Can anyone help me recover a 40-year-old memory: travelling through history via a barrel?
Hey. I saw a hot air balloon 2 days ago, and for some reason it instantly unlocked a memory of a comic I must have read over 40 years ago. Ever since, it's been driving me crazy because I can remember bits and pieces of the story, but not the title or even what the main characters and art style looked like.
I read it in Dutch somewhere in the early 1980s (so probably released between '75-'85), but I have no idea whether it was originally Belgian or French. I also have the feeling it wasn't a famous series. It may even have been a one-shot or a short-lived series.
The story involved travelling through history, but not in the usual sense where the whole album takes place in one era. The characters moved through different historical periods very quickly. Do believe it was a comical story, so no serious stuff.
2 scenes I mamaged to remember:
- First Montgolfier hot air balloon flight. This is the scene that came back to me after seeing a real balloon.
- Rome, actually Great Fire of Rome under Nero. I think Nero was actually playing one of those little harps in one plate.
One detail that surfaced later, although I'm not completely certain about it, is that I think the transport mechanism was a wooden barrel ("een ton"). For some reason that image feels familiar now, but I wouldn't bet my life on it.
I think the art style wasn't realistic, but not exagerated cartoony. It had the classic Belgian album layout with four strips per page and mostly speech balloons, without much narration.
The frustrating part is that I can't remember the protagonists at all. Usually you'd at least remember a character's face or name, but all I have left are these random historical scenes.
Does this ring a bell for anyone? Even wild guesses are welcome. I've been trying to figure this out all weekend!