Pif le chien is a character from comic strip created in 1948 for the daily

L'Humanité ''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist." History and profile Pre-World Wa ...

by José Cabrero Arnal. He had as his predecessor the character of

Top A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a few ...

by the same author, who was later identified as Pif's father. It is an anthropomorphic dog that forms an antagonistic/protagonist relationship with Hercules the cat. After L'Humanité, Pif became the star series of the children's newspaper Vaillant. In 1969, Vaillant was replaced by

Pif Gadget ''Pif Gadget'' was a French comic magazine for children that ran from 1969 to 1993 and 2004 to 2009. Its readership peaked in the early 1970s. Predecessors ''Pif'' has its origins in ''Le Jeune Patriote'', a youth magazine published by French Co ...

. L'Humanité and the weekly L'Humanité Dimanche also published short stories of three or four boxes in each issue.

Origins

Pif first appeared on March 26, 1948, in black and white, in the daily newspaper L'Humanité, then in its weekly supplement L'Humanité Dimanche. In its early days, Pif served mainly as a pretext for denouncing the injustices of his time: hunger or lack of housing. Pif knows his first adventures in color in Vaillant the most captivating newspaper in 1952: if Vaillant is published by a publishing house close to the PCF, the adventures of Pif are this time comic stories intended for youth, without obvious political content. It quickly became so successful that the newspaper changed its name to Vaillant le journal de Pif in 1965, then Pif Gadget in 1969. From the 1960s, Arnal, sick and tired (he never really recovered from his experience in deportation during the war), gradually abandoned the series to Roger Mas, who expanded the universe of Pif and created the character of Pifou, who would then have his own series. Other authors will follow one another on the adventures of Pif and Hercules including, among the best known: Louis Cance, Carmen Levi (only woman to have drawn Pif), Yannick Hodbert, François Dimberton,

Michel Motti Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

, Claudio Onesti (Clod),

François Corteggiani François Corteggiani (21 September 1953 – 21 September 2022) was a French comics artist and writer. Biography He was born on 21 September 1953 in France. He got a degree in art before becoming an artist for advertising. He created his first ...

and

Giorgio Cavazzano Giorgio Cavazzano (); born 19 October 1947) is an Italian cartoonist, and one of the most famous Disney comics artists in the world. Biography Giorgio Cavazzano was born 19 October 1947 in Venice, Italy. At the age of twelve, Cavazzano started ...

. The character is animated in a cinematographic advertising film for the newspaper L'Humanité and directed by Julien Pappé. On July 1, 2004, following the release of the new Pif Gadget, he returned under the drawing of Bernard Ciccolini and the script of Richard Médioni. In September 2005, Olivier Fiquet and François Corteggiani took over.

Adaptation

* In 1989, "Pif le chien" was adapted as a 130-episode 13-minute animated television series and a feature film, The New Adventures of Pif and Hercules, in 1993.

References

{{reflist Comics characters introduced in 1948 1948 comics debuts Comics characters introduced in 1950 French comics characters Fictional French people Comics about dogs Anthropomorphic dogs Anthropomorphic cats Magazine mascots Mascots introduced in 1948 Mascots introduced in 1950 Comics adapted into animated series Comics adapted into television series Fictional rivalries Male characters in comics Male characters in advertising French comic strips Fictional dogs Fictional cats Comic strip duos Adventure comics Humor comics Comics about animals Children's comics