Marsu Productions
Encyclopedia
Marsu Productions, or simply Marsu, is a publishing house and licensing and merchandising company located in Monaco
, managing Franco-Belgian comics
characters and copyright
concerns, chiefly from the comics
universe of André Franquin
. The name Marsu refers to one of Franquin's best known characters the Marsupilami
, but the company also handles the character universes
of Gaston Lagaffe
, Le Petit Noël, Les Monstres, as well as François Walthéry
's Natacha
and Le P'tit bout d'chique, and Léonid et Spoutnika by Yann and Philippe Bercovici
among others.
Franquin, who had previously worked for the publishing house Dupuis
, decided to leave his company and start his own in 1987. He brought along his own creations Marsupilami and Gaston Lagaffe, and the company soon started
launching a series of Marsupilami albums continuing publication of the character Franquin had created in 1952, while working on the series Spirou et Fantasio
for the comics
magazine Spirou
. Since Spirou and Fantasio weren't Franquin's own creations, the publisher Dupuis retained the rights to the characters. Several of the characters under Marsu management are however closely associated with this series, and Marsupilami, Gaston Lagaffe, and Le Petit Noël are to varying degrees spin-off
series.
The first publication, La Queue du Marsupilami
in 1987 with art by Batem
and stories by Greg, launched its new series, which by 2007 had passed 20 issues. Natacha made the switch from Dupuis to Marsu in 1989 with the album Cauchemirage, and ended serial production in Spirou. In 1992, Franquin also added worldwide rights of Gaston Lagaffe to Marsu, a series he also created for Spirou. The Marsupilami album numbered 0, Capturez un Marsupilami
, the only album featuring Franquin's seminal stories, was published in 2002, some time after Franquin's death in 1997.
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
, managing Franco-Belgian comics
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...
characters and copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
concerns, chiefly from the comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
universe of 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...
. The name Marsu refers to one of Franquin's best known characters the 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...
, but the company also handles the character universes
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
of Gaston Lagaffe
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...
, Le Petit Noël, Les Monstres, as well as François Walthéry
François Walthéry
François Walthéry is a Belgian comics artist, best known for his series featuring an adventurous flight attendant, Natacha.-Biography:...
's Natacha
Natacha (comics)
Natacha is a Franco-Belgian comics series, created by François Walthéry and Gos. Drawn by Walthéry, its stories have been written by several authors including Gos, Peyo, Maurice Tillieux, Raoul Cauvin and Marc Wasterlain. It was first published in the comics magazine Spirou on February 26, 1970...
and Le P'tit bout d'chique, and Léonid et Spoutnika by Yann and Philippe Bercovici
Philippe Bercovici
Philippe Bercovici is a French comics artist of Franco-Belgian comics. Having illustrated a wide range of series, Bercovici is perhaps most known for Les Femmes en Blanc written by Cauvin, started in 1981...
among others.
Franquin, who had previously worked for the publishing house 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...
, decided to leave his company and start his own in 1987. He brought along his own creations Marsupilami and Gaston Lagaffe, and the company soon started
launching a series of Marsupilami albums continuing publication of the character Franquin had created in 1952, while working on the series 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...
for the comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
magazine Spirou
Spirou (magazine)
Spirou magazine is a weekly Belgian comics magazine published by the Dupuis company...
. Since Spirou and Fantasio weren't Franquin's own creations, the publisher Dupuis retained the rights to the characters. Several of the characters under Marsu management are however closely associated with this series, and Marsupilami, Gaston Lagaffe, and Le Petit Noël are to varying degrees spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
series.
The first publication, La Queue du Marsupilami
La Queue du Marsupilami
La queue du Marsupilami, written by Greg and drawn by Franquin and his collaborator Batem, is a comic album relating the adventures of the fictional character Marsupilami...
in 1987 with art by Batem
Batem
Luc Collin, best known by the pen name Batem is a Belgian comics artist best known as the artist successor of André Franquin of the series Marsupilami.-Biography:...
and stories by Greg, launched its new series, which by 2007 had passed 20 issues. Natacha made the switch from Dupuis to Marsu in 1989 with the album Cauchemirage, and ended serial production in Spirou. In 1992, Franquin also added worldwide rights of Gaston Lagaffe to Marsu, a series he also created for Spirou. The Marsupilami album numbered 0, Capturez un Marsupilami
Capturez un Marsupilami
Capturez un Marsupilami!, written and drawn by André Franquin, is a comic album containing adventures and short gags of the Marsupilami. Although not collected in one album until 2002, the contents are the earliest works of the original artist, from publications in Risque Tout and Spirou, and...
, the only album featuring Franquin's seminal stories, was published in 2002, some time after Franquin's death in 1997.