QRN sur Bretzelburg
Encyclopedia
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. The story was initially serialised in Spirou
under the name QRM sur Bretzelburg over an unusually long period (including a break in 1962), before a delayed hardcover album release in 1966.
's amazingly small transistor radio which gets wedged stuck inside the Marsupilami
's nose. Apart from the grief and restlessness caused to all nearby by the unstoppable radio, the device jams the transmissions received by Marcelin Switch, a neighbour and radio enthusiast, who claims that this puts the life of King Ladislas of Bretzelburg in grave danger. While Spirou
and Switch take Marsupilami to the clinic for nose surgery, Fantasio wearing a bathrobe and slippers in the wrong place at the wrong time is abducted by secret Bretzelpolizei who mistake him for Switch. Leaving the Marsupilami to recover in the hospital, Spirou, Spip and the nervous Switch travel to the dictatorial state of Bretzelburg, determined to rescue Fantasio, currently being tortured by the enthusiastic Dr.Kilkil. There, the team, reunited with the Marsupilami who has recovered uncannily fast and followed them across Europe, deal with a very unusual political situation...
, who had seen enough of the character for the moment. Lost for ideas, Franquin called Greg to help come up with a new plot. Even with this help, Franquin was forced by an early bout of depression to abandon the story half-way through and return to it later. Franquin realised at that time that he would not carry on with Spirou et Fantasio
for much longer.
In established comic book tradition, this album features apparent identical twin policemen in a way similar to Tintin
s Thomson and Thompson
, this time in a stereotypically German incarnation. In one scene, the angry King tells them to take their hats off in his presence, assuring them that they run no risk of brain colds.
The magazine also featured scenes which were edited out for the book edition:
to move the bus due to fuel restrictions; the lack of food in the shops; and newspaper
s being worn as clothes. The weapons themselves are also shown as useless: oil barrels are stuck together to appear like rocket
s and grenade
s are made from food tins with the contents still inside. One might also in general see a de facto satire over life in then contemporary totalitarian states in especially Eastern Europe
, like e.g. DDR. (Both stereotypical Germans and actual spoken German appear in the story.)
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...
and Greg, drawn by Franquin with assistance by Jidéhem, is the eighteenth 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 story was initially serialised in Spirou
Spirou (magazine)
Spirou magazine is a weekly Belgian comics magazine published by the Dupuis company...
under the name QRM sur Bretzelburg over an unusually long period (including a break in 1962), before a delayed hardcover album release in 1966.
Story
In QRN over Bretzelburg, trouble stems from FantasioFantasio
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...
's amazingly small transistor radio which gets wedged stuck inside 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...
's nose. Apart from the grief and restlessness caused to all nearby by the unstoppable radio, the device jams the transmissions received by Marcelin Switch, a neighbour and radio enthusiast, who claims that this puts the life of King Ladislas of Bretzelburg in grave danger. While 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 Switch take Marsupilami to the clinic for nose surgery, Fantasio wearing a bathrobe and slippers in the wrong place at the wrong time is abducted by secret Bretzelpolizei who mistake him for Switch. Leaving the Marsupilami to recover in the hospital, Spirou, Spip and the nervous Switch travel to the dictatorial state of Bretzelburg, determined to rescue Fantasio, currently being tortured by the enthusiastic Dr.Kilkil. There, the team, reunited with the Marsupilami who has recovered uncannily fast and followed them across Europe, deal with a very unusual political situation...
Background
Franquin has explained that he started QRN intending it to be another Zorglub story, but that this was vetoed by publisher DupuisDupuis
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...
, who had seen enough of the character for the moment. Lost for ideas, Franquin called Greg to help come up with a new plot. Even with this help, Franquin was forced by an early bout of depression to abandon the story half-way through and return to it later. Franquin realised at that time that he would not carry on with 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 much longer.
In established comic book tradition, this album features apparent identical twin policemen in a way similar 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...
s Thomson and Thompson
Thomson and Thompson
Thomson and Thompson are fictional characters in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Thomson and Thompson are detectives of Scotland Yard, and are as incompetent as they are necessary comic relief...
, this time in a stereotypically German incarnation. In one scene, the angry King tells them to take their hats off in his presence, assuring them that they run no risk of brain colds.
Edits
When first published in Spirou magazine the story was named QRM sur Bretzelburg. The title was changed from "QRM" to "QRN" between the serialisation and the book publication.The magazine also featured scenes which were edited out for the book edition:
- In the opening, Spirou runs around the house desperately switching off Fantasio's loud-playing radios. He even goes so far as mistaking the air conditioner, the toasterToasterThe toaster is typically a small electric kitchen appliance designed to toast multiple types of bread products. A typical modern two-slice toaster draws anywhere between 600 and 1200 W and makes toast in 1 to 3 minutes...
and the flash camera for radios. - The Marsupilami causes chaos when he wanders around town with the miniature radio jammed in his nose. A commentary on a football game matches his moves as he gets around the various people in his way, faces a policeman (goalkeeper in the commentary) and a goal is striked when the pursuing Spirou and Fantasio collide with the officer.
- Later, in Bretzelburg, Kilikil forces Fantasio to walk around the jail's exercise yard with shoes that are far too small for him. (This takes place after the scene where Fantasio is shown banging on the cell door and complaining about having no shoes; the shoes can be seen when he is moved to another cell next to the kitchen.)
Themes
In this story Franquin highlights the arms trade and how it encourages unnecessary conflict between nations in the pursuit of profit. He also satirises the effect on the local economy with people forced to pedalPedal
The word pedal comes from the Latin and relates to the foot.A pedal is a lever activated by one's foot. The term "foot pedal" is redundant, and should be avoided...
to move the bus due to fuel restrictions; the lack of food in the shops; and newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s being worn as clothes. The weapons themselves are also shown as useless: oil barrels are stuck together to appear like rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
s and grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
s are made from food tins with the contents still inside. One might also in general see a de facto satire over life in then contemporary totalitarian states in especially Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, like e.g. DDR. (Both stereotypical Germans and actual spoken German appear in the story.)