''Pif Gadget'' was a French

comic a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

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 Communists French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

during the

German occupation of France during World War II The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. It was published illegally from January 1942 but became legal from 1944. In 1945 it was renamed ''Vaillant, Le Jeune Patriote''. In 1946 its title was shortened to ''Vaillant'', with the tag, ''"le journal le plus captivant"'' (''The Most Captivating Magazine''). For the April issue of 1965, the title was changed to ''Vaillant, le journal de Pif'', due to the popularity of its character '' Pif'', a dog character created by José Cabrero Arnal. Until 1969, ''Vaillant'' had, like its competitors, serialized some stories over several issues, but the magazine in this incarnation ended with issue number 1238 on February 23, 1969.

Publication history

''Pif Gadget'' started again as a weekly magazine with issue number 1, released on February 24, 1969, but retained the old number relative to ''Vaillant''. The magazine was called ''Pif et son gadget surprise'' for the first few months. The ''

gadget A gadget is a mechanical device or any ingenious article. Gadgets are sometimes referred to as ''gizmos''. History The etymology of the word is disputed. The word first appears as reference to an 18th-century tool in glassmaking that was develop ...

'' was a "free gift" toy with each issue, including ''Pifises'' (

brine shrimp ''Artemia'' is a genus of aquatic crustaceans also known as brine shrimp. It is the only genus in the family Artemiidae. The first historical record of the existence of ''Artemia'' dates back to the first half of the 10th century AD from Urmia L ...

stasis Stasis (from Greek στάσις "a standing still") may refer to: * A state in stability theory, in which all forces are equal and opposing, therefore they cancel out each other * Stasis (political history), a period of civil war within an ancient ...

, which readers could raise as minuscule pets - known in English as

sea monkeys Sea-Monkeys is a marketing term for brine shrimp (''Artemia'') sold as novelty aquarium pets. Developed in the United States in 1957 by Harold von Braunhut, they are sold as eggs intended to be added to water, and almost always come bundled in ...

). The cover of ''Pif Gadget'' had the strapline ''Tout en récits complets'' (all in complete stories) indicating that none of the comic strips were serialized over multiple issues. Its featured comics included: *'' Rahan'' *''Doc Justice'' *

Hugo Pratt Ugo Eugenio Prat, better known as Hugo Pratt (15 June 1927 – 20 August 1995), was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as ''Corto Maltese''. He was ind ...

's ''

Corto Maltese ''Corto Maltese'' is a series of adventure and fantasy comics named after the character Corto Maltese, an adventurous sailor. It was created by the Italian comic book creator Hugo Pratt in 1967. The comics are highly praised as some of the most ...

'' *

Marcel Gotlib Marcel Gottlieb (14 July 1934 – 4 December 2016), known professionally as Gotlib, was a French comics artist/writer and publisher. Through his own work and the magazines he co-founded, ''L'Écho des savanes'' and ''Fluide Glacial'', he was a key ...

's '' Gai-Luron'' *

Nikita Mandryka Nikita Mandryka (20 October 1940 – 13 June 2021) was a French cartoonist. He started drawing in the '' Vaillant'' magazine, before moving to ''Pilote'' in 1967, and then created '' L'Écho des savanes'' along with Claire Bretécher and Marc ...

's ''Les Aventures potagères du Concombre masqué'' *

Raymond Poïvet Raymond Poïvet (17 June 1910 – 30 August 1999) was a French cartoonist. Poïvet was born in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, Nord. After studies in École des Beaux-Arts of Paris, he started in comics in 1941. In 1945 he joined the communist French ...

and Roger Lecureux's ''Les Pionniers de l'Espérance'' *''Le Grêlé 7/13'', ''Nasdine Hodja'', ''

Arthur le fantôme justicier ''Arthur le fantôme justicier'' ("Arthur the Ghost of Justice") was a French comic strip, created, written and drawn by Jean Cézard. It was first published in Vaillant #449 from December 20, 1953. The author drew the comic strip for the ''Pi ...

'', ''Les Rigolus et les Tristus'', ''Corinne et Jeannot'', ''Dicentim le petit Franc''. Documentary filmmaker Fredric Lean created a series based on 'Docteur Justice' for French TV network M6. ''Pif Gadgets record print run was one million copies, first on April 6, 1970, and again in September 1971. This set a record for a European comic strip that still stands. The paper also benefited from being able to reach the

newly industrialized countries The category of newly industrialized country (NIC), newly industrialized economy (NIE) or middle income country is a socioeconomic classification applied to several countries around the world by political scientists and economists. They represent ...

, and was one of the select few Western magazines allowed to be sold behind the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its ...

due to its

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

credentials. It went into rapid decline at the same time as the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

faded, with content thinning and stories extended over several issues. Its last major feature was during the

bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe * French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...

of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

in 1989. The original version was last printed in February 1993. ''Pif Gadget'' was revived as a monthly magazine in July 2004 under the aegis of Pif Editions, with runs of approximately 100,000 units. Saddled with about 4 million euros of debt, the 6-person company went into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in c ...

(''redressement judiciaire'') in March 2007 and was wound up (''liquidation judiciaire'') on January 15, 2009. The last issue was published in November 2008. It has been relaunched in 2015 as a quarterly named "Super Pif".

Similar comics

Pif inspired similar comics in other countries including '' Yps'' in Germany and ''Jippo'' in Scandinavia.
Couik et Dicentim chez les Nordiques

Notes

References

* Richard Médioni, ''Pif Gadget : la véritable histoire des origines à 1973'', édition Vaillant collector, 2003.
La mémoire de ''Vaillant'' et ''Pif''
BD oubliées

External links

''Pif Collection''

''Le bozo-bozo, génial casse-tête/tour de magie''

Rahan's site

– on

Lambiek Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ), though since 2007, his son Boris Kousemaker is the current owner. From 1968 to 2015, it was located ...

Comiclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Pif Gadget 1969 establishments in France 2009 disestablishments in France Communist magazines Comics magazines published in France French Communist Party French-language magazines Defunct magazines published in France 1969 comics debuts 1993 comics endings 2004 comics debuts 2009 comics endings Magazines established in 1969 Magazines disestablished in 1993 Magazines established in 2004 Magazines disestablished in 2009 Weekly magazines published in France Monthly magazines published in France Children's magazines published in France