Cubitus
Encyclopedia
Cubitus is a Franco-Belgian comics
series, and the basis for the Wowser cartoon series appearing in the United States
. Cubitus was created by the cartoonist
Dupa
, and features Cubitus, a large anthropomorphic
dog, who lives with his owner Semaphore. Cubitus is known as Dommel in Flanders
and the Netherlands
.
A vast majority of the album publications collect single page gags, but a few gather collections of shorter stories or, in rare cases, one long story throughout the entire album.
Tintin
on April 16, 1968. The series gained immediate popularity, and began album publication in 1972. After several years of gags and album publications, it became the title strip for a magazine of its own. The first publication of Cubitus was published by Le Lombard
in December 1989, though it proved short-lived, lasting only six issues.
In 2005, the series was relaunched by Pierre Aucaigne (scenarist), and Michel Rodrigue
(artist) under the title Les nouvelles aventures de Cubitus.
named Don Don Domeru to Ron, which was re-titled as Wowser
for American audiences. Dubbed by Saban Entertainment, it is the only part of Cubitus that has been translated into English
.
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...
series, and the basis for the Wowser cartoon series appearing in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Cubitus was created by the cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Dupa
Dupa
Luc Dupanloup, more famous under his pen name Dupa, was a Belgian comics artist best known as the creator of Cubitus which later was turned into an animated series called Wowser...
, and features Cubitus, a large anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
dog, who lives with his owner Semaphore. Cubitus is known as Dommel in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Synopsis
The series tells the story of Cubitus, a good-natured large, white dog endowed with speech. He lives in a house in the suburbs with his master, Sémaphore, a retired sailor, next door to Sénéchal, the black and white cat who is instinctually Cubitus' enemy.A vast majority of the album publications collect single page gags, but a few gather collections of shorter stories or, in rare cases, one long story throughout the entire album.
Characters
- Cubitus: Hero of the series, he is a white dog with a large belly, a black snout and yellow tail. Initially a dog with hair covering the eyes, Cubitus ended up becoming still more anthropomorphic. Nearly entirely human in behaviour, he walks on two legs, has hands instead of paws, and is able to perform any human action, although he retains his canine love of bones.
- Sémaphore: A retired sailor who is the "Master" of Cubitus, even if sometimes the relationship of master and dog can be reversed. In the series, Semaphore's role is mainly to create inventions that are intended to be functional and aid his friends, but in the end lead to trouble.
- Sénéchal: A black and white cat, close neighbour and Cubitus' worst natural enemy. In longer stories the character may be Cubitus' friend, inexplicably.
- Ventenpoupe: an old friend of Semaphore, and a swindler.
Publication history
Cubitus first appeared in the comics magazineFranco-Belgian comics magazines
Belgium and France have a long tradition in comics. They have a common history for comics and magazines.In the early years of its history, magazines had a large place on the comics market and were often the only place where comics were published. Most of them were kids-targeted.In the 1970s,...
Tintin
Tintin (magazine)
Le journal de Tintin or Kuifje , was a weekly Belgian comics magazine of the second half of the 20th century...
on April 16, 1968. The series gained immediate popularity, and began album publication in 1972. After several years of gags and album publications, it became the title strip for a magazine of its own. The first publication of Cubitus was published by Le Lombard
Le Lombard
Le Lombard or Lombard Editions is a Belgian comic book publisher established in 1946 when the Tintin magazine was launched. In 1986 the company was acquired by Média-Participations.-Titles:Lombard's more famous series include:*Clifton...
in December 1989, though it proved short-lived, lasting only six issues.
In 2005, the series was relaunched by Pierre Aucaigne (scenarist), and Michel Rodrigue
Michel Rodrigue
Michel Rodrigue, aka Rodrigue, is Franco-Belgian comics artist. He started his most successful series in 1999, Doggyguard, with Bob de Groot as scenarist. In 2002 Rodrigue also took over the Colonel Clifton series over from scenarist Bédu...
(artist) under the title Les nouvelles aventures de Cubitus.
Dupa albums
- Du meilleur tonneau
- Cubitus illustre ses ancêtres
- Un oscar pour Cubitus
- La corrida des hippopotames casqués
- Pour les intimes
- Heureux qui, comme Cubitus
- Raconte-moi, Cubitus
- Tu le fais exprès ou quoi?
- L'ami ne fait pas le moine
- Cubitus et la boîte qui parle
- Chien sans souci
- Cubitus, tu nous fais marcher
- Cubitus, chien fidèle
- Cubitus, pas de salades
- Cubitus, est-ce bien sérieux?
- Alerte au pédalosaure
- Cubitus, quand tu nous tiens!...
- Tout en caressant Cubitus
- Cubitus, remets-nous ça
- Toujours avec deux sucres
- L'esprit égaré
- Les enquêtes de l'inspecteur Cubitus
- Cubitus, donne la belle papatte
- Tout ça c'est des histoires
- Cubitus, chien sans accroc
- Cubitus se met au vert
- Chat, ch'est du chien!
- Copain toutes catégories
- Cubitus fait toujours le beau
- Cubitus, au poil près
- Cubitus et les cumulus de Romulus
- Cubitus mon chien quotidien
- Un bouquet garni pour Cubitus
- Chien indispensable
- L'héritage du Pastaga
- Cubitus ne mord jamais
- Si tous les gags du monde...
- Cubitus, ça n'arrive qu'à toi!...
- Tu te la coules douce...
Les Nouvelles Aventures de Cubitus
- En avant toute !!
- Un chien peut en cacher un autre
- En haut de la vague !
- Tous des héros !
- La Truffe dans le Guidon!
Anime
In 1988, the strip was adapted into a Japanese cartoon seriesAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
named Don Don Domeru to Ron, which was re-titled as Wowser
Wowser (TV series)
is an anime based on the Belgian comic strip Cubitus. It consisted of 52 two-part episodes, and originally aired from April 5, 1988 to March 27, 1989.-Plot:Wowser is a big white dog who lives with his owner, the Professor...
for American audiences. Dubbed by Saban Entertainment, it is the only part of Cubitus that has been 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...
.
Impact
- Cubitus and Sénéchal appear on ten self-adhesive stamps launched by the French Poste in September 2006.
- A statute of Cubitus, by Yves Cauwenberghs, was erected on 3 October 2002 at Limal, where Dupa passed the last 30 years of his life.
- A wall painting of Cubitus can be seen in Brussels.
Sources
- Cubitus publications in Belgian Tintin and French Tintin BDoubliées
- List of albums on Bedetheque.com
- Cubitus profile on Hyphen comics
- http://www.bdparadisio.com/scripts/detail.cfm?Id=290
Footnotes