Champignac, or specifically Champignac-en-Cambrousse, is a fictional village frequently featured in the adventures of ''

Spirou et Fantasio ''Spirou & Fantasio'' (french: Spirou et Fantasio, wa, Spirou eyet Fantasio) is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comics. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European comics, European ...

'' by

André Franquin André Franquin (; 3 January 1924 – 5 January 1997) was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best-known creations are '' Gaston'' and ''Marsupilami''. He also produced the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' comic strip from 1946 to 1968, a period s ...

and the successive authors. The initial idea of Champignac is attributed to Henri Gillain. The village was introduced in the adventure ''

Il y a un sorcier à Champignac ''Il y a un sorcier à Champignac'', by Franquin, is the second album of the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' series, and the first to tell a long intricate story in what would become the ''Spirou'' tradition, in contrast to the previous short format stori ...

'', first published in '' Spirou'' magazine in 1950.

Features

The village is placed in a rural region of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

(despite the name's suffix suggesting a location in the south of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

), and is known for its prolific occurrence of

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

s. Mainly a farming community, the commune is home to several central and more obscure characters of the ''Spirou'' adventures, most notably the Count of Champignac whose

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

is a prominent fixture of the region. The Mayor of Champignac, Gustave Labarbe, is also a public presence, in statues, billboards and in person. The Mayor's assistant, Duplumier is often seen on his bicycle, and the former pharmacist and town drunk, Dupilon, is frequently visible. Other inhabitants from the wide gallery of secondary characters are Noël, a little boy and friend of the

Marsupilami ''Marsupilami'' is a comic book character and fictional animal species created by André Franquin. Its first appearance was in the 31 January 1952 issue of the Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Spirou''. Since then it appeared regularly in the ...

, Jérôme the policeman, Jules the who runs the local garage and

filling station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoli ...

, A. Tachetoux (French for "Stains-everything") the bookseller, and Eugene the grocer.

Role

During the course of the ''Spirou'' stories that have taken place in Champignac, the village population as a whole has been exploited as a "victim character" in several of the plots. The ways in which the population has been victimized are: *''

'': confused

guinea pigs The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the ani ...

in the Count's mushroom experiments, they turn into an angry lynch-mob. *''

Le voyageur du Mésozoïque ''Le voyageur du Mésozoïque'', written by Franquin and Greg, drawn by Franquin with assistance by Jidéhem, is the thirteenth album of the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' series. The title story, and another, ''La Peur au bout du fil'', were first seria ...

'': the village is devastated by a

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

. *''

Z comme Zorglub ''Z comme Zorglub'', written and drawn by Franquin, is the fifteenth album of the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' series, and the first part of Franquin's Zorglub diptych. The story was initially serialised in '' Spirou'' magazine before its release as a h ...

'': the villagers are mass-hypnotized into angry, destructive vandals. *''

L'ombre du Z ''L'ombre du Z'', written and drawn by Franquin with Greg and Jidéhem, is the sixteenth album of the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' series, and the second part of Franquin's Zorglub diptych. The story was initially serialised in '' Spirou'' magazine, be ...

'': the entire population is paralyzed by

Zorglub Zorglub is a fictional character in the Belgian comic strip ''Spirou et Fantasio'', created by Greg and André Franquin, and first appeared in the serialised story ''Z comme Zorglub'' in '' Spirou'' magazine in 1959, later published in the diptyc ...

's ''zorglonde'' stunning-ray. *''

Qui arrêtera Cyanure? ''Qui arrêtera Cyanure?'', written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the thirty-fifth album of the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' series, and the third of the authors. The story was initially serialised in '' Spirou'' magazine, before released as a hardcov ...

'': the villagers are being mind-controlled. *'' Le Rayon noir'': the predominantly

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

population is turned

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

References

Franquin publications dans ''Le Journal de Spirou''
BDoubliées

External links

Spirou official site albums

Franquin site Spirou albums
Fictional populated places Fictional locations in comics Spirou et Fantasio 1950 in comics Belgium in fiction {{FrancoBelgian-comics-stub