In this eighth volume of the Complete Collection, the next Blake & Mortimer written - in two parts - by Jean Van Hamme and illustrated by three different artists, brings the reader along on one of Professor Mortimer's favourite activities: archaeology - and if there are echoes of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade in The Curse of the 30 Pieces of Silver, the story is all the better for it. For the third album collected in this volume, The Oath of the Five Lords, the style is more Agatha Christie, with a thriller set in the heart of England that reveals some dark aspects of Captain Blake's career as a spy - giving the character more depth and credibility. Finally, the bonus material goes over the difficulties encountered to produce the first two albums in great detail.
