When you leaf through the first pages of The Valley of the Forgotten,[1] we see that it is a comic strip that transports us on a unique adventure, to the heart of the wild West, breaking along the way the myths and legends that magnify the classic western.
Having already published Laïyna, The Legend of the Changeling, Texas Jack, Les Sans-Visages and Encyclopédie de la féerie, screenwriter Dubois Pierre dwells on a very dark chapter in the American West, where the law of the strongest was the law.
To create this pictorial work of more than 140 pages, the designer Alain Henriet who previously illustrated Black squaw, Bear’s Tooth and Golden Cup had permission from its editor to extend the scenes and have fun in order to 100% respect Pierre Dubois’ script. The result in terms of graphics is simply magnificent since we have the impression of being in the middle of screening a film which begins with an overview of grandiose landscapes. Then, we see in the distance a rider riding his horse who is gradually approaching.
Throughout the successive boxes, a few sentences accompany the crossing of this solitary cowboy: “When through the lost valleys, we see in the distance two horsemen riding one behind the other… we know that one is pursuing the other. Unless he is just a shadow, a ghost that the first wants to escape… ».
Upon arriving in Sabbath City, Clark stops for a drink at the local saloon, before his eyes fall on an old acquaintance. Speech is freed. From this brief tense exchange, gunshots erupt between Clark and his former accomplices, at the time when he was part of the Bushwackers, pro-Confederate fighters who operated mainly during the Civil War (1861-1865). Clark is looking for Winter, the leader of the gang, who ordered his wife to be shot.
Blinded by the desire for revenge, Clark is left for dead in the heart of a valley, before being taken in by women who live in relative peace, behind the fortifications of Ladies Valley. Each member of this community has a very specific task under the supervision of Ma Joe.
However, the shadow of Winter and his men is still present. She now hovers over the tranquility of this small world of women.
A remarkable work
Through the story of Pierre Dubois, the illustrations of Alain Henriet and the colors of Patricia Tilkin alias Usagi, we discover a range of characters and a story that teaches us more about the conquest of the West. The story puts its finger on economic issues, scratching in the process the caricatured image of Native Americans and first nations who were presented, for a long time, as savages.
This work also takes the time to dust off the role of women as they are portrayed in classic westerns. Beyond the role of mother, widow, teacher, or dancer often doubled as prostitute, women are the great forgotten ones of this era.
Reda Benkoula
[1] The Valley of the Forgotten | Dubois Pierre (Scenario), Alain Henriet (Drawing), Usagi (Colors) | The Lombard | 2025 | 148 pages
The Valley of the Forgotten in Black and White
