Spirou et les hommes-bulles
Encyclopedia
Spirou et les hommes-bulles (Spirou and the bubble-men), written and drawn by Franquin
, is the seventeenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio
series. The title story appeared sequentially (in black & white) in Le Parisien Libéré
, and only the accompanying story Les petits formats was serialised in Spirou
as well, before both were published in a hardcover album in 1964.
are invoked as John Helena, "the Moray", escapes from captivity, and Spirou
, Fantasio
and the Count suspect he is going after the gold that is still in the wreckage of Le Discret. A sudden trend of mini-submarine sabotage prompts the heroes to investigate, and the mystery becomes no more clear when Helena is discovered barely conscious, with gold, feebly warning of an attack by the "Bubble Men".
In The Miniatures, Marsupilami
playfully exposes Fantasio's unused film, forcing him to go to Mr.Flashback's photo store to buy replacements. When Spirou next meets Fantasio, he is reduced to a palm-sized, paralyzed miniature statue, which causes Spirou to question his own sanity. In a setting of other similar incidents involving Mr.Flashback, and a suspicious collector of miniatures, Spirou is set on a desperate mission to somehow restore his friend back to normal.
, hailed for its rich and atmospheric colour-use, it is criticized for falling short in this respect, as well as other, more typical, sequel disgruntlement.
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...
, is the seventeenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio
Spirou et Fantasio
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...
series. The title story appeared sequentially (in black & white) in Le Parisien Libéré
Le Parisien
Le Parisien is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It was established as Le Parisien libéré by Émilien Amaury in 1944, and the name was changed to the current one in 1986...
, and only the accompanying story Les petits formats was serialised in Spirou
Spirou (magazine)
Spirou magazine is a weekly Belgian comics magazine published by the Dupuis company...
as well, before both were published in a hardcover album in 1964.
Story
In Spirou et les hommes-bulles, memories of Le repaire de la murèneLe repaire de la murène
Le 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...
are invoked as John Helena, "the Moray", escapes from captivity, and 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....
, 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...
and the Count suspect he is going after the gold that is still in the wreckage of Le Discret. A sudden trend of mini-submarine sabotage prompts the heroes to investigate, and the mystery becomes no more clear when Helena is discovered barely conscious, with gold, feebly warning of an attack by the "Bubble Men".
In The Miniatures, Marsupilami
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...
playfully exposes Fantasio's unused film, forcing him to go to Mr.Flashback's photo store to buy replacements. When Spirou next meets Fantasio, he is reduced to a palm-sized, paralyzed miniature statue, which causes Spirou to question his own sanity. In a setting of other similar incidents involving Mr.Flashback, and a suspicious collector of miniatures, Spirou is set on a desperate mission to somehow restore his friend back to normal.
Background
Uniquely, Spirou et les hommes-bulles was never published in Le Journal de Spirou but only in Le Parisien Libéré, uncoloured, and subsequently the later colour treatment of the two stories in this album is distinctly different from that of other Spirou albums. In comparison to its "prequel", Le repaire de la murèneLe repaire de la murène
Le 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...
, hailed for its rich and atmospheric colour-use, it is criticized for falling short in this respect, as well as other, more typical, sequel disgruntlement.