Sibylline is a Belgian comics series by

Raymond Macherot Raymond Macherot (30 March 1924 – 26 September 2008) was a Belgian comics artist, most famous for his satirical funny animal series ''Chlorophylle'' and '' Sibylline''. Although not nearly as famous as fellow Belgian cartoonists such as Hergé ...

and his second best-known work after ''

Chlorophylle Chlorophylle is a Belgian comics series and Raymond Macherot's best known work, alongside '' Sibylline''. It is a fantasy comic about anthropomorphic forest animals, including the title character Chlorophylle, who is a dormouse. Description ...

''. Just like the latter, it is a fantasy comic about anthropomorphic animals in a forest setting. However, here the protagonist is a female mouse named Sibylline.

Concept

Sibylline is a female mouse who lives in the forest ''Bosquet Jojeux'', which is an anthropomorphic version of real city life. Much like ''Chlorophylle'' the stories appear to be a cartoon animal fantasy strip, but in fact have a darker, satirical edge. As the series progressed more fantastical elements started to occur, such as ghosts, wizards and vampires.

Characters

* Sibylline: The star of the series. She is a gentle, clever and brave female mouse, but can be jealous and hot-headed. Originally she lived in a house, but later she moved to the forest. She wears a yellow bonnet and a blue dress. * Taboum: Her dim-witted husband, who is very clumsy and a male version of the

damsel in distress The damsel in distress is a narrative device in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has been kidnapped or placed in other peril. The "damsel" is often portrayed as beautiful, popular, and of high social status; she is usually depicted ...

. Just like her, he is a mouse. * Flouzemaker: A

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

who is a cigar-smoking business man. * Brigadier Verboten: A strict and authoritarian

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...

who guards the forest. He wears a paper hat and a sheriff's badge. His last name is a pun on the German word for "Forbidden". * Anathème Percemiche: The major antagonist of the series. He is a rat who is related to Anthracite, the antagonist from Macherot's other series, ''Chlorophylle''. Anathème debuted in"Sibylline et l'imposteur". * The small circus: A circus company who frequently travels to Sibylline's home place. It is composed of Gloglo, a parakeet who is a

ventriloquist Ventriloquism or ventriloquy is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) speaks in such a way that it seems like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventrilo ...

; Alphonse a dog who pulls their mobile home forth, Gustave a white cat who is an equilibrist and Gougoui the mouse, who tames butterflies. * Patakes: A duck who works as a reporter for "La Trompette Fureteuse". * Pantoufle: A cat who tries to eat Sibylline and her friends, but always fails. He was later given his own comics spin-off, under the script of

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 ...

. * Burokratz: A

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

who enjoys stealing cakes. * Zabagor: A white bird who can play the violin. He does this so well that it scares Burokratz the vampire. * Pistolard: A fox who is a magician. * Croque-Monsieur: A

ferret The ferret (''Mustela furo'') is a small, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae. The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat (''Mustela putorius''), as evidenced by the ferret's ability to inter ...

, who is another major antagonist. He is the evilest of all villains and actually murders animals to eat them. His name is a pun on the snack '' Croque-monsieur''.

History

In 1964

left ''

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 ...

'', where he had drawn ''

'' for many years. Contractually he was unable to take his characters with him, except for the antagonist Anthracite, whom he kept. In 1965 he created the series ''Sybilline'' for the rival magazine '' Spirou''. The tone and atmosphere were very similar to ''Chlorophylle''. Scripts were written by Macherot and Paul Deliège. After Macherot quit drawing Taymans took over. The series ran in ''Spirou'' until 1990. In 2006 the series was relaunched by

André Taymans André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French language, French-spe ...

and François Corteggiani.

In popular culture

In the Belgian Comic Strip Center 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 ...

the permanent exhibition brings homage to the pioneers of Belgian comics, among them Raymond Macherot. In the room dedicated to his work, everything is designed to look like a Chlorophylle and Sybilline's underground home in the forest. Sibylline is among the many Belgian comics characters to jokingly have a Brussels street named after them. Since 2007 the Place Saint-Jean/ Sint-Jansplein has a

commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...

with the name ''Place Sibylline'' placed under the actual street sign.

References

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