Two days later.

Paris

Montmartre.

The sun had just risen, shining its bright light on the earth.

The bearded Oscar-Claude Monet is smoking a pipe, holding the original French manuscript of The Village Teacher in his left hand and sketching on the canvas with his right hand.

Beside him, Jules Verne was fiddling with his pocket watch,

"The time is not accurate," he said. ”

Monet was speechless,

"You don't have an accurate reference, how do you know that the time is inaccurate?"

Verne replied: "Professor Lu told us about some types of detectives, saying that there is a type of detective who is mentally paranoid and even mentally ill, and can be distracted and multi-purpose. The example he gave was that it was possible to do things while being distracted by the heartbeat. ”

Monet: "......"

He felt that Verne should suspect that he had made a mistake in timing rather than that there was a problem with his pocket watch.

"Are you mentally paranoid?"

Verne suddenly,

"Ah, you have a point."

Alas......

Monet sighed silently and continued to focus on the painting.

Verne leaned in and asked curiously: "When I came here three days ago, I wanted to ask, what is the matter with the painting?" ”

Monet said: "It's still the "Water Lilies" series. ”

Verne was puzzled,

"Is this a water lily? How can I not see ...... on the water system."

As an impressionist, Monet's painting still follows the basic principle of light and shadow perspective.

His "Water Lilies" all depict water systems, but in the one he is painting now, there are no rivers, rivers, or lakes, and only a slanted band across the canvas.

Monet said: "The Milky Way is also a river." ”

Verne was stunned,

"What?"

Monet shook the original French manuscript of "The Country Teacher" in his hand,

Clearly, he was inspired by this.

Verne was speechless,

"Draw water lilies on the Milky Way?"

Monet chuckled,

"I don't have to be an Impressionist, do I? It's not impossible to abstract once in a while. ”

Verne did not comment on this.

Monet asked, "By the way, how is that literary prize of yours?" I heard that Professor Lu used a large part of the royalties of "The Country Teacher" in France to set up bonuses and form a jury, which should go well. ”

Verne nodded,

"The only problem is that there is too much money to spend."

Monet: "(ˉ▽ ̄~) cut~~"

While the two were chatting, a shout came from afar: "Monsieur Verne! ”

They turned back.

I saw Romain Rolland walking quickly, waving a newspaper half the size in his hand,

Don't look at it, it's the Mirror again.

Verne was amazed,

"What's wrong? Didn't you bring the serialized Lord of the Rings yesterday? ”

Roland ran out of breath,

As he calmed his breath, he said, "Look at this, this is yesterday...... Yes...... No, this is the Mirror the day before yesterday, with a cartoon of Jane Eyre. ”

Monet was surprised,

"A long-form manga adaptation?"

With the information capacity of the manga, it can hold so much content!?

Can that thing be understood!?

He couldn't imagine.

Roland said, "Yes! And I heard from my classmates at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris that this issue sold very well, as if it was better than the one serialized in "The Lord of the Rings". ”

Verne was also surprised,

He and Monet went up at the same time to read the comics.

The layman looks lively,

Insiders look at the doorway.

Verne looked at the content of the story at most, but Monet saw a new technique used in Jane Eyre.

This technique allows the artist to carry out a continuous narrative.

He asked, "Who is the author?" ”

Roland flipped through it and replied, "Original: Margarita Victoria Fyodor Leopoldina; Original drawing: Pete Cornelius Mondrian. Strange, how can a set of comics have two authors? ”

Monet said: "Obviously, the original work is responsible for the plot, and the original painting is responsible for the painting. ”

Roland was puzzled,

"Can this be?"

Monet nodded,

"As you said earlier, Jane Eyre is a long story, so the content must be added or deleted, otherwise the comic will become long and boring. But most importantly, this version of the comic ......"

Halfway through speaking, Monet fell silent, seemingly unable to find the right words.

Verne and Roland waited silently.

After more than ten seconds, Monet spoke again and said, "Cover the dialogue bubbles in the comics and see if you can understand them?" ”

Verne and Roland did so,

Soon, they showed extremely shocked expressions.

Because even if they don't read the text, they can get a rough idea of the plot of the first few chapters of Jane Eyre.

Verne said: "No wonder it sold better than 'The Lord of the Rings' serialization. ”

Roland next to him asked, "But how did it do it?" ”

Monet said: "This edition of Jane Eyre's comic uses a very unique facilitation technique that allows the reader to read in the order that the artist has planned, so that he knows exactly how the story is developing. Here, for example, it's guided by sight. ”

The other two looked at Monet's fingers,

In the one-frame comic, Jane is imprisoned in the "Red House" for her aunt's so-called "corrective education".

Jane hung her head, her gaze downward.

Naturally, the reader's gaze will also follow downward, and be guided to the painting grid below.

The new frame uses a lens from near to far.

Nearby, Jane's clenched fist clinging to her skirt was very clear;

The figures in the distance are somewhat blurry, arousing people's curiosity.

You don't have to guess to know that the next frame should talk about the blurry figure.

Undoubtedly, this guidance is very advanced.

Monet gave another example:

And here, the painter uses a very abstract form of expression to paint the devil, so that the reader can immediately know that this is Jane's imagination. It's also a way to boot. ”

Verne and Roland couldn't agree more,

They nodded frequently.

"That's why we don't have to read text to understand this version of the comic," Monet said. The reason is very simple, through this painting technique, there is no need for text guidance, only relying on various guidance, you can connect the correct story line. ”

Verne and Roland looked over,

"Monsieur Monet, have you never seen it before?"

Monet was silent,

Suddenly, he stood up,

"No, I need to go to the ......"

He shook his head slowly, sat back a little lonely, and said in a low voice, "No, forget it...... Forget it......"

Monet has already made the decision to dedicate the rest of his life to "Water Lilies",

Moreover, he also promised his wife to buy a machine called "car" that he had seen at the Paris World Expo for transportation, and traveled in Europe to create.

Being able to try "Galaxy Water Lilies" is already the greatest adventure plan Monet has made for himself.

Verne said: "Monsieur Monet, don't forget that the Mirror is run by Professor Lu. We can send a telegram to London and ask Professor Lu to act as an intermediary to the address of this Mr. Mondrian. You can communicate by letter. ”

Monet nodded,

"It's okay to do that."

After saying that, he stood up and said, "Let's take a walk." ”

Verne glanced at the easel,

"Don't put it away?"

Monet waved his hand,

"It doesn't matter. Montmartre is the most indispensable place to be poor painters, and there are too many to steal easels and canvases. ”

The three of them walked towards the high ground.

As Monet said, the Montmartre Plateau is not lacking in poor painters,

Especially in the early morning, many people draw the sunrise here.

Monet took the lead and walked slowly through the crowd,

Suddenly, he stopped, stood behind a young man, and silently watched the young man paint.

Verne and Roland also joined in.

If the young man feels something, he looks back,

His eyes were full of inquiry.

Monet pointed to the young man's painting and asked, "Why don't you paint the sunrise?" ”

The painting is blue and depicts a blind man,

The blind man's eyes were sunken and lifeless, and his wizened hands fumbled around the table in search of a jug and bread.

The young man shook his head and did not answer.

Monet asked, "Don't know French?" ”

The young man still had a bitter face and didn't want to answer.

Monet knew that the other party was more or less arrogant and needed to show his strength, so he commented: "I noticed that many of the lines in your paintings flow downward, are you in a period of confusion?" ”

The young man looked at him,

"Yes."

Monet glanced at the rising sun and continued: "You draw blind people, not only because blind people do not see light, but they have no concept of light at all. As for the reason why you use gloomy blue, it must be the same reason, right? ”

The young man shook his head,

"There's another reason. I use blue, influenced by the masters Carrière and Monet. They all felt that this tone strengthened the poetic component of the picture. ”

"Poof! cough cough cough ......"

Monet squirted.

He asked, "You say Monet?" ”

The young man nodded,

"What's the problem? He was the greatest painter of France. ”

Verne and Roland tilted their heads to one side, trying to hold back their laughter.

Monet said embarrassedly: "Monet thought that blue could enhance the poetic component of the picture more than ten years ago, and now he doesn't like to use blue." ”

The young man looked surprised,

"Who are you from Master Monet?"

Monet did not answer, but glanced at the other party's words, and his gaze stayed slightly on the lower right,

There are young people's names left:

.

Picasso, a surname distributed in Spain,

Moreover, the young people do have a Spanish accent in them.

Monet handed over the "Mirror" in his hand and said, "Look at this, this version of the comic may inspire you." ”

"Tsk......"

Picasso was staggered.

Because comics often have to adapt to printing, they are not as good as traditional paintings in terms of details.

For a painter with a professional background, comics really have nothing to study.

Picasso absentmindedly took the newspaper,

After a few seconds,

Suddenly, his eyes widened with an expression of disbelief,

"It's ...... What is it? ”

No one answered.

Picasso looked around, only to find that the three men headed by the bearded man had all disappeared, as if they had never appeared,

But the newspaper in his hand is indeed there.

Picasso seems to have received the apocalypse,

His gaze was to the west, as if looking for a place in London.

After a while, he began to pack up his easel, then packed his things and hurried off.

……

London

Fleet Street,

The Mirror Newspaper.

In Lu Shi's office, Mondrian was clubbing, his face full of stubbornness.

Lu Shi was speechless,

"Big brother, what's wrong with you? It was the first time I saw a painter who strongly asked not to sign his work. How? You don't like comics as a form of expression? Think the comic book version of Jane Eyre will be a stain on you? ”

Mondrian shook his head,

"How could that be? This kind of comic technique is enough to be called a 'founding school'! ”

Lu Shi dizzy,

"Then you don't want to sign it yet? Britain and the Netherlands shouldn't have any political problems, right? If you post comics in the UK, you will be persecuted by the Dutch? ”

Mondrian couldn't help but sigh at Lu Shi's imagination,

He continued to shake his head,

"No, it's not."

Lu Shi asked, "Why is that?" ”

Mondrian didn't want to be signed for two reasons:

1. He thinks that this kind of comic technique was invented by Lu Shi, and even if he wants to sign it, it should be signed by him and Lu Shi together;

Second, Lu Shi had paid 1,000 pounds before, and this money was obviously for Miss Margarita, and since Mondrian received the money, he had to pursue the strategy of "taking people's money and eliminating disasters for others", and attributed all his reputation to Miss Margarita.

Mondrian said, "Professor Lu, haven't you already paid for Miss Margarita?" Rest assured, I won't say anything superfluous outside. ”

Land Hours: ???

Studied but cannot comprehend.

He couldn't react for a while, Mondrian took the 1,000 pounds as a payment for the gunman.

Just then, the door was pushed open.

Scott barged in and said, "Lu, the sales came out the day before yesterday!" And guess how much? ”

Lu Shi groaned,

The Mirror now prints 150,000 copies a day.

But the day before yesterday it was out of stock, so the final sales must be higher than this number.

Lu Shi said: "Considering our print run, I think, about 200,000 copies? ”

Scott replied, "No." Even with full fire, the printing press could not keep up, and less than 180,000 copies were printed even after all the smoke was emitted. However, all of these newspapers were sold. ”

This number is already quite terrifying,

Lu Shi was very satisfied.

Scott continued: "But we're losing money. Because comic printing requires skilled printers, their salaries are already high, and it was May 1st, and we had to pay extra for the workers, so we couldn't make ends meet. ”

Lu Shi waved his hand indifferently,

"It doesn't matter, once it is born, it is twice cooked, and the cost can be reduced soon."

Scott agrees.

He smiled and asked, "Lu, why do you think our sales can explode?" ”

Lu Shi thought for a while,

"Is it because of female readers?"

Scott laughed,

“Bingo！ "Jane Eyre" is so popular with female readers. Many female Londoners who are not in the habit of reading newspapers are willing to pay for it, and I have heard that almost all girls' schools have begun to reread Jane Eyre. ”

Lu Shi raised his eyebrows,

Vaguely, he felt that this matter would turn into some kind of unexpected trouble.

But this is only a feeling of inexplicability and incomprehension, and it is difficult to tell the specific origin of it.

Lu Shi cleared this uneasiness from his mind, turned to Mondrian, and said, "Mr. Mondrian, don't think about it, just paint well." In the future, maybe you will be able to make a name for yourself in history? ”

Mondrian smacked his lips, pondering the taste,

"Well, if you can really start a sect, how about calling it 'Oriental School'? Because I was instructed by Professor Lu, who is Chinese~"

Lu Shi thought he had heard it wrong,

"What?"

Mondrian smiled,

"Professor Lu, I know that you are humble and low-key, and I don't want me to worship you as a teacher. However, if your instructions are real, don't shirk them. ”

Land Hours: ???

(End of chapter)