Spirou magazine is a weekly Belgian comics magazine

Franco-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,...

 (Spirou is a 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...

 word meaning "squirrel" or "lively kid") published by the 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...

 company. First published 21 April 1938 as Le Journal de Spirou, it was an eight-page weekly comics magazine composed a mixture of short stories and gags, serial

Serial (literature)

In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...

 comics, and a handful of American comics

American comic book

An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...

.

Creation

With the success of the weekly magazine Le Journal de Mickey

Le Journal de Mickey

Le Journal de Mickey is a French weekly comics magazine established in 1934 and currently published by Disney Hachette Presse. It is centered around the adventures of Mickey Mouse and other Disney figures but contains also other comics. It is credited with "the birth of the modern bande dessinée"...

in France, and the popularity of the weekly adventures of 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...

in Le Petit Vingtième

Le Petit Vingtième

Le Petit Vingtième was the weekly youth supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle from 1928 to 1940. The comics series The Adventures of Tintin first appeared in its pages.-History:...

, many new comic magazines or youth magazines with comics appeared in France and Belgium in the second half of the 1930s. In 1936, the experienced publisher Jean Dupuis put his sons Paul and the 19 year old Charles in charge of a new magazine aimed at the juvenile market.

First appearing in April 1938, it was a large format magazine, available only 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...

 and only in Wallonia. It introduced two new comics, the eponymous Spirou

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...

drawn by the young Frenchman Rob-Vel, and Les Aventures de Tif (later to become Tif et Tondu

Tif et Tondu

Tif et Tondu is a Belgian comic strip originally created, written and drawn by Fernand Dineur. Several artists and writers have worked on the series but the most popular version is that drawn by Will, with writers Maurice Rosy, Maurice Tillieux and Stephen Desberg...

) drawn by Fernand Dineur, and printed American comics such as Superman

Superman

Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...

, Red Ryder

Red Ryder

Red Ryder was a popular long-running Western comic strip created by Stephen Slesinger and artist Fred Harman. Beginning Sunday, November 6, 1938, Red Ryder was syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association, expanding over the following decade to 750 newspapers, translations into ten languages and...

and Brick Bradford

Brick Bradford

Brick Bradford was a science fiction comic strip created by writer William Ritt, a journalist based in Cleveland, and artist Clarence Gray. It was first distributed in 1933 by Central Press Association, a subsidiary of King Features Syndicate....

. on 27 October 1938 the 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...

 edition named Robbedoes appeared as well.

Second World War

Spirou and Robbedoes soon became very popular and the magazine doubled its pages from 8 to 16. After the invasion of the Germans, the magazine gradually had to stop publishing American comics. They were at first continued by local artists and later replaced with new series. When Rob-Vel no longer had the possibility to send his pages from France to Belgium on a regular basis either, his series was continued by Joseph Gillain, a young artist who had previously worked for Petits Belges and used 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...

. Together with Dineur and Sirius (pen name of Max Mayeu), they filled the magazine with a number of new series and increased the popularity of it even further.

Near the end of the war, due to paper shortages, publication had to be stopped anyway, with only a few irregular almanacs to keep the bond with the readers intact and to provide work for the personnel to prevent them being deported to Germany.

The golden years

The period 1945–1960 has been described by critics as the golden age of Spirou magazine and of Belgian comics in general, partly incited by the 1946 appearance of the successful competitor magazine Tintin

Tintin (magazine)

Le journal de Tintin or Kuifje , was a weekly Belgian comics magazine of the second half of the 20th century...

. Spirou resumed publication only weeks after Belgium was liberated, but now on a much smaller format. Jijé was the main author, providing pages from multiple series each week. Some American comics reappeared as well.

In 1946 and 1947, the team was joined by some of the main contributors to Spirou for the next decades, with 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...

, Victor Hubinon

Victor Hubinon

Victor Hubinon was a Belgian comic-book artist, best known for the series Buck Danny and Redbeard.-Biography:...

, Jean-Michel Charlier

Jean-Michel Charlier

Jean-Michel Charlier was a Belgian script writer best known as a writer of realistic European comics. He was a co-founder of the famed European comics magazine Pilote.-Biography:...

, Morris

Morris (comics)

Maurice De Bevere , better known as Morris, was a Belgian cartoonist and the creator of Lucky Luke. His pen name is an alternate spelling of his first name.-Biography:...

 and Eddy Paape

Eddy Paape

Eddy Paape is a Franco-Belgian comics artist best known for illustrating the series Luc Orient.-Biography:Eddy Paape was born in Grivegnée , Belgium in 1920...

. After a few years, they started their now classic series like Buck Danny

Buck Danny

Buck Danny is a Franco-Belgian comics series about a military flying ace and his two sidekicks serving in the United States Navy or the United States Air Force. The series is noted for its realism both in the drawings and the descriptions of air force procedures as part of the storyline. In...

by Hubinon and Charlier and Lucky Luke

Lucky Luke

Lucky Luke is a Belgian comics series created by Belgian cartoonist, Maurice De Bevere better known as Morris, the original artist, and was for one period written by René Goscinny...

by Morris, while Franquin took over Spirou from Jijé. Gradually, the American comics and reprints were replaced by new, 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...

 productions, and by the 50s, nearly all the content was made especially for the magazine. Charles Dupuis remained editor-in-chief of the magazine until 1955 when he appointed Yvan Delporte

Yvan Delporte

Yvan Delporte was a Belgian comics writer, and was editor-in-chief of Spirou magazine between 1955 and 1968 during a period considered by many the golden age of Franco-Belgian comics...

 to that position, so he could himself focus on his increasing interest in the publication of the magazine's series' albums.

The golden ages culminated in the 1950s with the introduction of more authors and series like Peyo

Peyo

Pierre Culliford , known as Peyo, was a Belgian comics artist, perhaps best known for the creation of The Smurfs comic strip.-Biography:...

 (Johan and Peewit

Johan and Peewit

Johan and Peewit is a Belgian comics series created by Peyo. Since its initial appearance in 1947 it has been published in 13 albums that appeared before the death of Peyo in 1992. Thereafter, a team of comic book creators from Studio Peyo continued to publish the stories.The series is set in...

in 1952, The Smurfs

The Smurfs

The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...

in 1958), René Follet

René Follet

René Follet , sometimes known by the pen name Ref, is a Belgian illustrator, comics writer and artist.-Biography:René Follet was born in Brussels in 1931. His first publication appeared when he was 14, illustrating a promotional issue of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island for Aiglon, a...

, Marcel Remacle, Jean Roba

Jean Roba

Jean Roba was a Belgian comics author from the Marcinelle school. His best-known work is Boule et Bill.-Biography:...

 (with Boule et Bill

Boule et Bill

Boule et Bill is a popular comic, created in 1959 by the Belgian writer-artist Jean Roba in collaboration with Maurice Rosy. In 2003 the artistic responsibility of the series was passed on to Roba's former assistant Laurent Verron...

), Maurice Tillieux

Maurice Tillieux

Maurice Tillieux was a Belgian writer and comic artist. He is regarded by many as a major figure of post-war Belgian comics.-Early life:...

 (with Gil Jourdan

Gil Jourdan

Gil Jourdan is a Belgian detective comic strip created by Maurice Tillieux. It is considered a great combination of mystery, adventure and humour, and a masterpiece of European comics.-Origin and Premise:...

), Mitacq

Mitacq

Michel Tacq, or Mitacq, is an author of Belgian comics. He was involved in Scouting for most of his life.-Biography:...

 and Will. In 1954, Jijé created the realistic western comic Jerry Spring

Jerry Spring

Jerry Spring is a Franco-Belgian Western comics series created by the Belgian comics creator Jijé. Originally published in Le Journal de Spirou, the series made its debut on March 4, 1954.-Bibliography:-Sources:* BDoubliées Footnotes...

, and in 1957 Franquin introduced the anti-hero 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...

. The authors of the magazine, many of them pupils of Jijé, were grouped stylistically in the Marcinelle school

Marcinelle school

The term "Marcinelle school" refers to a group of Belgian cartoonists formed by Joseph Gillain following World War II...

, the counterpart of the Ligne Claire

Ligne claire

Ligne claire is a style of drawing pioneered by Hergé, the Belgian creator of The Adventures of Tintin. It uses clear strong lines of uniform importance. Artists working in it do not use hatching, while contrast is downplayed as well...

 exhibited by the artists grouped around Hergé

Hergé

Georges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...

 in Tintin magazine

Tintin (magazine)

Le journal de Tintin or Kuifje , was a weekly Belgian comics magazine of the second half of the 20th century...

, the main competitor for Spirou between 1946 and 1959.

By 1960, the magazine had achieved a fixed structure and had grown to 52 pages, mainly filled with new, European (mainly Belgian) comics, coupled with some text pages (interaction with the readers) and adverts. Most of the comics were long-running series which were regularly published as albums of 44 or 64 pages, generating a constant source of revenue for the artists and the publisher. In the next decades, the sales of albums would become the main focus, reducing the importance of the magazine which became more of a breeding ground for new talent and series.

Rejuvenation in the 1960s and 1970s

In the early 1960s, the main changes were the strong editorial work of Delporte, who kept the magazine vibrant despite the more or less fixed series, with numerous supplements, games, and experimental layouts. The magazine demonstrated the pleasure that had gone in creating it, and maintained a strong reader base despite the growing competition from more adolescent and adult French magazines like Pilote

Pilote

thumb|Cover of the first Pilote teaser issue, #0.Pilote was a French comics periodical published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as Astérix le Gaulois, Blueberry, Achille Talon, and Valérian et...

. Some of the main authors (Jijé, Franquin, Will, and Hubinon) temporarily started working for other magazines, with Morris the only major name who definitely left the magazine. Their replacements, like Berck

Arthur Berckmans

Arthur Berckmans , better known as Berck, is a Belgian comics author, best known for Sammy.-Biography:Arthur Berckmans was born in Leuven in 1929. He studied drawing at the Art academy of Leuven and at the Saint Lucas Institute in Brussels. His first job as an illustrator was in 1948 for the...

, had trouble filling the void.

Around 1959–1960, the first mini-récits (lit. mini-stories) appeared. This was an experiment in which the middle pages of the magazines could be removed, which the reader (armed with a pair of scissors, a stapler and some patience) could fold into a small comics magazine of its own. Several artists were allowed to hone their skills inside these mini-récits before moving on to larger pages, and until the 70's, more than 500 mini-récits were produced, series that debuted in this format include The Smurfs

The Smurfs

The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...

by Peyo

Peyo

Pierre Culliford , known as Peyo, was a Belgian comics artist, perhaps best known for the creation of The Smurfs comic strip.-Biography:...

, Bobo by Rosy

Maurice Rosy

Maurice Rosy , is a Belgian comics writer who also worked as artistic director of Spirou during its golden period.-Biography:...

 and Deliège

Paul Deliège

Paul Deliège was a Belgian artist and writer of comics, and was married with two children.-Biography:Deliège was born in Olne. He started in the daily Le Soir with Père Bricole et Félicien et les Romanis. In 1959, he got into éditions Dupuis where he launched les aventures de Théophile et...

, Flagada by Degotte among many others.

Only in the early 1970s a number of new success series and authors appeared . The main contributor for the next decades was 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...

, a lithographer who worked as a cameraman for the Dupuis animation studios and wrote stories for series like Musti

Musti (character)

Musti is a cartoon character, created by Flemish graphic artist Ray Goossens in 1945. Musti is a little cat, living with his mother and father in a little house in a rural village, surrounded by a large garden with animals and trees.-Television series:...

. He became the main story writer for Dupuis, with major series like Sammy

Sammy (comics)

Sammy is a popular humour Belgian comics series. It first started in 1970 in the weekly comic Spirou magazine, has been published in book form and even been the subject of several omnibus editions by Dupuis...

with Berck, Les Tuniques Bleues

Les Tuniques Bleues

Les Tuniques Bleues is a Belgian series of bandes dessinées , first featured in Spirou and later published by Dupuis. Created by Louis Salverius, the series was taken up by artist Willy Lambillotte and writer Raoul Cauvin. It follows two United States cavalrymen through a series of battles and...

with Lambil

Lambil

Lambil is a Belgian comic-book artist, best known for the series Les Tuniques Bleues, which has been published in English as "The Blue Tunics" and "The Bluecoats".-Biography:Willy Lambillotte was born in Tamines, Belgium in 1936...

, and later Cédric

Cédric

Cédric is a Belgian comic strip created by writer Raoul Cauvin and drawn by Laudec. A series of animated cartoons based on the comic have been produced as well.-Story:...

with Laudec and Agent 212

Agent 212

Agent 212 is the name of a humorous Belgian comic about a large police officer. The comic series is written by Raoul Cauvin, and drawn by Daniel Kox, and has been published in the Spirou/Robbedoes magazine since 1975. Dupuis has also published 26 comic books in French and Dutch featuring the...

with Daniel Kox, among many others. Other important new authors were François Walthery

François Walthéry

François Walthéry is a Belgian comics artist, best known for his series featuring an adventurous flight attendant, Natacha.-Biography:...

 with 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 Roger Leloup

Roger Leloup

Roger Leloup is a Belgian comic strip artist, novelist, and a former collaborator of Hergé. He is most famous for the Yoko Tsuno comic series.- Biography :...

 with Yoko Tsuno

Yoko Tsuno

Yoko Tsuno is a comic book series created by the Belgian writer Roger Leloup published by Dupuis and in Spirou since its debut in 1970. Through twenty-five volumes, the series tell the adventures of Yoko Tsuno, a female electrical engineer of Japanese origin surrounded by her close friends, Vic...

, together with Isabelle

Isabelle (comics)

Isabelle is a Belgian comic series drawn by Will and written by Franquin, Delporte and Macherot.The comic first appeared in Spirou in 1970. Created by a top team of already-famous contributors to the magazine, the series gained a small but fanatical following...

by Will evidence of the new wave of adventurous female-oriented comics of the decade.

A commercial failure but artistic success came along in 1977, when Delporte created the more adult supplement Le Trombone Illustré, which appeared inside Spirou for thirty weeks, and showcased new artists like Didier Comès

Didier Comès

Didier Comès is a Belgian comics artist, best known for his graphic novels published in the magazine .-Biography:...

, Enki Bilal

Enki Bilal

Enes Bilal is a French comic book creator, comics artist and film director.-Biography:Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to a Slovak mother and a Bosnian father who had been Josip Broz Tito's tailor, he moved to Paris at the age of 9. At age 14, he met René Goscinny and with his encouragement applied...

, Claire Bretécher

Claire Bretécher

Claire Bretécher is a French cartoonist, known particularly for her portrayals of women and gender issues. Her creations include the Frustrés, and the unimpressed teenager Agrippine.-Biography:...

, F'murr

F'Murr

F'Murr or F'Murrr whose real name is Richard Peyzaret, is a French comics creator. He is most famous for the long running series Le Génie des alpages .-Biography:...

, Grzegorz Rosinski

Grzegorz Rosinski

Grzegorz Rosiński is a Polish comic book artist. He is best known for the series Thorgal.-Early life:Grzegorz Rosiński was born in Stalowa Wola in 1941...

, and Frédéric Jannin, next to more established authors like René Hausman

René Hausman

René Hausman is a Belgian comic-book writer and artist, best known for his dark fairytales and aquarel drawings.-Biography:...

, Peyo, Roba, Marcel Gotlieb

Marcel Gotlieb

Gotlib is a French comics artist/writer and publisher. Through his own work and the magazines he co-founded, L' Écho des Savanes and Fluide Glacial, Gotlib was one of the key figures in the switch in French-language comics from their children's entertainment roots to an adult tone and readership...

, and Franquin, who started his third major series, Idées Noires

Idées 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...

.

Since 1980

The early 1980 had Spirou and Robbedoes searching for a new, appealing identity, with new formulas, more adult comics like XIII by William Vance

William Vance

William Vance, the pen name of William van Cutsem, born 8 September 1935, is a Belgian comics artist widely known throughout a long career for his distinctive style and work in Franco-Belgian comics.- Biography :...

 and Jean Van Hamme

Jean Van Hamme

Jean Van Hamme is a Belgian novelist and comic book writer. He has written scripts for a number of Belgian/French comic series, including Histoire sans héros, Thorgal, XIII and Largo Winch.-Early years:...

 or Jeremiah by Hermann

Hermann Huppen

Hermann Huppen is a Belgian comic book artist. He is better known under his pen-name Hermann. He is most famous for his post-apocalyptic comic Jeremiah which was made into a television series.-Biography:...

. Most artists of the first generation were no longer active, and the productivity of many artists of the second generation slowed down as well. New talents were Tome

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...

 and Janry

Jean-Richard Geurts

Jean-Richard Geurts, perhaps better known under his pseudonym Janry , is a comics artist. With Tome he created Le Petit Spirou and made several Spirou et Fantasio albums.-Biography:...

, the new team for the Spirou et Fantasio comic, Bruno Gazzotti (Soda), François Gilson

François Gilson

François Gilson is a Belgian comics author. Signing his work simply as Gilson, he is best known for Mélusine.-Biography:...

 (Mélusine

Mélusine (comics)

Mélusine is a Belgian comic strip created by artist Clarke and writer Gilson and features short, humorous stories that centre around the life of a young witch who lives as an au pair in a castle and studies at a witches’ school .The strip first appeared in Spirou magazine in 1992...

), 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...

, Zidrou, André Geerts

André Geerts

André Geerts was a Belgian comics creator best known for his series Jojo.-Biography:André Geerts was born in Brussels in 1955. He studied at the Institut Saint-Luc art school in Brussels...

, 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:...

, Midam

Midam

Midam is the pseudonym of Michel Ledent, the Belgian comics author best known for Kid Paddle.-Biography:Michel Ledent was born in Etterbeek near Brussels in 1963. He studied illustration and interior decoration at the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels, and started creating comics in 1989 for the...

 (Kid Paddle

Kid Paddle

Kid Paddle is a Belgian, French and Canadian co-produced animated series. It aired on Teletoon, Sundays at 4:00 am, EST, but is currently on an indefinite hiatus...

), 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...

, Marc Hardy and Luc Cromheecke

Luc Cromheecke

Luc Cromheecke , is a Belgian comics artist best known for the comic series Tom Carbon, Taco Zip, Roboboy and Plunk.-Biography:Luc Cromheecke was born in Antwerp in 1961...

.

Robbedoes had a severe reduction in the number of readers, and was first reduced to 32 pages (with Spirou growing to 68), before it finally disappeared in 2005.

Anthologies

From the very start, Spirou and Robbedoes published quarterly anthologies of (often 13) consecutive magazines in hardcover. This series still continues for Spirou with over 300 of them as of November, 2010.

Spirou and Tintin rivalry

Since the 1940s, Spirou was in constant competition with Tintin

Tintin (magazine)

Le journal de Tintin or Kuifje , was a weekly Belgian comics magazine of the second half of the 20th century...

. If one artist was published by one of the magazines, he would not be published by the other one. This was a gentleman's agreement between the two publishers, Raymond Leblanc of 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...

 and Charles Dupuis of 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...

. One notable exception was 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...

, who in 1955, after a dispute with its editor, moved from the more popular Spirou to Tintin. The dispute was quickly settled, but Franquin had signed an agreement with Tintin for five years. He created Modeste et Pompon

Modeste et Pompon

Modeste et Pompon is a Belgian comic series consisting mainly of humorous one-page short stories about a temperamental young man and his girlfriend...

for Tintin while pursuing work for Spirou. He quit Tintin at the end of his contract. Some artists moved from Spirou to Tintin like Eddy Paape

Eddy Paape

Eddy Paape is a Franco-Belgian comics artist best known for illustrating the series Luc Orient.-Biography:Eddy Paape was born in Grivegnée , Belgium in 1920...

 and Liliane & Fred Funcken, while some went from Tintin to Spirou like Raymond Macherot

Raymond Macherot

Raymond Macherot was a Belgian cartoonist. Although not nearly as famous as fellow Belgian cartoonists such as Hergé or André Franquin, Macherot's work, both as artist and writer, remains highly regarded among critics and collectors.-The Tintin years:Raymond Macherot was born in Verviers, Belgium...

 and Berck

Arthur Berckmans

Arthur Berckmans , better known as Berck, is a Belgian comics author, best known for Sammy.-Biography:Arthur Berckmans was born in Leuven in 1929. He studied drawing at the Art academy of Leuven and at the Saint Lucas Institute in Brussels. His first job as an illustrator was in 1948 for the...

.

Main authors and series

• Bédu: Psy (1992–)
• Benn: Mic Mac Adam (1978–1987)
• Berck
  Arthur Berckmans
  Arthur Berckmans , better known as Berck, is a Belgian comics author, best known for Sammy.-Biography:Arthur Berckmans was born in Leuven in 1929. He studied drawing at the Art academy of Leuven and at the Saint Lucas Institute in Brussels. His first job as an illustrator was in 1948 for the...
  
  : Sammy
  Sammy (comics)
  Sammy is a popular humour Belgian comics series. It first started in 1970 in the weekly comic Spirou magazine, has been published in book form and even been the subject of several omnibus editions by Dupuis...
  
  (1970–1994)
• 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...
  
  : Les Femmes en Blanc
  Les Femmes en Blanc
  Les Femmes en blanc is a Belgian comics humor series of 32 volumes, for which the script was created by Raoul Cauvin and whose design was directed by Philippe Bercovici. Colours were done by Leonardo. The first volume was released in 1986....
  
  (1981–)
• Bom: Broussaille (1983–1989, 2000)
• 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...
  
  : Les Tuniques Bleues
  Les Tuniques Bleues
  Les Tuniques Bleues is a Belgian series of bandes dessinées , first featured in Spirou and later published by Dupuis. Created by Louis Salverius, the series was taken up by artist Willy Lambillotte and writer Raoul Cauvin. It follows two United States cavalrymen through a series of battles and...
  
  (1968–), Sammy (1970–), Cédric
  Cédric
  Cédric is a Belgian comic strip created by writer Raoul Cauvin and drawn by Laudec. A series of animated cartoons based on the comic have been produced as well.-Story:...
  
  (1986–), Agent 212
  Agent 212
  Agent 212 is the name of a humorous Belgian comic about a large police officer. The comic series is written by Raoul Cauvin, and drawn by Daniel Kox, and has been published in the Spirou/Robbedoes magazine since 1975. Dupuis has also published 26 comic books in French and Dutch featuring the...
  
  (1975-) etc.
• Jean-Michel Charlier
  Jean-Michel Charlier
  Jean-Michel Charlier was a Belgian script writer best known as a writer of realistic European comics. He was a co-founder of the famed European comics magazine Pilote.-Biography:...
  
  : Buck Danny
  Buck Danny
  Buck Danny is a Franco-Belgian comics series about a military flying ace and his two sidekicks serving in the United States Navy or the United States Air Force. The series is noted for its realism both in the drawings and the descriptions of air force procedures as part of the storyline. In...
  
  (1947–1978)
• Clarke: Mélusine
  Mélusine (comics)
  Mélusine is a Belgian comic strip created by artist Clarke and writer Gilson and features short, humorous stories that centre around the life of a young witch who lives as an au pair in a castle and studies at a witches’ school .The strip first appeared in Spirou magazine in 1992...
  
  (1992–)
• Stéphane Colman: Billy the Cat
  Billy the Cat
  Billy the Cat is the title of a Franco-Belgian comic strip by the Belgian Stéphane Colman and Stephen Desberg, as well as an animated cartoon adaptation, amongst others...
  
  (1981–1999)
• Didier Conrad: Les innomables (1980–1982), Donito (1991–1996)
• Darasse: Tamara (2001–), Gang Mazda (1987–1996)
• Lucien De Gieter: Papyrus
  Papyrus (comics)
  Papyrus is a Belgian comic book series, written and illustrated by Lucien de Gieter. The story takes place in Ancient Egypt. It was first published in 1974 in the Spirou magazine in the form of episodes....
  
  (1974–)
• Charles Degotte: Flagada (1961–1988), Motards (1984–1993)
• Paul Deliège
  Paul Deliège
  Paul Deliège was a Belgian artist and writer of comics, and was married with two children.-Biography:Deliège was born in Olne. He started in the daily Le Soir with Père Bricole et Félicien et les Romanis. In 1959, he got into éditions Dupuis where he launched les aventures de Théophile et...
  
  : Bobo (1961–1996), Les Krostons (1968–1983)
• Yvan Delporte
  Yvan Delporte
  Yvan Delporte was a Belgian comics writer, and was editor-in-chief of Spirou magazine between 1955 and 1968 during a period considered by many the golden age of Franco-Belgian comics...
  
  : Isabelle
  Isabelle (comics)
  Isabelle is a Belgian comic series drawn by Will and written by Franquin, Delporte and Macherot.The comic first appeared in Spirou in 1970. Created by a top team of already-famous contributors to the magazine, the series gained a small but fanatical following...
  
  (1969–1994), The Smurfs
  The Smurfs
  The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
  
  (1962–1972)
• Stephen Desberg
  Stephen Desberg
  Stephen Desberg is a Belgian writer of comics. In 2010, he was the 10th bestselling author of comics in France, with 412,000 copies of all his comics together sold that year.-Biography:...
  
  : Tif et Tondu
  Tif et Tondu
  Tif et Tondu is a Belgian comic strip originally created, written and drawn by Fernand Dineur. Several artists and writers have worked on the series but the most popular version is that drawn by Will, with writers Maurice Rosy, Maurice Tillieux and Stephen Desberg...
  
  (1977–1989), Billy the Cat (1982–2004), 421 (1980–1992), Mic Mac Adam (1978–1987)
• Fernand Dineur: Tif et Tondu (1938–1951)
• Alain Dodier: Jérôme K. Jérôme Bloche (1982–)
• Serge Ernst: Les Zappeurs (1991–)
• René Follet
  René Follet
  René Follet , sometimes known by the pen name Ref, is a Belgian illustrator, comics writer and artist.-Biography:René Follet was born in Brussels in 1931. His first publication appeared when he was 14, illustrating a promotional issue of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island for Aiglon, a...
  
  : Various series (1950 onwards)
• 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:...
  
  : 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...
  
  (1969–1979), Bizu (1967–1994), Crannibales (1995–2005)
• Francis: Marc Lebut (1966–1983)
• Frank
  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...
  
  : Broussaille (1978–1989, 2000–2002), L'elan (1981–1987)
• 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...
  
  : Spirou et Fantasio (1946–1969), 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...
  
  (1957–1991)
• Bruno Gazzotti: Soda (1990–), Seuls (2006–)
• André Geerts
  André Geerts
  André Geerts was a Belgian comics creator best known for his series Jojo.-Biography:André Geerts was born in Brussels in 1955. He studied at the Institut Saint-Luc art school in Brussels...
  
  : Jojo (1983–2010)
• François Gilson
  François Gilson
  François Gilson is a Belgian comics author. Signing his work simply as Gilson, he is best known for Mélusine.-Biography:...
  
  : Mélusine (1992–, Garage Isidore (1991–)
• Gos: Scrameustache
  Scrameustache
  The Scrameustache is a fictional character in a science-fiction Franco-Belgian comics series of the same name. He was created by the Belgian artist Gos. Gos has written and drawn all the Scrameustache's adventures since 1972. Since the mid-1980s he has been assisted by his son Walt. Another son,...
  
  (1972–2002)
• René Goscinny
  René Goscinny
  René Goscinny was a French comics editor and writer, who is best known for the comic book Astérix, which he created with illustrator Albert Uderzo, and for his work on the comic series Lucky Luke with Morris and Iznogoud with Jean Tabary.-Early life:Goscinny was born in Paris in 1926, to a family...
  
  : Lucky Luke
  Lucky Luke
  Lucky Luke is a Belgian comics series created by Belgian cartoonist, Maurice De Bevere better known as Morris, the original artist, and was for one period written by René Goscinny...
  
  (1955–1967, 1978)
• Marc Hardy: Pierre Tombal (1983–)
• René Hausman
  René Hausman
  René Hausman is a Belgian comic-book writer and artist, best known for his dark fairytales and aquarel drawings.-Biography:...
  
  : Bestiaire (1959–1967), Laïyna (1985–1987)
• 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:...
  
  : Bidouille et Violette (1978–1985)
• Victor Hubinon
  Victor Hubinon
  Victor Hubinon was a Belgian comic-book artist, best known for the series Buck Danny and Redbeard.-Biography:...
  
  : Buck Danny (1947–1979)
• Frédéric Jannin: Germain et nous... (1977–1992)
• Janry
  Jean-Richard Geurts
  Jean-Richard Geurts, perhaps better known under his pseudonym Janry , is a comics artist. With Tome he created Le Petit Spirou and made several Spirou et Fantasio albums.-Biography:...
  
  , Spirou et Fantasio (1981–1998), 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...
  
  (1987–), Passe–moi l’ciel (1990–)
• 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...
  
  : Gaston Lagaffe (1957–1969), Sophie (1965–1994)
• 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...
  
  : Spirou et Fantasio (1940–1951), Jerry Spring
  Jerry Spring
  Jerry Spring is a Franco-Belgian Western comics series created by the Belgian comics creator Jijé. Originally published in Le Journal de Spirou, the series made its debut on March 4, 1954.-Bibliography:-Sources:* BDoubliées Footnotes...
  
  (1954–1977), Jean Valhardi (1941–1965)
• Joan: Joue avec La Petite Lucie (1994–)
• Octave Joly: Les Belles Histoires de l'oncle Paul
  L'oncle Paul
  Les Belles Histoires de l'oncle Paul, and later Les Plus Belles Histoires de l'oncle Paul, is a Belgian comics series of historical stories created by Jean-Michel Charlier and Eddy Paape and published in the comics magazine Le Journal de Spirou from 1951 to 1982.-Theme:The series consists of...
  
  (1951–1982)
• Daniël Kox: Agent 212 (1975–)
• Lambil
  Lambil
  Lambil is a Belgian comic-book artist, best known for the series Les Tuniques Bleues, which has been published in English as "The Blue Tunics" and "The Bluecoats".-Biography:Willy Lambillotte was born in Tamines, Belgium in 1936...
  
  : Les Tuniques Bleues (1972–), Pauvre Lampil (1974–2006), Sandy (1959–1974)
• Laudec: Cédric (1986–)
• Roger Leloup
  Roger Leloup
  Roger Leloup is a Belgian comic strip artist, novelist, and a former collaborator of Hergé. He is most famous for the Yoko Tsuno comic series.- Biography :...
  
  : Yoko Tsuno
  Yoko Tsuno
  Yoko Tsuno is a comic book series created by the Belgian writer Roger Leloup published by Dupuis and in Spirou since its debut in 1970. Through twenty-five volumes, the series tell the adventures of Yoko Tsuno, a female electrical engineer of Japanese origin surrounded by her close friends, Vic...
  
  (1970–)
• Raymond Macherot
  Raymond Macherot
  Raymond Macherot was a Belgian cartoonist. Although not nearly as famous as fellow Belgian cartoonists such as Hergé or André Franquin, Macherot's work, both as artist and writer, remains highly regarded among critics and collectors.-The Tintin years:Raymond Macherot was born in Verviers, Belgium...
  
  : Sibylline (1965–1990)
• Malik: Cupidon
  Cupidon (comics)
  Cupidon is a Belgian comics series written by Raoul Cauvin and drawn by Malik-Publication history:Cupidon made its debut in the comics magazine Spirou on October 5, 1988. To date 19 albums have been published by Dupuis.-Synopsis:...
  
  (1988–), Archie Cash (1971–1987)
• Maltaite: 421 (1980–1992)
• Mazel: Jungles perdues (1975–1987, 2008), Les mousquetaires (1969–1992)
• Midam
  Midam
  Midam is the pseudonym of Michel Ledent, the Belgian comics author best known for Kid Paddle.-Biography:Michel Ledent was born in Etterbeek near Brussels in 1963. He studied illustration and interior decoration at the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels, and started creating comics in 1989 for the...
  
  : Kid Paddle
  Kid Paddle
  Kid Paddle is a Belgian, French and Canadian co-produced animated series. It aired on Teletoon, Sundays at 4:00 am, EST, but is currently on an indefinite hiatus...
  
  (1993–)
• Mitacq
  Mitacq
  Michel Tacq, or Mitacq, is an author of Belgian comics. He was involved in Scouting for most of his life.-Biography:...
  
  : La Patrouille des Castors
  La Patrouille des Castors
  La Patrouille des Castors is a Belgian comics series drawn by Mitacq and written by Jean-Michel Charlier. 30 albums were published by Dupuis, all relating the adventures of a Scout patrol.-History:...
  
  (1954–1993)
• Morris
  Morris (comics)
  Maurice De Bevere , better known as Morris, was a Belgian cartoonist and the creator of Lucky Luke. His pen name is an alternate spelling of his first name.-Biography:...
  
  : Lucky Luke (1946–1967, 1978–1985)
• Eddy Paape
  Eddy Paape
  Eddy Paape is a Franco-Belgian comics artist best known for illustrating the series Luc Orient.-Biography:Eddy Paape was born in Grivegnée , Belgium in 1920...
  
  : Marc Dacier (1958–1967), Jean Valhardi (1946–1953)
• Peyo
  Peyo
  Pierre Culliford , known as Peyo, was a Belgian comics artist, perhaps best known for the creation of The Smurfs comic strip.-Biography:...
  
  : Johan and Peewit
  Johan and Peewit
  Johan and Peewit is a Belgian comics series created by Peyo. Since its initial appearance in 1947 it has been published in 13 albums that appeared before the death of Peyo in 1992. Thereafter, a team of comic book creators from Studio Peyo continued to publish the stories.The series is set in...
  
  (1952–1977), The Smurfs
  The Smurfs
  The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
  
  (1959–1988), Steven Strong
  Steven Strong
  Benoît Brisefer is a Belgian comic strip created in 1960 by Peyo about a little boy whose peaceful, innocent appearance, charm and good manners covers his possession of superhuman strength similar to that of Asterix. Since Peyo's death it has been continued by other artists and writers...
  
  (1960–1978)
• Arthur Piroton: Jess Long (1969–1995), Michel et Thierry (1962–1968)
• Marcel Remacle: Vieux Nick (1958–1990)
• Jean Roba
  Jean Roba
  Jean Roba was a Belgian comics author from the Marcinelle school. His best-known work is Boule et Bill.-Biography:...
  
  : Boule et Bill
  Boule et Bill
  Boule et Bill is a popular comic, created in 1959 by the Belgian writer-artist Jean Roba in collaboration with Maurice Rosy. In 2003 the artistic responsibility of the series was passed on to Roba's former assistant Laurent Verron...
  
  (1959–2006)
• Maurice Rosy
  Maurice Rosy
  Maurice Rosy , is a Belgian comics writer who also worked as artistic director of Spirou during its golden period.-Biography:...
  
  : Bobo (1961–1973), Tif et Tondu (1955–1968), Attila (1967–1973)
• Pierre Seron
  Pierre Seron
  Pierre Seron is a Belgian comic book artist born in Chênée on 9 February 1942.-Biography:He spent the first few years of his life in Liège then followed the work transfers of his father, an engineer, to Montreal, Canada, Libourne, France, the Bordeaux region, Givet in the Ardennes region and then...
  
  : Les Petits Hommes (1977–2004)
• Sirius: Timour (1953–1997), L'épervier bleu (1942–1951, 1973–1977)
• Maurice Tillieux
  Maurice Tillieux
  Maurice Tillieux was a Belgian writer and comic artist. He is regarded by many as a major figure of post-war Belgian comics.-Early life:...
  
  : Gil Jourdan
  Gil Jourdan
  Gil Jourdan is a Belgian detective comic strip created by Maurice Tillieux. It is considered a great combination of mystery, adventure and humour, and a masterpiece of European comics.-Origin and Premise:...
  
  (1956–1978), César (1957–1973), Marc Lebut (1966–1982)
• Tome
  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...
  
  : Spirou et Fantasio (1981–1998), Le Petit Spirou (1987–), Soda (1985–)
• Vehlmann: Spirou et Fantasio (2006–), Seuls (2006–)
• François Walthéry
  François Walthéry
  François Walthéry is a Belgian comics artist, best known for his series featuring an adventurous flight attendant, Natacha.-Biography:...
  
  : 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...
  
  (1970–)
• Marc Wasterlain: Docteur Poche (1976–1997), Jeanette Pointu
  Jeanette Pointu
  Jeanette Pointu is a comic book series created by Marc Wasterlain, starring the eponymous character.- Comic books :# Le Fils de l'Inca, ISBN 2-8001-1133-X# Quatre x quatre, ISBN 2-8001-1411-8# Le Dragon vert, ISBN 2-8001-1482-7...
  
  (1982–2005)
• Will: Tif et Tondu (1949–1990), Isabelle (1969–1994)
• Yann: Les innomables (1980–1982), Spirou et Fantasio (2006–2009)
• Zidrou: Tamara (2001–), Crannibales (1995–2005)

Format

The target audience is between 9 and 16 years, although the magazine appeals to many adults as well. Over the years, Spirou has undergone a few format changes and gradually became thicker, eventually averaging 68 pages. It was distributed in most French and Dutch speaking countries, and for some years, editions in other languages appeared as well (notably in Spain and Portugal).

A few pages, apart from the comics and the advertising, are always put aside for text contents and interaction with the readers (games, letters, jokes, etc.). Often a general theme is used to give the magazine some unity instead of being just a collection of unrelated comics, and this also gets reflected in the layout

Page layout

Page layout is the part of graphic design that deals in the arrangement and style treatment of elements on a page.- History and development :...

.

Along with Tintin

Tintin (magazine)

Le journal de Tintin or Kuifje , was a weekly Belgian comics magazine of the second half of the 20th century...

magazine (founded in 1946), it was considered the home of the 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...

school until the seventies, when its importance declined. Still in publication, Spirou sells some 100,000 copies every week. Robbedoes was eventually shelved in September 2005, after more than 3500 weekly publications.

Title

• On 21 April 1938, the magazine was created under the name Le journal de Spirou.
• On 1 May 1947, it was renamed Spirou.
• On 5 October 1988, it was renamed Spirou Magaziiiine
• On 12 January 1994, it was once again named Spirou.
• On 25 January 2006, it became Spirou HeBDo.
• On 16 April 2008, it again became Spirou.

Sources

• Dossier and issue index of Spirou BDoubliées

Footnotes

External links

• Spirou official magazine site
• Dupuis official site
• Tout Spirou (fansite)
• Spirou comic magazine on Lambiek Comiclopedia