Spirou et Fantasio
Encyclopedia
Spirou et Fantasio is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comic strips
. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European
humorous adventure comics like Tintin
and Asterix
. It has been written and drawn by a succession of artists.
Spirou
and Fantasio
are the series' main characters, two adventurous journalist
s who run into fantastic adventures, aided by Spirou's pet squirrel
Spip and their inventor friend the Count of Champignac
.
The comic strip was originally created by Rob-Vel
for the launch of the Le Journal de Spirou
on April 21, 1938, published by Éditions Dupuis
. The main character was originally an elevator (lift) operator (in French
: un groom) for the Moustique Hotel (in reference to the publisher's chief magazine, Le Moustique), and remains dressed in his red bellhop
uniform to this day although there was no relevance to his original occupation for many years. Spirou (the name means "squirrel" (lit.) and "mischievous" (fig.) in Walloon
) has a pet squirrel called Spip, the series' first supporting character, who was introduced on June 8, 1939 in the story arc
titled L'Heritage de Bill Money and liberated in the following week's issue, remaining a presence in all Spirou stories since.
Adding to the difficulties of magazine publication that came with the outbreak of World War II
, Velter joined the army effort, and his wife Blanche Dumoulin, using the pen name Davine, continued the work on the Spirou strip, with the aid of the young Belgian artist Luc Lafnet. Spirou became the property of the publisher Dupuis, (atypical in France and Belgium where most comics characters are owned by their creator(s)), who bought the character from Rob-Vel in 1943, and since then the series has belonged to no specific author. The title has therefore subsequently been passed on to several different artists and writers.
The first succession came in 1943 when Joseph Gillain, known by the pen name Jijé
, was given charge of the character. In 1944 Jijé introduced a new character, Fantasio
, who would become Spirou's best friend and co-adventurer. Holding many artistic commitments at Le Journal de Spirou, Jijé sought to delegate much of his work, and in 1946 he handed the series to his understudy, the young André Franquin
, in the middle of the production of the story Spirou et la maison préfabriquée.
Zorglub
; Fantasio's cousin and aspiring dictator Zantafio
; and the journalist Seccotine
, a rare instance of a major female character in Belgian comics of this period.
One Franquin creation that went on to develop a life of its own was the Marsupilami
, a fictional monkey-like creature with a tremendously long prehensile tail. The Marsupilami appears in the majority of the Franquin stories, starting in 1952 with Spirou et les héritiers
. In the series, it is adopted by the duo and follows them everywhere they go. Marsupilamis in the wild take centre stage briefly in Le nid des Marsupilamis
(1957) which presents Seccotine's documentary featuring a family in their natural habitat, the jungles of the fictitious South American state Palombia
.
Starting with Le prisonnier du Bouddha
(1959), Franquin began to work with Greg (writing) and Jidéhem
(backgrounds). As in some of his later series (Bruno Brazil
, Bernard Prince
), Greg staged his stories in a realistic geopolitical context. Le prisonnier du Bouddha is set in mainland China
, with veiled references made to the Cold War
. As for QRN sur Bretzelburg
, it takes place in two imaginary European countries which bring to mind pre-reunification
Germany
. Lastly, it is with Greg that Franquin created famed villain Zorglub in the diptych
of Z comme Zorglub
and L'ombre du Z
.
However, as Franquin grew tired of Spirou, his other major character Gaston
began to take precedence in his work, and following the controversial Panade à Champignac
, the series passed on to a then unknown young cartoonist, Jean-Claude Fournier
, in 1969. One side effect of this is that the Marsupilami would only appear in one last story, Le faiseur d'or
. This is because Franquin decided to retain the rights to that character; all the other characters remained the property of the publisher. Starting with Du glucose pour Noémie
, there would be no more appearances of the Marsupilami in Spirou et Fantasio, with the exception of a few discreet references. Only in the 1980s did the Marsupilami reappear in its own series, and later television cartoon and videogame.
, he would champion pacifist and environmental views), Fournier's stint on Spirou addressed such hot topics (for the 1970s) as nuclear energy
(L'Ankou
), drug-funded dictatorships (Kodo le tyran
) and Duvalier
-style repression (Tora Torapa
).
Fournier introduced some new characters such as Ororéa, a beautiful girl reporter with whom Fantasio was madly in love with (in contrast with his loathing for Seccotine
); Itoh Kata, a Japanese magician
; and an occult SPECTRE
-like criminal organisation known as The Triangle. None of these were reused by later artists until some thirty years later when Itoh Kata appeared in Morvan and Munuera's Spirou et Fantasio à Tokyo.
However, at the end of the 1970s Fournier's pace began to slow down and the publisher, Dupuis, sought new authors to replace him. For a time, three separate teams worked on concurrent stories. Nic Broca (art) and Raoul Cauvin
(writing) took on Fournier's lead without adding much to the characters. Their primary addition to the Spirou universe, namely the "Black box", a device which annihilates sound, is in fact an acknowledged rehash from an early Sophie story by Jidéhem (La bulle du silence). Strangely, the authors were not allowed by the publisher to use any of the side characters and because of this, the duo's three stories read somewhat like a parenthesis in the series.
proposed a far more radical make-over. His (very short) stint on Spirou is an ironic
re-staging of the strip as it was in the 40s. This homage to Jijé and early Franquin was seen at the time as too sophisticated for the mainstream readership. It was prepublished in 1982 in Le Journal de Spirou, n°2297 to n°2318, printed in two-colour, but was interrupted before it was completed. This unfinished story was first collected in an unofficial album in 1984, À la recherche de Bocongo, and then, legally, under the name of Cœurs d'acier (Champaka editor, 1990). This last edition includes the original strips, and a text by Yann Le Pennetier, illustrated by Chaland, that finishes the interrupted story.
It was the team of Tome
(writing) and Janry (art) which was to find lasting success with Spirou, both in terms of sales and critical appeal. Graphically, the authors' work was seen as a modern homage to Franquin's classic work, while their plots involved such modern topics as biotech (Virus
), robotics (Qui arrêtera Cyanure?
) and even time travel (The diptych of L'horloger de la comète
and Le réveil du Z
, featuring future descendants of the Count and Zorglub). Their position as the official Spirou authors made them the flagship team to a whole new school of young, likeminded artists, such as Didier Conrad, Bernard Hislaire
or Frank Le Gall
, who had illustrious careers of their own. For a time, Spirou also acted as a side character in Frank Pé
's short-lived absurd humor strip L'Élan (originally published in the weekly Spirou magazine).
With La jeunesse de Spirou
(1987), Tome and Janry set out to imagine Spirou's youth. This idea was later developed into a spin-off series, Le Petit Spirou
("Young Spirou"), which details the antics of the character as an elementary school boy. A lot of the gags center around the character's interest in the opposite sex. It is generally acknowledged, however, that the Petit Spirou doesn't have very much in common, psychologically speaking, with the adult character.
A new villain, the unlucky Mafia boss Vito "Lucky" Cortizone, based on the character Vito Corleone from the The Godfather
movies, was introduced in Spirou à New-York, while Spirou à Moscou
(1990) sees Spirou and Fantasio pay their first visit to the USSR, just as it was about to collapse (the country was dissolved in 1991).
In Machine qui rêve (1998), Tome and Janry tried to once again renew the series with a more mature storyline (wounded hero, love relationships, etc.), coupled with a more realistic graphic style. This sudden shift into a darker tone shocked many readers, although its seeds were apparent in previous Spirou albums and in other series by the same authors (Soda, Berceuse assassine). While many considered the change in tone to be courageous and laudable, there was some concern that Spirou lost much of its point when presented as a "realistic" character. At any rate, the controversy caused Tome & Janry to concentrate on Le Petit Spirou, and stop making albums in the main series.
not included in the official series (but which received Dupuis' approval), the series went back to a more classical storytelling mode with seasoned cartoonists Jean-David Morvan
(writing) and José-Luis Munuera (art). The latter kept close to the spirit of Franquin's graphical style, while bringing its own touch of manga
-inspired modernism. Morvan and Munuera's Spirou is partly remarkable in that it uses background elements and secondary characters from the whole history of the title, and not just from Franquin's period.
The duo's third album, Spirou et Fantasio à Tokyo was released 20 September 2006. Spirou and Fantasio uncover the story of two children with telekinetic powers (similarly to the manga Akira
) that are forced to construct an edo and meiji period theme park. Dupuis has also released as Spirou et Fantasio 49Z a manga
story by Hiroyuki Oshima after an idea by Morvan. This story tells Spirou's adolescence as a groom in a 5 star Tokyo
hotel.
Due to a significant decline in sales, Dupuis decided to cease Morvan and Munuera work in Spirou in January 2007. However, they were allowed to complete one last album, Aux sources du Z, which was released 5 November 2008, with the help of scenarist Yann.
#3694 that Morvan and Munuera would be succeeded by Fabien Vehlmann
and Yoann
, who had together created the first volume of Une aventure de Spirou et Fantasio par.... Their first album in the regular series was announced for October 2009, but was later pushed back to September 3, 2010 and is named Alerte aux zorkons.
The first volume, Les géants pétrifiés by Fabien Vehlmann
and Yoann
, had a modern storyline and art, not dissimilar in spirit to Morvan and Munuera's work. The second volume, Les marais du temps, by Frank Le Gall
, is drawn in a more classic style not dissimilar to Tintin
and Théodore Poussin
, Le Gall's own comic series. The third, Le tombeau des Champignac, by Yann and Fabrice Tarrin, is a slightly modernized homage to Franquin's classic period. The fourth, Journal d'un ingénu, by Emile Bravo, is a novelistic homage to the original Rob-Vel and Jijé
's universes and stories, and was released to critical acclaim, being awarded at the Angoulême festival
. The fifth, Le groom vert-de-gris by Yann and Olivier Schwartz, is based on one of Yann's old scripts from the 80's originally intended to have been drawn by Chaland, while the editor rejected it. Yann picked up the artist Schwartz, working in a similar style, to complete the story. The story takes place among the resistance movement in the Nazi-occupied Belgium. Unlike traditional Spirou stories, but similar to other works by Yann, the story features rather much dark humour and political satire. It was released once again to some acclaim but also attracted controversy for its cavalier approach to sensitive issues. The sixth album, Panique en Atlantique, authored by Lewis Trondheim
and Fabrice Parme, was released on April 16, 2010.
Dutch
, German
, Portuguese
, Spanish
, Italian
, Japanese
, Finnish
, Scandinavian languages, Serbo-Croatian
, Turkish
, Bahasa Indonesia
, Icelandic
and Vietnamese
. One book, number 15, was translated into English
, by Fantasy Flight Publishing in 1995. This edition is out of print. Book 16 was partially translated but never published.
Egmont has printed and released English translations of Spirou in 2007 in India through its Indian subsidiary (Euro Books). So far, albums no 1-11 and 14 have been translated.
Cinebook has started publishing the series in October 2009. Two books have been released so far:
. This was the fourth Belgian stamp showing a comic hero.
On February 26, 2006 the French Post
issued a set of 3 Spirou et Fantasio stamps, featuring art by José-Luis Munuera. To commemorate the occasion, the Musée de la Poste de Paris (Paris Mail Museum) organized an exposition from February 27 to October 7, 2006 with two halls, one showing original plates and the other more recreational, with television, games, etc.
Footnotes
Franco-Belgian comics
Franco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European
European comics
European comics is a generalized terms for comics produced in Continental Europe. Though technically European, British comics are for historical and cultural reasons considered separate from European comics due to the existence of a well-established domestic market and traditions which more closely...
humorous adventure comics like Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
and Asterix
Asterix
Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix is a series of French comic books written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo . The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on October 29, 1959...
. It has been written and drawn by a succession of artists.
Spirou
Spirou (character)
Spirou is the main character of the Spirou et Fantasio and Le Petit Spirou comic strips. The character was originally created by Robert Velter for the launch of Le Journal de Spirou in 1938....
and Fantasio
Fantasio
Fantasio is a fictional character from the Spirou et Fantasio comic strip. He was introduced in 1944 by Jijé, who was then drawing Spirou's adventures. Fantasio is Spirou's best friend and co-adventurer, a graphic reporter with an uncontrolled imagination and a mop of blond hair...
are the series' main characters, two adventurous journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
s who run into fantastic adventures, aided by Spirou's pet squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
Spip and their inventor friend the Count of Champignac
Champignac
Champignac, or specifically Champignac-en-Cambrousse, is a fictional village frequently featured in the adventures of Spirou et Fantasio by André Franquin and the successive authors. The initial idea of Champignac is attributed to Henri Gillain...
.
Origins of Spirou
Robert Velter
François Robert Velter , known by his pen-name Rob-Vel, was a French cartoonist. He is best known for creating the character Spirou in 1938.-Biography:...
for the launch of the Le Journal de Spirou
Spirou (magazine)
Spirou magazine is a weekly Belgian comics magazine published by the Dupuis company...
on April 21, 1938, published by Éditions Dupuis
Dupuis
Éditions Dupuis S.A. is a Belgian publisher of comic books and magazines.Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis was founded in 1922 by Jean Dupuis, and is mostly famous for its comic albums and magazines. It is originally a French language publisher, but publishes many editions both in French...
. The main character was originally an elevator (lift) operator (in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: un groom) for the Moustique Hotel (in reference to the publisher's chief magazine, Le Moustique), and remains dressed in his red bellhop
Bellhop
A bellhop, also bellboy or bellman, is a hotel porter, who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform , like certain other page boys or doormen...
uniform to this day although there was no relevance to his original occupation for many years. Spirou (the name means "squirrel" (lit.) and "mischievous" (fig.) in Walloon
Walloon language
Walloon is a Romance language which was spoken as a primary language in large portions of the Walloon Region of Belgium and some villages of Northern France until the middle of the 20th century. It belongs to the langue d'oïl language family, whose most prominent member is the French language...
) has a pet squirrel called Spip, the series' first supporting character, who was introduced on June 8, 1939 in the story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
titled L'Heritage de Bill Money and liberated in the following week's issue, remaining a presence in all Spirou stories since.
Adding to the difficulties of magazine publication that came with the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Velter joined the army effort, and his wife Blanche Dumoulin, using the pen name Davine, continued the work on the Spirou strip, with the aid of the young Belgian artist Luc Lafnet. Spirou became the property of the publisher Dupuis, (atypical in France and Belgium where most comics characters are owned by their creator(s)), who bought the character from Rob-Vel in 1943, and since then the series has belonged to no specific author. The title has therefore subsequently been passed on to several different artists and writers.
The first succession came in 1943 when Joseph Gillain, known by the pen name Jijé
Jijé
Jijé was a Belgian comics artist, best known for being a seminal artist on the Spirou et Fantasio strip and the creator of one of the first major European western strips, Jerry Spring.-Biography:Born Joseph Gillain in Gedinne, Namur, he completed various art studies Jijé (13 January 1914 – 20...
, was given charge of the character. In 1944 Jijé introduced a new character, Fantasio
Fantasio
Fantasio is a fictional character from the Spirou et Fantasio comic strip. He was introduced in 1944 by Jijé, who was then drawing Spirou's adventures. Fantasio is Spirou's best friend and co-adventurer, a graphic reporter with an uncontrolled imagination and a mop of blond hair...
, who would become Spirou's best friend and co-adventurer. Holding many artistic commitments at Le Journal de Spirou, Jijé sought to delegate much of his work, and in 1946 he handed the series to his understudy, the young André Franquin
André Franquin
André Franquin was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best known comic strip creations are Gaston and Marsupilami, created while he worked on the Spirou et Fantasio comic strip from 1947 to 1969, during a period seen by many as the series' golden age.-Franquin's beginnings:Franquin was...
, in the middle of the production of the story Spirou et la maison préfabriquée.
Franquin's Spirou
Franquin developed the strip from single gags and short serials into long adventures with complex plots, and is usually considered as the definitive author of the strip. He introduced a large gallery of recurring characters, notably the Count de Champignac, elderly scientist and inventor; the buffoonish mad scientistMad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
Zorglub
Zorglub
Zorglub is a fictional character in the Belgian comic strip Spirou et Fantasio, created by Greg and André Franquin, and first appeared in the serialised story Z comme Zorglub in Spirou in 1959, later published in the diptych albums "Z comme Zorglub" and "L'ombre du Z"...
; Fantasio's cousin and aspiring dictator Zantafio
Zantafio
Zantafio is a recurring fictional antagonist in the Spirou et Fantasio comic book series. He was created by André Franquin and first appeared in Spirou et les héritiers . Zantafio bears a strong resemblance to Fantasio, because they are cousins...
; and the journalist Seccotine
Seccotine
Seccotine is a recurring character from the Spirou et Fantasio comics, and the first major female character of the series, a strong-willed reporter...
, a rare instance of a major female character in Belgian comics of this period.
Marsupilami
Marsupilami is a fictional comic book species created by André Franquin, first published on 31 January 1952 in the magazine Spirou. Since then it appeared regularly in the popular Belgian comic book series Spirou et Fantasio until Franquin stopped working on the series in 1968 and the character...
, a fictional monkey-like creature with a tremendously long prehensile tail. The Marsupilami appears in the majority of the Franquin stories, starting in 1952 with Spirou et les héritiers
Spirou et les héritiers
Spirou et les héritiers, written and drawn by Franquin, is the fourth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and a great leap in the expansion of the Spirou universe...
. In the series, it is adopted by the duo and follows them everywhere they go. Marsupilamis in the wild take centre stage briefly in Le nid des Marsupilamis
Le nid des Marsupilamis
Le nid des Marsupilamis, written and drawn by Franquin, is the twelfth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series. The title story, and another, La foire aux gangsters, were serialised in Spirou, before the release in a hardcover album in 1960....
(1957) which presents Seccotine's documentary featuring a family in their natural habitat, the jungles of the fictitious South American state Palombia
Palombia
Palombia is a fictitious South American country from the Belgian Spirou et Fantasio and Marsupilami comic book stories. The name is a portmanteau of Paraguay and Colombia. In French, Palombie is especially a word game between Colombie, Colombe and Palombe.-Overview:Palombia is a small country in...
.
Starting with Le prisonnier du Bouddha
Le prisonnier du Bouddha
Le prisonnier du Bouddha, written by Franquin and Greg, drawn by Franquin with assistance by Jidéhem, is the fourteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series...
(1959), Franquin began to work with Greg (writing) and Jidéhem
Jidéhem
Jean De Mesmaeker known by the pseudonym Jidéhem, is a Belgian comics artist in the Marcinelle school tradition. A creator of his own series Sophie, and Ginger, and noted for his work with Starter and Uhu-man, he is perhaps best known for his collaborations and assistance to the work of André...
(backgrounds). As in some of his later series (Bruno Brazil
Bruno Brazil
Bruno Brazil is a Franco-Belgian comics series written by Greg, under the pseudonym Louis Albert, and drawn by William Vance. It was initially serialised in the comics magazine Tintin, first appearing on January 17, 1967...
, Bernard Prince
Bernard Prince
Bernard Prince is a Franco-Belgian comics series, featuring an eponymous character and his sailor-adventurer companions. The series was created by Belgian cartoonists Greg and Hermann for the comics magazine Tintin, first appearing on January 4, 1966....
), Greg staged his stories in a realistic geopolitical context. Le prisonnier du Bouddha is set in mainland China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, with veiled references made to the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. As for QRN sur Bretzelburg
QRN sur Bretzelburg
QRN sur Bretzelburg , written by Franquin and Greg, drawn by Franquin with assistance by Jidéhem, is the eighteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series...
, it takes place in two imaginary European countries which bring to mind pre-reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Lastly, it is with Greg that Franquin created famed villain Zorglub in the diptych
Diptych
A diptych di "two" + ptychē "fold") is any object with two flat plates attached at a hinge. Devices of this form were quite popular in the ancient world, wax tablets being coated with wax on inner faces, for recording notes and for measuring time and direction.In Late Antiquity, ivory diptychs with...
of Z comme Zorglub
Z comme Zorglub
Z comme Zorglub, written and drawn by Franquin, is the fifteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the first part of Franquin's Zorglub diptych...
and L'ombre du Z
L'ombre du Z
L'ombre du Z, written and drawn by Franquin, is the sixteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the second part of Franquin's Zorglub diptych...
.
However, as Franquin grew tired of Spirou, his other major character Gaston
Gaston Lagaffe
Gaston is a comic strip created in 1957 by the Belgian cartoonist André Franquin in the comic strip magazine, Spirou. The series focuses on the every-day life of Gaston Lagaffe, a lazy and accident-prone office junior...
began to take precedence in his work, and following the controversial Panade à Champignac
Panade à Champignac
Panade à Champignac is the nineteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series. The story, written and drawn by Franquin, was serialised along with Bravo les Brothers in Spirou, before publication as a hardcover album in 1969.-Story:...
, the series passed on to a then unknown young cartoonist, Jean-Claude Fournier
Jean-Claude Fournier
Jean-Claude Fournier , known simply as Fournier, is a French cartoonist best known as the comic book artist who handled Spirou et Fantasio in the years 1969-1979.-Biography:...
, in 1969. One side effect of this is that the Marsupilami would only appear in one last story, Le faiseur d'or
Le faiseur d'or
Le faiseur d'or, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twentieth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the first to follow the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
. This is because Franquin decided to retain the rights to that character; all the other characters remained the property of the publisher. Starting with Du glucose pour Noémie
Du glucose pour Noémie
Du glucose pour Noémie, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twentyfirst album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's second, following the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
, there would be no more appearances of the Marsupilami in Spirou et Fantasio, with the exception of a few discreet references. Only in the 1980s did the Marsupilami reappear in its own series, and later television cartoon and videogame.
A long transition
Fournier authored nine books in the series, which saw Spirou evolve into a more modern character. Where Franquin's stories tended to be politically neutral (in his later works, notably Idées noiresIdées noires
Idées noires is a collection of black comedy comic strips drawn by André Franquin, written by Franquin and Yvan Delporte. The one-page stories first appeared frequently in 1977, in the brief run of the Spirou supplement, Le Trombone illustré...
, he would champion pacifist and environmental views), Fournier's stint on Spirou addressed such hot topics (for the 1970s) as nuclear energy
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
(L'Ankou
L'Ankou
L'Ankou, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twenty seventh album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's seventh, following the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
), drug-funded dictatorships (Kodo le tyran
Kodo le tyran
Kodo le tyran, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twentyeighth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's eighth, following the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
) and Duvalier
François Duvalier
François Duvalier was the President of Haiti from 1957 until his death in 1971. Duvalier first won acclaim in fighting diseases, earning him the nickname "Papa Doc" . He opposed a military coup d'état in 1950, and was elected President in 1957 on a populist and black nationalist platform...
-style repression (Tora Torapa
Tora Torapa
Tora Torapa, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twentythird album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's fourth, following the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
).
Fournier introduced some new characters such as Ororéa, a beautiful girl reporter with whom Fantasio was madly in love with (in contrast with his loathing for Seccotine
Seccotine
Seccotine is a recurring character from the Spirou et Fantasio comics, and the first major female character of the series, a strong-willed reporter...
); Itoh Kata, a Japanese magician
Magician (fantasy)
A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources...
; and an occult SPECTRE
SPECTRE
SPECTRE is a fictional global terrorist organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, the films based on those novels, and James Bond video games...
-like criminal organisation known as The Triangle. None of these were reused by later artists until some thirty years later when Itoh Kata appeared in Morvan and Munuera's Spirou et Fantasio à Tokyo.
However, at the end of the 1970s Fournier's pace began to slow down and the publisher, Dupuis, sought new authors to replace him. For a time, three separate teams worked on concurrent stories. Nic Broca (art) and Raoul Cauvin
Raoul Cauvin
Raoul Cauvin is a Belgian comics author and one of the most popular in the humorist field.-Biography:Raoul Cauvin was born in Antoing, Belgium in 1938. He studied lithography at the Institut Saint-Luc in Tournai, but upon leaving school found that there no jobs available for lithographers...
(writing) took on Fournier's lead without adding much to the characters. Their primary addition to the Spirou universe, namely the "Black box", a device which annihilates sound, is in fact an acknowledged rehash from an early Sophie story by Jidéhem (La bulle du silence). Strangely, the authors were not allowed by the publisher to use any of the side characters and because of this, the duo's three stories read somewhat like a parenthesis in the series.
Yves Chaland's case
Yves ChalandYves Chaland
Yves Chaland was a French cartoonist.During the 1980s, together with Ted Benoît, Serge Clerc and Floc'h, he relaunched the Ligne claire style in French comics.-Biography:Chaland published his first strips in the fanzine Biblipop when he...
proposed a far more radical make-over. His (very short) stint on Spirou is an ironic
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
re-staging of the strip as it was in the 40s. This homage to Jijé and early Franquin was seen at the time as too sophisticated for the mainstream readership. It was prepublished in 1982 in Le Journal de Spirou, n°2297 to n°2318, printed in two-colour, but was interrupted before it was completed. This unfinished story was first collected in an unofficial album in 1984, À la recherche de Bocongo, and then, legally, under the name of Cœurs d'acier (Champaka editor, 1990). This last edition includes the original strips, and a text by Yann Le Pennetier, illustrated by Chaland, that finishes the interrupted story.
Spirou in contemporary times - Tome & Janry
Philippe Vandevelde
Philippe Vandevelde, working under the pseudonym Tome , is a comic strip script writer. He is known for collaborations with Janry on Spirou et Fantasio and Le Petit Spirou, and with Luc Warnant and later Bruno Gazzotti on Soda...
(writing) and Janry (art) which was to find lasting success with Spirou, both in terms of sales and critical appeal. Graphically, the authors' work was seen as a modern homage to Franquin's classic work, while their plots involved such modern topics as biotech (Virus
Virus (Spirou et Fantasio)
Virus, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the 33rd album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the first to come from this creative team, carrying on the series after the work of previous authors...
), robotics (Qui arrêtera Cyanure?
Qui arrêtera Cyanure?
Qui arrêtera Cyanure?, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the thirty-fifth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the third of the authors. The story was initially serialised in Spirou, before released as a hardcover album in 1985...
) and even time travel (The diptych of L'horloger de la comète
L'horloger de la comète
L'horloger de la comète, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the thirtysixth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the fourth of the authors...
and Le réveil du Z
Le réveil du Z
Le réveil du Z, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the thirtyseventh album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the fifth of the authors...
, featuring future descendants of the Count and Zorglub). Their position as the official Spirou authors made them the flagship team to a whole new school of young, likeminded artists, such as Didier Conrad, Bernard Hislaire
Bernard Hislaire
Bernard Hislaire is a Belgian comic book creator. He is also known as Sylaire and as Yslaire, his current artist name.-Biography:...
or Frank Le Gall
Frank Le Gall
Frank Le Gall, born September 23, 1959 in Rouen, is a French author of comics.He is best known for his own comic series Théodore Poussin.- Publications :*Une aventure de Spirou et Fantasio : Les marais du temps,...
, who had illustrious careers of their own. For a time, Spirou also acted as a side character in Frank Pé
Frank Pé
Frank Pé, often signing solely as Frank is a Belgian comic book artist, best known for Broussaille and Zoo.-Biography:Frank Pé was born in Ixelles in 1956...
's short-lived absurd humor strip L'Élan (originally published in the weekly Spirou magazine).
With La jeunesse de Spirou
La jeunesse de Spirou
La jeunesse de Spirou, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the thirtyeighth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the sixth of the authors. The stories were serialised in Spirou, before they were compiled as a hardcover album in 1987...
(1987), Tome and Janry set out to imagine Spirou's youth. This idea was later developed into a spin-off series, Le Petit Spirou
Le Petit Spirou
Le Petit Spirou is a popular Belgian comic strip created by Tome and Janry in 1987. The series developed from La jeunesse de Spirou , a Spirou et Fantasio album in which Tome and Janry set to imagine Spirou's youth...
("Young Spirou"), which details the antics of the character as an elementary school boy. A lot of the gags center around the character's interest in the opposite sex. It is generally acknowledged, however, that the Petit Spirou doesn't have very much in common, psychologically speaking, with the adult character.
A new villain, the unlucky Mafia boss Vito "Lucky" Cortizone, based on the character Vito Corleone from the The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
movies, was introduced in Spirou à New-York, while Spirou à Moscou
Spirou à Moscou
Spirou à Moscou, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the forty-second album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the tenth of the authors. The story was serialised in Spirou, before it was released as a hardcover album in 1990.-Story:...
(1990) sees Spirou and Fantasio pay their first visit to the USSR, just as it was about to collapse (the country was dissolved in 1991).
In Machine qui rêve (1998), Tome and Janry tried to once again renew the series with a more mature storyline (wounded hero, love relationships, etc.), coupled with a more realistic graphic style. This sudden shift into a darker tone shocked many readers, although its seeds were apparent in previous Spirou albums and in other series by the same authors (Soda, Berceuse assassine). While many considered the change in tone to be courageous and laudable, there was some concern that Spirou lost much of its point when presented as a "realistic" character. At any rate, the controversy caused Tome & Janry to concentrate on Le Petit Spirou, and stop making albums in the main series.
Morvan & Munuera
Then, after a 6 years break, which only saw the publication of L'accélérateur atomique, a Spirou spoof by Lewis TrondheimLewis Trondheim
Lewis Trondheim , born 11 December 1964, is an extremely prolific French cartoonist and one of the founders of the independent publisher L'Association. Both his silent comic La Mouche and Kaput and Zösky have been made into animated cartoons...
not included in the official series (but which received Dupuis' approval), the series went back to a more classical storytelling mode with seasoned cartoonists Jean-David Morvan
Jean-David Morvan
Jean-David Morvan is a French comics author.Jean-David Morvan studied arts at the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels. Morvan first tried being a comics artist, but soon realised that his true strength is storytelling, and so now he is best known as a comics writer...
(writing) and José-Luis Munuera (art). The latter kept close to the spirit of Franquin's graphical style, while bringing its own touch of manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
-inspired modernism. Morvan and Munuera's Spirou is partly remarkable in that it uses background elements and secondary characters from the whole history of the title, and not just from Franquin's period.
The duo's third album, Spirou et Fantasio à Tokyo was released 20 September 2006. Spirou and Fantasio uncover the story of two children with telekinetic powers (similarly to the manga Akira
Akira (manga)
is a manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo. Set in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, the work uses conventions of the cyberpunk genre to detail a saga of turmoil. Initially serialized in the pages of Young Magazine from 1982 until 1990, the work was collected in six volumes by Japanese publisher Kodansha...
) that are forced to construct an edo and meiji period theme park. Dupuis has also released as Spirou et Fantasio 49Z a manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
story by Hiroyuki Oshima after an idea by Morvan. This story tells Spirou's adolescence as a groom in a 5 star Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
hotel.
Due to a significant decline in sales, Dupuis decided to cease Morvan and Munuera work in Spirou in January 2007. However, they were allowed to complete one last album, Aux sources du Z, which was released 5 November 2008, with the help of scenarist Yann.
Yoann & Vehlmann
In January 2009, it was announced in SpirouSpirou (magazine)
Spirou magazine is a weekly Belgian comics magazine published by the Dupuis company...
#3694 that Morvan and Munuera would be succeeded by Fabien Vehlmann
Fabien Vehlmann
Fabien Vehlmann is a French comics writer best known for Green Manor and Seuls. Yvan Delporte dubbed him "The René Goscinny of the third millennium".-Biography:...
and Yoann
Yoann
Yoann Chivard , better known under the artist name Yoann is a French comics artist.In January 2009, it was announced that Yoann and the comics writer Fabien Vehlmann would take over the responsibility for the Spirou et Fantasio comic strip...
, who had together created the first volume of Une aventure de Spirou et Fantasio par.... Their first album in the regular series was announced for October 2009, but was later pushed back to September 3, 2010 and is named Alerte aux zorkons.
Le Spirou de...
In 2006, Dupuis launched a second series of one-off volumes by various authors, under the name Une aventure de Spirou et Fantasio par... ("A Spirou and Fantasio adventure by..."). It has subsequently been renamed "Le Spirou de..." ("The Spirou story by...")The first volume, Les géants pétrifiés by Fabien Vehlmann
Fabien Vehlmann
Fabien Vehlmann is a French comics writer best known for Green Manor and Seuls. Yvan Delporte dubbed him "The René Goscinny of the third millennium".-Biography:...
and Yoann
Yoann
Yoann Chivard , better known under the artist name Yoann is a French comics artist.In January 2009, it was announced that Yoann and the comics writer Fabien Vehlmann would take over the responsibility for the Spirou et Fantasio comic strip...
, had a modern storyline and art, not dissimilar in spirit to Morvan and Munuera's work. The second volume, Les marais du temps, by Frank Le Gall
Frank Le Gall
Frank Le Gall, born September 23, 1959 in Rouen, is a French author of comics.He is best known for his own comic series Théodore Poussin.- Publications :*Une aventure de Spirou et Fantasio : Les marais du temps,...
, is drawn in a more classic style not dissimilar to Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
and Théodore Poussin
Théodore Poussin
Théodore Poussin is a comic book series created by French writer Frank Le Gall about a glasses-wearing hero - it was first published in 1984, in Spirou magazine. The third volume of the series, Marie-Vérité won 1989 Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Best Comic Book....
, Le Gall's own comic series. The third, Le tombeau des Champignac, by Yann and Fabrice Tarrin, is a slightly modernized homage to Franquin's classic period. The fourth, Journal d'un ingénu, by Emile Bravo, is a novelistic homage to the original Rob-Vel and Jijé
Jijé
Jijé was a Belgian comics artist, best known for being a seminal artist on the Spirou et Fantasio strip and the creator of one of the first major European western strips, Jerry Spring.-Biography:Born Joseph Gillain in Gedinne, Namur, he completed various art studies Jijé (13 January 1914 – 20...
's universes and stories, and was released to critical acclaim, being awarded at the Angoulême festival
Angoulême International Comics Festival
The Angoulême International Comics Festival is the largest comics festival in Europe. It has occurred every year since 1974 in Angoulême, France, in the month of January.The four-day festival is notable for awarding several prestigious prizes in cartooning...
. The fifth, Le groom vert-de-gris by Yann and Olivier Schwartz, is based on one of Yann's old scripts from the 80's originally intended to have been drawn by Chaland, while the editor rejected it. Yann picked up the artist Schwartz, working in a similar style, to complete the story. The story takes place among the resistance movement in the Nazi-occupied Belgium. Unlike traditional Spirou stories, but similar to other works by Yann, the story features rather much dark humour and political satire. It was released once again to some acclaim but also attracted controversy for its cavalier approach to sensitive issues. The sixth album, Panique en Atlantique, authored by Lewis Trondheim
Lewis Trondheim
Lewis Trondheim , born 11 December 1964, is an extremely prolific French cartoonist and one of the founders of the independent publisher L'Association. Both his silent comic La Mouche and Kaput and Zösky have been made into animated cartoons...
and Fabrice Parme, was released on April 16, 2010.
Characters
Main and recurring Spirou et Fantasio characters:- SpirouSpirou (character)Spirou is the main character of the Spirou et Fantasio and Le Petit Spirou comic strips. The character was originally created by Robert Velter for the launch of Le Journal de Spirou in 1938....
- The main character. An investigative reporter with a strong sense of justice. - FantasioFantasioFantasio is a fictional character from the Spirou et Fantasio comic strip. He was introduced in 1944 by Jijé, who was then drawing Spirou's adventures. Fantasio is Spirou's best friend and co-adventurer, a graphic reporter with an uncontrolled imagination and a mop of blond hair...
- Spirou's best friend and co-adventurer, a reporter with a hot temper. - Spip - Spirou's grouchy pet squirrel.
- The MarsupilamiMarsupilamiMarsupilami is a fictional comic book species created by André Franquin, first published on 31 January 1952 in the magazine Spirou. Since then it appeared regularly in the popular Belgian comic book series Spirou et Fantasio until Franquin stopped working on the series in 1968 and the character...
- A very unusual creature captured in a South-American jungle by Spirou and Fantasio. Marsupilami is the name of the species, and the creature never acquired an individual name. Often referred to as "the little animal" even though it can terrorise anything and anyone! - Count of Champignac - Spirou and Fantasio's eccentric scientist friend.
- The Mayor of Champignac. Petty, pompous, ineffectual and two-faced, he is mostly memorable for his trademark speeches in which he piles up mixed metaphors sky-high.
- Seccotine - Their fellow reporter, a friend and rival at the same time. Gets on Fantasio's nerves, but a priceless ally.
- Gaston LagaffeGaston LagaffeGaston is a comic strip created in 1957 by the Belgian cartoonist André Franquin in the comic strip magazine, Spirou. The series focuses on the every-day life of Gaston Lagaffe, a lazy and accident-prone office junior...
- The main source of disaster and gags at the Spirou magazine offices. While he is the hero of his own series, he makes a few guest appearances in Spirou stories. - Ororéa - Another brave female reporter, of Polynesian descent.
- Itoh Kata - A Japanese scientistScientistA scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
and magicianMagic (illusion)Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
.
Enemies
- Zorglub - A mad scientist. A former colleague of the Count of Champignac from university days, he later boasts that he could take over the world, but really wants to be recognised as the greatest scientist of all time. He later rehabilitates and becomes a friend of the protagonists.
- ZantafioZantafioZantafio is a recurring fictional antagonist in the Spirou et Fantasio comic book series. He was created by André Franquin and first appeared in Spirou et les héritiers . Zantafio bears a strong resemblance to Fantasio, because they are cousins...
- Fantasio's evil cousin. - John Helena "la Murène" (the morayMoray eelMoray eels are cosmopolitan eels of the family Muraenidae. The approximately 200 species in 15 genera are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water and a few, for example the freshwater moray can sometimes be found in freshwater...
) - A brutal maritime criminal. - Don Vito "Lucky" Cortizone - New York mafia boss, father of a dangerous woman called Luna.
- Cyanure, a gynoidGynoidA gynoid is anything which resembles or pertains to the female human form. It is also used in American English medical terminology as a shortening of the term Gynecoid ....
.
Albums
This list includes French titles, their English translation, and the first year of publicationJijé
- Spirou et l'aventureSpirou et l'aventureSpirou et l'aventure, written and drawn by Jijé, is the first published album containing Spirou et Fantasio adventures. The 6 featured stories were produced during and after World War II, and serialised in the comics magazine Le Journal de Spirou during this unusual period...
, 1948, featuring:- Le meeting aérien (The Aerial Meeting), 1943
- Autour du monde avec le pilote rouge (Around the World with the Red Pilot), 1944
- Le voyage dans le temps (The Voyage in Time), 1944–45
- L'enlèvement de Spip (The Abduction of Spip), 1945
- La jeep de Fantasio (Fantasio's Jeep), 1945-46. Also in hors-séries H2.
- Fantasio et le Fantôme (Fantasio and the Ghost), 1946. Also in hors-séries H4
André Franquin
- Spirou et FantasioSpirou et Fantasio (comic book)Spirou et Fantasio, written and drawn by Franquin , is an album that precedes the main Spirou et Fantasio album series. It contains Franquin's first four stories completed between 1946 and 1948, three of which were serialised in Le Journal de Spirou.-Stories:* Fantasio et son tank...
, 1948, featuring:- Fantasio et le tank (Fantasio and his Tank), 1946. Also in hors-séries H1.
- Les Maisons préfabriquées (The Prefabricated Houses), 1946. Also in hors-séries H2.
- L'Héritage (The inheritance of Spirou), 1946. Also in hors-séries H1.
- Le Savant fou (The Mad Genius), 1947-48. Also in hors-séries H2 as Radar le Robot.
- 1. Quatre aventures de Spirou et FantasioQuatre aventures de Spirou et FantasioQuatre aventures de Spirou et Fantasio, written and drawn by Franquin, is a collection of four stories from serial publication between 1948-50 in Spirou, namely Spirou et les plans du robot, Spirou sur le ring, Spirou fait du cheval, and Spirou chez les Pygmées...
(Four Adventures of Spirou and Fantasio), 1950, featuring:- Les plans du robot (Spirou and the Robot's Plans), 1948
- Spirou sur le ring (Spirou in the Ring), 1948
- Spirou fait du cheval (Spirou rides a horse), 1949
- Spirou chez les Pygmées (Spirou meets the Pygmees), 1949
- 2. Il y a un sorcier à ChampignacIl y a un sorcier à ChampignacIl y a un sorcier à Champignac by Franquin, is the second album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the first to tell a long intricate story in what would become the Spirou tradition, in contrast to the previous short format stories...
(There is a Sorcerer in Champignac), 1951, written by Henri Gillain. First appearance of the Mayor and the Count of Champignac. - 3. Les chapeaux noirsLes chapeaux noirsLes chapeaux noirs, album in the Belgian comic series Spirou et Fantasio, released in 1952. The album contains the longer story Les chapeaux noirs written and drawn by Franquin, and three shorter stories, Mystère à la frontière by Franquin, and Comme une mouche au plafond and Spirou et les...
(The Black Hats), 1952; followed by:- Comme une mouche au plafond (Like a Fly on the Ceiling) by Jijé.
- Spirou et les hommes-grenouilles (Spirou and the Frogmen) by Jijé.
- Mystère à la frontière (Mystery at the Frontier)
- 4. Spirou et les héritiersSpirou et les héritiersSpirou et les héritiers, written and drawn by Franquin, is the fourth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and a great leap in the expansion of the Spirou universe...
(Spirou and the Heirs), 1952. First appearance of Zantafio and the Marsupilami. - 5. Les voleurs du MarsupilamiLes voleurs du MarsupilamiLes voleurs du Marsupilami, written and drawn by Franquin, is the fifth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, resuming development of the Spirou universe where the previous Spirou et les héritiers left off...
(The Marsupilami Robbers), 1952; after an idea by Jo Almo. This story begins when Spirou et les héritiers ends. - 6. La corne de rhinocérosLa corne de rhinocérosLa corne de rhinocéros, written and drawn by Franquin, is the sixth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series. The material was first serialised in Spirou in two parts, Spirou et la Turbotraction and the sequel La corne de rhinocéros, and finally merged into one for the release of the hardcover album...
(The Rhinoceros Horn), 1953. First appearance of Seccotine and Turbot-Rhino I. - 7. Le dictateur et le champignonLe dictateur et le champignonLe dictateur et le champignon, written and drawn by Franquin, is the seventh album of the Spirou et Fantasio series. After serial publication in Spirou, the story was released as a hardcover album in 1956.-Story:...
(The Dictator and the Mushroom), 1953; after an idea by Maurice Rosy. - 8. La mauvaise têteLa mauvaise têteLa mauvaise tête, written and drawn by Franquin, is the eighth album in the Spirou et Fantasio series. After serial publication in Spirou the complete story was published, along with the Marsupilami short story Touchez pas aux rouges-gorges, in a hardcover album in 1957.-Story:In A Head for Crime,...
(The Wrong Head), 1954 - 9. Le repaire de la murèneLe repaire de la murèneLe repaire de la murène, written and drawn by Franquin, is the ninth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, adding underwater adventure to the Spirou universe...
(The Moray's Hideout), 1955. First appearance of John Helena, alias "The MorayMoray eelMoray eels are cosmopolitan eels of the family Muraenidae. The approximately 200 species in 15 genera are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water and a few, for example the freshwater moray can sometimes be found in freshwater...
". - 10. Les pirates du silenceLes pirates du silenceLes pirates du silence, written and drawn by Franquin, is the tenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series. The title story, and another, La Quick Super, were serialised in Spirou, before both were published in one hardcover album in 1958....
(Pirates of Silence), 1956; with Maurice Rosy (writing) and Will (backgrounds).- followed by La Quick Super, 1956
- 11. Le gorille a bonne mineLe gorille a bonne mineLe gorille a bonne mine, written and drawn by Franquin, is the eleventh album of the Spirou et Fantasio series. The title story and Vacances sans histoires , were serialised in Spirou, before the hardcover album release in 1959.The title literally means roughly The Gorilla's in Good Shape, but the...
(Gorilla's in Good Shape), 1956- followed by Vacances sans histoires (Uneventful Holidays). Second cameo of Gaston Lagaffe.
- 12. Le nid des MarsupilamisLe nid des MarsupilamisLe nid des Marsupilamis, written and drawn by Franquin, is the twelfth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series. The title story, and another, La foire aux gangsters, were serialised in Spirou, before the release in a hardcover album in 1960....
(The Marsupilamis' Nest), 1957- followed by La foire aux gangsters (Gangsters at the Fair)
- 13. Le voyageur du MésozoïqueLe voyageur du MésozoïqueLe voyageur du Mésozoïque, written by Franquin and Greg, drawn by Franquin with assistance by Jidéhem, is the thirteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series...
(The Traveller from the Mesozoic, 1957) First actual cameo of Gaston Lagaffe.- followed by La peur au bout du fil (Fear at the End of the Line, 1959; with Greg (writing) and Jidéhem (backgrounds).
- 14. Le prisonnier du BouddhaLe prisonnier du BouddhaLe prisonnier du Bouddha, written by Franquin and Greg, drawn by Franquin with assistance by Jidéhem, is the fourteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series...
(The prisoner of the Buddha, 1959; with Greg (writing) and Jidéhem (backgrounds). - 15. Z comme ZorglubZ comme ZorglubZ comme Zorglub, written and drawn by Franquin, is the fifteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the first part of Franquin's Zorglub diptych...
(Z is for Zorglub, 1960; with Greg (writing) and Jidéhem (backgrounds). First appearance of Zorglub. Part one of two. - 16. L'ombre du ZL'ombre du ZL'ombre du Z, written and drawn by Franquin, is the sixteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the second part of Franquin's Zorglub diptych...
(The Shadow of Z, 1960; with Greg (writing) and Jidéhem (backgrounds). Part two of two. - 17. Spirou et les hommes-bullesSpirou et les hommes-bullesSpirou et les hommes-bulles , written and drawn by Franquin, is the seventeenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series...
(Spirou and the Bubble Men, 1959)- followed by Les petits formats (The Small Formats), 1960; both with Jean Roba (art). These stories, along with Tembo Tabou, first appeared in a newspaper, Le Parisien Libéré.
- 18. QRN sur BretzelburgQRN sur BretzelburgQRN sur Bretzelburg , written by Franquin and Greg, drawn by Franquin with assistance by Jidéhem, is the eighteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series...
(Q.R.N. over Bretzelburg), 1963; with Greg (writing) and Jidéhem (backgrounds)). A longer version was published in 1987 in a limited printing. - 19. Panade à ChampignacPanade à ChampignacPanade à Champignac is the nineteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series. The story, written and drawn by Franquin, was serialised along with Bravo les Brothers in Spirou, before publication as a hardcover album in 1969.-Story:...
(Babysitting in Champignac), 1968; with Peyo and Gos (writing).- followed by Bravo les Brothers (Hurray for the Brothers), 1967; with Jidéhem (backgrounds).
- 24. Tembo TabouTembo TabouTembo Tabou, written by Franquin and Greg, drawn by Franquin and Jean Roba, is the twentyfourth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the twentieth under Franquin's authorship...
, 1968, with Roba (art); followed by short stories
Jean-Claude Fournier
- 20. Le faiseur d'orLe faiseur d'orLe faiseur d'or, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twentieth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the first to follow the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
(The gold maker, 1970). Last appearance of the Marsupilami. - 21. Du glucose pour NoémieDu glucose pour NoémieDu glucose pour Noémie, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twentyfirst album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's second, following the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
(Glucose for Noémie, 1971) - 22. L'abbaye truquéeL'abbaye truquéeL'abbaye truquée, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twentysecond album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's third, following the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
(The Disguised Abbey, 1972) - 23. Tora TorapaTora TorapaTora Torapa, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twentythird album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's fourth, following the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
(1973) - 25. Le gri-gri du Niokolo-KobaLe gri-gri du Niokolo-KobaLe gri-gri du Niokolo-Koba, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twentyfifth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's fifth, following the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
(The gris-gris of Niokolo-Koba, 1974) - 26. Du cidre pour les étoilesDu cidre pour les étoilesDu cidre pour les étoiles , written and drawn by Fournier, is the twentysixth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's sixth, following the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
(Cider for the Stars, 1977) - 27. L'AnkouL'AnkouL'Ankou, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twenty seventh album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's seventh, following the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
(The Ankou, 1978) - 28. Kodo le tyranKodo le tyranKodo le tyran, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twentyeighth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's eighth, following the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
(Kodo the Tyrant, 1979). Part one of two. - 29. Des haricots partoutDes haricots partoutDes haricots partout, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twenty-ninth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's ninth and final contribution to the series. The story was serialised in Spirou, before it was released as a hardcover album in 1980.-Story:In Beans Everywhere, the...
(Beans Everywhere, 1980). Part two of two.
Nic & Cauvin
- 30. La ceinture du grand froidLa ceinture du grand froidLa ceinture du grand froid, by Nic & Cauvin, is the thirtieth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the first of the authors. The story was initially serialised in Spirou, before released as a hardcover album in 1983.-Story:...
(The great cold ring, 1983) - 31. La boîte noireLa boîte noireLa boîte noire, by Nic & Cauvin, is the thirtyfirst album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the second of the authors. The story was initially serialised in Spirou, before released as a hardcover album in 1983.-Story:...
(The Black Box, 1983) - 32. Les faiseurs de silenceLes faiseurs de silenceLes faiseurs de silence, by Nic & Cauvin, is the thirtysecond album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the third of the authors. The story was initially serialised in Spirou, before released as a hardcover album in 1984.-Story:...
(The silence makers, 1984)
Tome & Janry
- 33. VirusVirus (Spirou et Fantasio)Virus, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the 33rd album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the first to come from this creative team, carrying on the series after the work of previous authors...
(1984) - 34. Aventure en AustralieAventure en AustralieAventure en Australie, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the thirtyfourth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the second of the authors...
(Adventure in Australia, 1985) - 35. Qui arrêtera Cyanure?Qui arrêtera Cyanure?Qui arrêtera Cyanure?, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the thirty-fifth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the third of the authors. The story was initially serialised in Spirou, before released as a hardcover album in 1985...
(Who Shall Stop Cyanide?, 1985) - 36. L'horloger de la comèteL'horloger de la comèteL'horloger de la comète, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the thirtysixth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the fourth of the authors...
(The Comet's Watchmaker, 1986). Part one of two. - 37. Le réveil du ZLe réveil du ZLe réveil du Z, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the thirtyseventh album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the fifth of the authors...
(Awakening of the Z, 1986). Part two of two. - 38. La jeunesse de SpirouLa jeunesse de SpirouLa jeunesse de Spirou, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the thirtyeighth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the sixth of the authors. The stories were serialised in Spirou, before they were compiled as a hardcover album in 1987...
(Spirou's Youth, 1987) - 39. Spirou à New-York (Spirou in New York, 1987). First appearance of Don Vito "Lucky" Cortizone.
- 40. La frousse aux troussesLa frousse aux troussesLa frousse aux trousses, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the fortieth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the eighth of the authors...
(Fear on the tail, 1988). Part one of two. - 41. La vallée des bannisLa vallée des bannisLa vallée des bannis, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the forty first volume in the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the ninth from the Tome & Janry team...
(Valley of the Banished, 1989). Part two of two. - 42. Spirou à MoscouSpirou à MoscouSpirou à Moscou, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the forty-second album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the tenth of the authors. The story was serialised in Spirou, before it was released as a hardcover album in 1990.-Story:...
(Spirou in Moscow, 1990) - 43. Vito la DéveineVito la DéveineVito la Déveine, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the forty-third album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the eleventh album created by the authors...
(Bad Luck Vito, 1991) - 44. Le rayon noir (The Black Ray, 1993)
- 45. Luna fatale (1995)
- 46. Machine qui rêve (Dreaming machine, 1998)
Morvan & Munuera
- 47. Paris-sous-Seine (Paris-under-SeineSeineThe Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
, 2004) - 48. L'homme qui ne voulait pas mourir (The Man Who Didn't Want To Die, 2005)
- 49. Spirou et Fantasio à Tokyo (Spirou and Fantasio in TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, released on September 20, 2006) - 49Z. Spirou et Fantasio, le 49Z - Short Spirou manga by Hiroyuki Oshima
- 50. Aux sources du Z (The Origins of the Z, released on November 5, 2008)
Yoann & Vehlmann
- 51. Alerte aux Zorkons (Alert of Zorkons, release on September 3, 2010)
- 52. La face cachée du Z (The Dark Side of the Z, released on October 21, 2011)
Special issues ("hors-séries")
- 1. L'Héritage (The inheritance). Featuring:
- Fantasio et son Tank (Fantasio and his tank, 1946, Franquin)
- L'Héritage (1946, Franquin)
- 2. Radar le robot (Radar the robot). Featuring:
- La maison préfabriquée (The prefabricated house, 1946, Jijé & Franquin)
- Radar le robot (1947, Franquin)
- Le Homard (The lobster, 1957, Franquin)
- 3. La voix sans maître et 5 autres aventures (The voice without owner and 5 other adventures). Featuring stories by:
- Rob-Vel: La naissance de Spirou (Spirou's birth, 1938); Spirou et la puce (Spirou and the flea, 1943)
- Franquin: Fantasio et le siphon (Fantasio and the siphon, 1957)
- Nic: Le fantacoptère solaire (The solar fantacopter, 1980)
- Tome & Janry: La voix sans maître (1981); La menace (The menace, 1982); La Tirelire est là (The money box is there, 1984); Une semaine de Spirou et Fantasio (A week of Spirou and Fantasio, 2001)
- 4. Fantasio et le fantôme et 4 autres aventures (Fantasio and the ghost and other 4 adventures). Featuring stories by:
- Jijé: Fantasio et le fantôme (1946)
- Franquin: La Zorglumobile (The Zorgumovil, 1976); Noël dans la brousse (Christmas in the bush, 1949); Fantasio et les pantins téléguidés (Fantasio and the remote-controlled skates, 1957)
- Yves Chaland: Cœurs d'acier (Steel Hearts, 1982)
- Fournier: Vacances à Brocéliande (Holidays at Broceliland, 1973; Joyeuses Pâques, Papa! (Happy Easter, dad!, 1971)
One-shots: Une aventure de Spirou et Fantasio par...
- 1. Les géants pétrifiés (The Petrified Giants, 2006, by Fabien VehlmannFabien VehlmannFabien Vehlmann is a French comics writer best known for Green Manor and Seuls. Yvan Delporte dubbed him "The René Goscinny of the third millennium".-Biography:...
(story) and Yoann (art)) - 2. Les marais du temps (The Marshlands of Time, 2007, by Frank Le Gall)
- 3. Le tombeau des Champignac (The Tomb of the Champignacs, 2007, by Yann (story) and Fabrice Tarrin (art))
- 4. Spirou, le journal d'un ingénu (Spirou, An Ingenuous [Boy]'s Diary, 2008, by Emile Bravo)
- 5. Le Groom Vert-de-Gris (2009, by Yann (story) and Schwartz (art) )
- 6. Panique en Atlantique (2010, by Lewis TrondheimLewis TrondheimLewis Trondheim , born 11 December 1964, is an extremely prolific French cartoonist and one of the founders of the independent publisher L'Association. Both his silent comic La Mouche and Kaput and Zösky have been made into animated cartoons...
(story) and Fabrice Parme (art))
Translations
The strip has been translated to several languages, among them CatalanCatalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
, Scandinavian languages, Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Bahasa Indonesia
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
, Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
and Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
. One book, number 15, was translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, by Fantasy Flight Publishing in 1995. This edition is out of print. Book 16 was partially translated but never published.
Egmont has printed and released English translations of Spirou in 2007 in India through its Indian subsidiary (Euro Books). So far, albums no 1-11 and 14 have been translated.
Cinebook has started publishing the series in October 2009. Two books have been released so far:
- Spirou & Fantasio: Adventure Down Under (Aventure en AustralieAventure en AustralieAventure en Australie, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the thirtyfourth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the second of the authors...
), 2009, ISBN 9781849180115 - Spirou & Fantasio in New York, 2010, ISBN 9781849180542
Memorabilia
On October 3, 1988, the Belgian Post issued a stamp featuring Spirou, drawn by Tome & Janry, in the series of comic stamps for youth philatelyPhilately
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...
. This was the fourth Belgian stamp showing a comic hero.
On February 26, 2006 the French Post
La Poste
La Poste may refer to:* La Poste, the postal service of France* La Poste Suisse, the French name for Swiss Post* La Poste, the French name for De Post - La Poste - Die Post of Belgium* La Poste Tunisienne, the Tunisian postal service...
issued a set of 3 Spirou et Fantasio stamps, featuring art by José-Luis Munuera. To commemorate the occasion, the Musée de la Poste de Paris (Paris Mail Museum) organized an exposition from February 27 to October 7, 2006 with two halls, one showing original plates and the other more recreational, with television, games, etc.
Sources
Footnotes