Abbas (1944–2018)

The Rumble in the Jungle is narrated (in a secondhand manner) from the perspective of the official ringside photographer, the Iranian born Abbas. His photographs are sprinkled throughout as occasional panels in the story and their own glorious two-page spreads. They meld well with the art of Rafael Ortiz, whose work reminds me fondly of Neal Adams' classic Superman vs. Muhammad Ali comic book.

There is a lot of end matter discussing the genesis of the book and the larger project of which it show more is part. It includes Abbas' justifiable complaint that he wasn't center in the story and how the author placated him with a promise to include a crass anecdote about a one-night ménage à trois that acts as the story's ending. There are also twenty nearly-finished pages produced by an artist who withdrew from the project, and it is interesting to compare how Ortiz's work differs from that original vision.

The story itself is a fine hagiography of the very deserving Ali that gives a quick overview of his career and dwells lovingly on one of his most famous bouts. But the real stars here are the photographs and the art. show less

Passionné de photographie et de bande-dessinées, Jean David Morvan contacte avec succès l’agence Magnum pour une série autour des photographes phares de l’agence. Ici, Abbas, le photographe d’un des combats du siècle passé : Ali – Foreman.

Alternant habilement les photos et le dessin, cet album retrace plus la destinée de Mohamed Ali (et George Foreman) que la vie du photographe. Les clichés du monstre photogénique Ali valent absolument le détour.

Pourtant je suis resté un show more peu moins fan du dessin et du traitement des mouvements des boxeurs.

Un dossier complète la BD pour en saisir l’historique de création show less