisting Herge on six Tintin albums, Edgar P. Jacobs created a strip that has now attained mythical status -- The U Ray. Here it is now, finally translated into English. It is clearly inspired by Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon and ERB’s Mars and Venus novels. It’s fun and very vintage science-fiction fantasy with lost lands, prehistoric monsters, a lovely heroine, and smart, daring adventurers. The nation of Norlandia is in conflict with its powerful rival Austradia. The eminent Professor Marduk is tasked by the High Council of Norlandia with militarizing a major scientific discovery: the U Ray. However, doing so will require finding a deposit of Uradium, the ore needed to power the ray. And the only known deposit is in an unexplored volcanic archipelago. An expedition is quickly put together, but in the shadows, the Austradian intelligence services are waiting for the moment to act. Jacob’s most famous creation was the Blake & Mortimer series: Professor Philip Mortimer, nuclear physicist and Captain Francis Blake, dashing head of MI5, are his two legendary heroes -- here’s his first creation before that long-running series. Edgar Pierre Jacobs was a close friend of Tintin’s creator Herge, whom he assisted on the creation of six Tintin titles. The U-Ray was his first solo comic. That story, which has since reached quasi-mythical status, is reprinted here in its entirety in two attractive volumes.