André Franquin (; 3 January 1924 – 5 January 1997) was an influential Belgian
comics artist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the literar ...
, whose best-known creations are ''
Gaston'' and ''
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 th ...
''. He also produced the ''
Spirou et Fantasio
''Spirou & Fantasio'' (), commonly shortened to ''Spirou'', 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 humorous adventu ...
'' comic strip from 1946 to 1968, a period seen by many as the series' golden age.
Biography
Franquin's beginnings

Franquin was born in
Etterbeek
Etterbeek (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the Cit ...
in 1924.
[De Weyer, Geert (2005). "André Franquin". In België gestript, pp. 113-115. Tielt: Lannoo.] Although he started drawing at an early age, Franquin got his first actual drawing lessons at ''
École Saint-Luc'' in 1943. A year later, however, the school was forced to close down because of the
war and Franquin was then hired by Compagnie belge d'actualités (CBA), a short-lived animation studio in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
. It is there he met some of his future colleagues: Maurice de Bevere (
Morris, creator of ''
Lucky Luke
''Lucky Luke'' is a Western (genre), Western bande dessinée, comic album series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris (cartoonist), Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborati ...
''), Pierre Culliford (
Peyo, creator of the ''
Smurfs''), and
Eddy Paape. Three of them (minus Peyo) were hired by
Dupuis
Éditions Dupuis S.A. () is a Belgium, Belgian publisher of comic albums and magazines.
Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis is mostly famous for its comic comics album, albums and magazines. Initially a French language publisher, it now ...
in 1945, following CBA's demise. Peyo, still too young, would only follow them seven years later. Franquin started drawing covers and cartoons for ''Le Moustique'', a weekly magazine about radio and culture.
[ He also worked for ''Plein Jeu'', a monthly scouting magazine.
During this time, Morris and Franquin were coached by Joseph Gillain ( Jijé), who had transformed a section of his house into a workspace for the two young comics artists and ]Will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
. Jijé was then producing many of the comics that were published in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Spirou'', including its flagship series ''Spirou et Fantasio
''Spirou & Fantasio'' (), commonly shortened to ''Spirou'', 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 humorous adventu ...
''. The team he had assembled at the end of the war is often referred to as ''La bande des quatre'' (lit. "The Gang of Four"), and the graphical style they would develop together was later called the Marcinelle school, Marcinelle
Marcinelle (; ) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium.
Until 1977, it was a municipality of its own.
The town of Marcinelle is renowned as the home ...
being an outskirt of the industrial city of Charleroi south of Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
where Spirou's publisher Dupuis was then situated.
Jijé passed the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' strip to Franquin, five pages into the making of '' Spirou et la maison préfabriquée'', and from ''Spirou'' issue #427 released 20 June 1946, the young Franquin held creative responsibility of the series. For the next twenty years, Franquin largely reinvented the strip, creating longer, more elaborate storylines and a large gallery of burlesque characters.
Most notable among these is 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 th ...
, a fictional monkey-like creature. The inspiration for the Marsupilami's extremely long, prehensile tail came from imagining an appendage for the busy tram
A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
way conductors Franquin and his colleagues often encountered on their way to work. This animal has become part of Belgian and French popular culture
Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art f. pop art
F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet.
F may also refer to:
Science and technology Mathematics
* F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems
* ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function
* F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
and has spawned cartoons, merchandise, and since 1989 a comic book series of its own. The cartoons have broadened their appeal to English-speaking countries.
Mid period
By 1951, Franquin had found his style. His strip, that appeared every week on the first page of '' Spirou'', was a hit. Following Jijé's lead in the 1940s, Franquin coached a younger generation of comics artists in the 1950s, notably Jean Roba and Jidéhem, who both worked with him on ''Spirou et Fantasio
''Spirou & Fantasio'' (), commonly shortened to ''Spirou'', 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 humorous adventu ...
''.
In 1955, following a contractual dispute with his publisher Dupuis, Franquin went for a short stint at rival ''Tintin
Tintin usually refers to:
* ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé
** Tintin (character), the protagonist and titular character of the series
Tintin or Tin Tin may also refer to:
Material related to ''The A ...
'' magazine. This led to the creation of '' Modeste et Pompon'', a gag series which included contributions from René Goscinny
René Goscinny (; ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Asterix, Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Born in France to a Jewish family from Poland, he spent his chil ...
(of '' Astérix'' fame) and Peyo. Franquin later returned to ''Spirou'', but his contractual commitment to ''Tintin'' meant that he had to contribute to both magazines, an unusual arrangement in the comic industry. The series was later passed on to authors such as Dino Attanasio and Mittéï (Jean Mariette).
In 1957, ''Spirou'' chief editor Yvan Delporte gave Franquin the idea for a new figure, Gaston Lagaffe (from the French ''la gaffe'', meaning "the blunder"). Initially, a joke designed to fill up blank space in the magazine, the weekly strip, detailing the mishaps and madcap ideas and inventions of a terminally idle office boy working at the ''Spirou'' offices, took off and became one of Franquin's best-known creations.
However, Franquin soon suffered a period of depression, which forced him to stop drawing Spirou for a time. This happened between 1961 and 1963, in the middle of '' QRN sur Bretzelburg''. During this time, he continued to draw ''Gaston'' despite his ill health, most likely because of the lighter nature of the series. (In one story, '' Bravo Les Brothers'', Gaston's antics drive his boss Fantasio to yet another nervous breakdown. In desperation he takes some anti-depressant
Antidepressants are a class of medications used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain, and addiction.
Common side effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, headaches, akathisia, sexua ...
s which "Franquin left behind".)
In 1967, Franquin passed ''Spirou et Fantasio'' on to a younger artist, Jean-Claude Fournier, and began to work full-time on his own creations.
''Gaston'' gradually evolved from pure slapstick
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...
humor to feature themes important to Franquin, such as pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ...
and environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...
. Franquin also used its characters in paid ad strips he drew and worked with the strip on and off until his death.
Franquin's later period
The 1960s saw a clear evolution in Franquin's style, which grew more loose and intricate. This graphical evolution would continue throughout the next decade. Soon, Franquin was considered an undisputed master of the art form, on par with the likes of Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé ( ; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian comic strip artist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of T ...
and his influence can be seen in the work of nearly every cartoonist hired by ''Spirou'' up until the end of the 1990s. Early comic fanzine
A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...
s from around 1970 featured Franquin's ''Monsters'', individual drawings of imaginary beasts highlighting his graphical craftmanship.
The last, and most radical, shift in Franquin's production happened in 1977, when he went through another nervous breakdown and began his '' Idées Noires'' strip (lit. ''"Dark Thoughts"''), first for the ''Spirou'' supplement, ''Le Trombone Illustré'' (with other cartoonists like René Follet) and later for '' Fluide Glacial''.[ With ''Idées Noires'', Franquin showed the darker, pessimistic side of his nature. In one strip, a pair of flies are seen wandering through a strange landscape, discussing the mistakes of their predecessors. In the final panel, we see the landscape is a city made from human skulls, and one fly responds: "Don't be too hard on them, they did leave us such splendid cities". Drawn entirely in black and white, ''Idées Noires'' is much more adult-oriented than Franquin's other works, focusing on themes such as death, war, pollution, and ]capital punishment
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...
with a devastatingly sarcastic sense of humour. Franquin also shows clear opposition against game hunting, the death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
, nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
and nuclear war
Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...
.
From 1978 to 1986, he was part of the team that developed the concept of '' Isabelle'', the adventures of a little girl in a world of witches and monsters. The character was named after Franquin's daughter.
Proof of his popular and critical appeal, Franquin was awarded the very first Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême in 1974. Many books by Franquin have been published, many of which are considered classics of the genre. They have been translated into many languages. Several books have been written about Franquin, such as Numa Sadoul's ''Et Franquin créa la gaffe'', an exhaustive interview with the artist covering his entire career.
Franquin died in 1997 in Saint-Laurent-du-Var at the age of 73 from a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
. He was previously married to Liliane Servais. In 2004 took place the first major museum retrospective of his work, an exhibit called "Le monde de Franquin"', in Paris' Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie
The Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie (, "City of Science and Industry", abbreviated la CSI) or simply CSI is a large science museum in Europe. Located in the Parc de la Villette in Paris, France, it is one of the three dozen French Cultural ...
. This exhibition was continued in 2006 in the city where he was born, Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, the latter was fully bilingual (French/Dutch). In 2005, a Walloon survey elected him as the "18th greatest Belgian ever".
Influence
Franquin's style rests in opposite corners of the aesthetic spectrum from Hergé: If the pictures of Tintin's creator were characterized by the use of ligne claire, flat colors, and certain statics, Franquin's graphic approach progressively evolved towards a multi-color aesthetics, chiaroscuro
In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...
and a vigorous sense of movement. Hergé expressed on several occasions his admiration for Franquin's work: "Compared to him, I’m but a poor draftsman".
Franquin was a prominent member of the first generation of the “ Marcinelle School” (École de Marcinelle), also formed by Morris and Will, who would be joined during the 50s by the second generation including, among others, Peyo, Tillieux, and two subsequent generations joining during the 60s and 70-80s. Within this group, Franquin's influence was uncontested, especially among the authors that continued the series Spirou et Fantasio after he left. Jean-Claude Fournier, Nic Broca, and especially Janry (Jean-Richard Geurts) showed in this series graphic styles that tried to mimic with varying degrees of success the features of Franquin's style.
Other Franco-Belgian authors that show Franquin's influence were Dino Attanasio and Mittéï ( Jean Mariette), both responsible for the series '' Modeste et Pompon'' after he left, Jidéhem (Jean De Mesmaeker), a usual collaborator of Franquin for Spirou et Fantasio and Gaston Lagaffe, Batem (Luc Collin), artist of the Marsupilami series, or Pierre Seron, who cloned Franquin's style in his series ''Les Petits Hommes''.
A most remarkable case is Franquin's influence on Francisco Ibáñez, possibly the most widely published Spanish author since the 1950s. Starting in the 1970s, Ibáñez made extensive use of ideas and designs from Franquin's works, adapting them to his own universe, but also importing many graphic and narrative solutions. Even one of his characters, "El Botones Sacarino", can be easily identified as a hybrid of Spirou (he is a bellboy) and Gaston Lagaffe (he works in a publishing company and is the source of never-ending disasters), whom he resembles physically. Franquin's shadow is even more obvious in the work of Ramón María Casanyes, a disciple and ghost collaborator of Ibáñez, especially in some of his solo works such as the short-lived "Tito, Homo Sapiens 2000", where the Franco-Belgian descent is unquestionable.
Awards and honors
File:Sign André Franquin.jpg, upright=1.10, Sign in Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, tribute to André Franquin
File:FIBD2017EspaceFranquin.jpg, upright=1.10, Espace Franquin at Angoulême
Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture.
Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...
* 1972: Prix Saint-Michel, Belgium, for Gaston Lagaffe
* 1974: First Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême, France
* 1980: Adamson Award, Sweden
* 1981: Prix Saint-Michel, Belgium, for Idées noires
* 1987: Grand Prix for the Graphic Arts at the Angoulême International Comics Festival
The Angoulême International Comics Festival (AICF; ) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lucca Comics & Games and the Comiket of Japan. It has occur ...
* 1991: Knight of the Order of Leopold, Belgium, for most than twenty years of career
* 1996: Special Prize for outstanding life's work at the Max & Moritz Prizes
The Max und Moritz Award ( German:Max und Moritz-Preis), also known as the Max & Moritz Prize , is a prize for comic books, comic strips, and other similar materials. It has been awarded at each of the biennial International Comics Shows of Erla ...
in Erlangen
Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...
, Germany
* 2017: Asteroid 293985 Franquin, discovered by French amateur astronomer Bernard Christophe in 2007, was named in his memory. The official was published by the Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Funct ...
on 12 March 2017 ().
Bibliography
Series
*a. The original collection. Some collections consist of four albums. The content is largely the same, however, where the gags have been spread out on thinner albums.
*b. The Special Edition series, published in chronological order by Dupuis and Marsu Productions in connection with the series' 40-year anniversary.
*c. Except for the first three main albums in the series, Franquin was also the creator of No. 0 '' Capturez un Marsupilami'', a collection of earlier short stories with the character.
*For ''Spirou et Fantasio'', ''Modeste et Pompon'', ''Isabelle'' and ''Marsupilami'', several new albums were published by other artists after Franquin left the series.
One-shots
* ''Cauchemarrant'' (1979, published by Bédérama)
* ''Les robinsons du rail'' (1981, art by Franquin, text by Yvan Delporte; published by L'Atelier)
* ''Les démêlés d'Arnest Ringard et d'Augraphie'' (1981, art by Frédéric Jannin, text by Franquin and Yvan Delporte)
* ''L'Encyclopédie du Marsupilami'' (1991, illustrated faux encyclopedia about Marsupilami)
* ''Arnest Ringard et Augraphie'' (2006, art by Frédéric Jannin, text by Franquin and Yvan Delporte; redrawn and extended version of the above)
* ''Slowburn'' (1982, art by Franquin, text by Gotlib; published by Collectoropolis)
* ''Les Tifous'' (1990, published by Dessis)
* ''Le trombone illustré'' (2005, published by Marsu Productions)
* ''Un monstre par semaine'' (2005, published by Marsu Productions)
* ''Les noëls de Franquin'' (2006, art by Franquin, text by Yvan Delporte; published by Marsu Productions)
Sketchbooks
(published by Marsu Productions)
* ''Les doodles de Franquin''
* ''Le bestiaire de Franquin''
* ''Le bestiaire de Franquin tome 2''
* ''Les monstres de Franquin''
* ''Les monstres de Franquin tome 2''
* ''Tronches à gogo''
* ''Les signatures de Franquin''
References
Franquin publications in ''Spirou''
BDoubliées
Further reading
* Jacky Goupil, ''Livre d'or Franquin: Gaston, Spirou et les autres...''
* Numa Sadoul, ''Et Franquin créa la gaffe''
* Philippe Vandooren, ''Franquin/Jijé''
* ''Les cahiers de la BD'' #47-48
* ''Le monde de Franquin'' (exhibition catalog)
* Kris de Saeger, ''Dossier Franquin''
* Achim Schnurrer and Jef Meert, ''Archief Franquin''
* José-Louis Bocquet and Eric Verhoest, ''Franquin - Chronologie d'un œuvre''
* Xavier Chimits and Pedro Inigo Yanez, ''Le garage de Franquin''
* Yann and Olivier Schwartz, ''Gringos locos'' (biographical comic)
External links
Franquin official site
Gaston Lagaffe official site
Biography on Dupuis.com
on Lambiek Comiclopedia
comics creators discuss Franquin
* pdf downloads
Original comic art from Franquin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franquin, Andre
1924 births
1997 deaths
People from Etterbeek
Spirou et Fantasio
Belgian comics artists
Belgian humorists
Belgian illustrators
Belgian satirists
Belgian satirical comics artists
Belgian anti-war activists
Belgian anti–death penalty activists
Anti–nuclear weapons activists
Anti–nuclear power activists
Anti-hunting activists
Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême winners
Spirou (magazine) people
Tintin (magazine) people
20th-century Belgian illustrators
Belgian magazine illustrators