''Le voyageur du Mésozoïque'', written by Franquin and

Greg Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (sometimes spelled " Gregg") is also a surname. People with the name *Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people *Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canadian b ...

, drawn by Franquin with assistance by

Jidéhem Jean De Mesmaeker (21 December 1935 – 30 April 2017), known by the pseudonym Jidéhem (; from the initials "JDM"), was a Belgian comics artist in the Marcinelle school tradition. He was best known for his series featuring a cute, playful and ...

, is the thirteenth album of 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 ...

'' series. The title story, and another, ''La Peur au bout du fil'', were first serialised in '' Spirou'' magazine before the release in a hardcover album in 1960.

Story

In ''The Traveller from the Mesozoic Era'', The Count of Champignac sensationally returns from an Antarctic expedition with an intact

dinosaur egg Dinosaur eggs are the organic vessels in which a dinosaurs, dinosaur embryo develops. When the first scientifically documented remains of non-avian dinosaurs were being described in England during the 1820s, it was presumed that dinosaurs had la ...

believed to be from the Jurassic period. Back in

Champignac Champignac, or specifically Champignac-en-Cambrousse, is a fictional village frequently featured in the adventures of ''Spirou et Fantasio'' by André Franquin and the successive authors. The initial idea of Champignac is attributed to Henri Gilla ...

, the Count's closest professor friends arrive (along with unpleasant atomic science genius, Sprtschk) and proceed to plan ways to hatch the egg. With the interference of a free-roaming

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 ...

, and Fantasio acting out of sorts due to a cooling incident with an ice truck, control is soon lost, and the village of Champignac has a big dinosaur problem on its hands. In the included story, ''La Peur au bout du fil'', the Count continues to develop concoctions from mushrooms, but in a thoughtless moment he mistakes the toxic X4 residue from his cup of coffee, causing him to undergo big changes. His usually benevolent personality is inversed into pure evil, and Spirou, Fantasio and "the Biologist" must act to protect the village from this new, unlikely terrorist.

Background

In his first Spirou adventure cameo,

Gaston Lagaffe ''Gaston'' is a Belgian gag-a-day comic strip created in 1957 by the Belgian cartoonist André Franquin in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Spirou''. The series, serving as a spin-off of the magazine's primary series ''Spirou et Fantasio ...

appears discreetly in two frames. Other character introductions include the Count's colleagues Schwarz, Black and Alexandre Specimen (usually called "Le Biologiste"). Another first appearance is that of Champignac town drunk, Célestin Dupilon. As the bonus story ''La Peur au bout du fil'' credits long time Franquin collaborators Greg and Jidéhem with the usual "scenario" and "decors", but without mention of Franquin himself, it has been suggested that in this instance the collaborators have completed the story themselves. If this is the case, no apparent difference in line style can be discerned.

References

Franquin publications in ''Spirou''
BDoubliées Footnotes

External links

Spirou official site album index

Franquin site album index
Comics by André Franquin Spirou et Fantasio albums 1960 graphic novels 1960 in comics Dinosaurs in comic books Fiction about modern-day dinosaurs Works originally published in Spirou (magazine) Literature first published in serial form {{FrancoBelgian-comics-stub