Major Varitch

The major Varitch is a character created by Yves Sente and André Juillard in the series of cartoon the Adventures of Blake and Mortimer .

It is a surprise to find this character and to count it among those of foreground in the intrigue of the Sarcophagi of the 6th continent. Indeed its role is only minor during his first appearance in the Machination Voronov where Blake meets it with the Soviet embassy of RU at the same time as the ambassador. Major Varitch then occupies the station of representative of the KGB to this embassy. But, according to what one learns from the mouth of the major at the time of his return in the Sarcophagi of the 6th continent, it has, after this meeting, summer transferred on a frontier station and this according to him because of the Blake captain and the great appreciation which with regard to the latter the Soviet ambassador with RU had. This change apparently had as a consequence the meeting of the major with the Açoka emperor-magus. It seems besides that major Varitch is there for step badly in the decision of the KGB to ensure the funds and the logistics of Açoka in his searchs and his experiments for weapon terrorist goal. Thereafter of this arrangement the major is assigned to the direction of the Soviet base of searchs for the Antarctic, cover intended to hide his true mission which is to assist Açoka in its preparations. It is also major Varitch who suggests the World Fair of 1958 like ground of action for the tests of the “sarcophagi”, the weapon developped at the point by Açoka, and which on the request for the latter delivers Olrik to him. Throughout the history one sees that the major is very so to speak often obnubilated by his ideas of revenge screw-with screw on the Blake captain. Major Varitch finds death at the time of a combat to the body with body with the Blake captain, the head crashed to pieces by a block of ice fallen, continuation of an earth tremor, ceiling of the corridor dug in the ices of the Antarctic and connecting the Soviet base to that of Açoka.

Although major Varitch thus does not appear in all is for all in two titles, is three album, it is a rather outstanding character of the series. Already fact as it was announced higher of its passage of character of second plan in the Machination Voronov to that of character of foreground in the Sarcophagi of the 6th continent. Then owing to the fact that in this history, Olrik occupying role of guinea-pig (role which the colonel already occupied in the yellow Mark), major Varitch partly occupies the role of the enemy and already known man of action of the reader wishing to be avenged for one of the heroes (makes major Varitch of it, in this album, incarnates one of the facets of revenge, capital topic in the Sarcophagi of the 6th continent). Not that was never seen in the series, quote like example Sharkey, but where that leaves ordinary it is that the major while being adverse with the hero (Blake and Mortimer) is not a henchman of colonel Olrik and is not attachable in an obvious way to the latter although the reader already met it in a preceding adventure. It should be noted that one in the series had already met another character, the professor Miloch Georgevitch, to whom this description can also apply. The difference it is that Miloch belongs to the category of the " scientist and the major with the category of the " guerrier" if one referred with the theory that Gerard Lenne present in his book Blake, Jacobs and Mortimer (Seuil editions/Archimbaud, 1988) which distributed principal characters of the series of cartoon into three category: The scientist, warriors and traitors. Major Varitch thus represents a combination which, while respecting the original concept of Blake and Mortimer such as had left E.P. Jacobs, brings a new alternative is in the series.

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