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Main Forums => The Outpost Cafe => Topic started by: Blazer on April 19, 2009, 11:39:06 AM

Title: Time to introduce you guys to a European comic strip legend
Post by: Blazer on April 19, 2009, 11:39:06 AM
I have since learned that overseas  people don't really know that much about European comic strips. Exceptions are Asterix, Lucky Luke, The Marsupilami and of course The Smurfs but what many people don't know is that save from "Asterix" all of these series originated from the same weekly comic magazine called "Spirou" which is one of the longest running comic magazines, it first came out in 1938 and is still going strong. Lucky Luke, The Marsupilami, Johan and Peewit and the Smurfs all made their first appearences in "Spirou" magazine well before Hanna-Barbera and Disney bought the rights for the use of those characters in cartoon series.

One of those characters who's comics were never published in English came from the cartoonist who gave us the Marsupilami: Andre Franquin. Franquin was already considered to be one of the grandmasters of cartooning back in 1957 when he drew the title series of "Spirou" magazine. That same year, Franquin decided to start a little series as a side project. His reasoning was that everybody in the magazine had a job: Lucky Luke was a Cowboy, Johan and Peewit were knights and even in the village of the smurfs everybody had a profession. What the magazine needed was a guy who didn't do anything, a teenager who just slacked off, pulled pranks, tried to invent something useless, or tried to be musical, kept pets in the office, in short: somebody who just caused mayhem. Luckily the Chief editor liked the idea and the beatnik teenager made his appearance shortly afterward. The Chief editor named the character after the teenage son of a friend of his named Gaston Lagasse and to emphasize the bumbling blundering nature of the teenage cartoon character it was changed into Lagaffe which was a word play on "Gaffe" which is a French word for "Blunder" The name Gaston Lagaffe can be translated into George Blunder which is the name I'm gonna use in my translated comics.

(http://www.le-faou.com/franquin/page1/gaston2.jpg)
George Blunder in 1958

(http://www.crdp.ac-grenoble.fr/defi/04_05/2/images/gasfon2.gif)
George Blunder in 1973

The comics of George Blunder were a slamming success and were also one of the longest running comic series from "Spirou" magazine spanning from 1957 until 1996 when Franquin died. They made Franquin one of the most prolific of all comic artists in Europe and it's a real shame that his legend isn't that well known overseas because of his comics never being published in English. So as to make my own contribution into spreading the word about him I started to translate comics and to put them online.

the Series of George Blunder apart from George himself also has other characters they are:

(http://www.bodoi.info/wp-content/images/S08-41/gaston_dessin_anime.jpg)
Janine (Jeanne) George's redheaded bespectacled girlfriend.

(http://users.telenet.be/quizvragen/strips/kwabbernoot.jpg)
Peter Fantasio (Papy Fantasio) George's senior at the office, twice his age and an incredible neat freak, Peter and George frequently clash with each other.

(http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/1288/gaston2eessaizy3.jpg)
Leo Prune (Leon Prunelle, the one with the glasses) and Jeeves Breaker (Yves LeBrac) two of George's colleagues, Jeeves being a cartoonist and Leo the assistant editor. After Franquin lost the rights to use Fantasio in the series Leo Prune took over the role of being George's senior. Jeeves is also the only character aside from George who's in a relationship and his girlfriend also appears in the series although she's never been given a name.

(http://www.gastonlagaffe.com/imagefr/dossier/pjules.gif)
Giles (Jules) George's best friend and partner in blundering. Giles, like George is a teenager working with a publishing company and also like George he's not really putting in much effort. Preferring to slack off and fool around.

(http://www.gastonlagaffe.com/imagefr/dossier/pbertrand.gif)
Bert Bumbler (Bertrand Labévue, seen here with his little sister) George's cousin and second best friend. Bert is the quiet one in the group, lacking the teenage enthusiasm of George and Giles but he makes that up in Teenage Angst and depression, making the comic a little more serious.

(http://www.puikjes.net/index2/Strips/Guust_Flater/Personages/vondelaar2.gif)
Officer Longnose (Officer Longtarin) the local traffic cop, George's car is a real pain in Longnose's back not to mention his relationship with its owner...

And finally
(http://www.gastonlagaffe.com/imagefr/actu/dm01.jpg)
Mister Knives (Mr. De Mesmaeker) a contractor for the publishing company. He's the one who provides the company with fundings unfortunately, all the attempts of closing a contractual deal with the company are unintentionally thwarted by George's antics.

And with everybody introduced it's time for my first submissions of translated George Blunder comic strips. First up, here's one from the first year of publishing: 1957. George's interest in Rock N Roll music has resulted in him trying to build his own electric guitar...
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e22/guitarman91/Guust3.jpg

Again from the first year, George makes another attempt to become a Rock N Roll musician.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e22/guitarman91/Guust4.jpg
The guy in Red standing next to Fantasio is the title character of Spirou magazine: Spirou himself.

This one is from the late sixties and George plays a prank on Leo and Jeeves.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e22/guitarman91/Guust5.jpg

And to close it off here again is one from the late sixties and with Giles sick in bed George decides to be a good friend...
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e22/guitarman91/Guust2.jpg

I'll add more later, enjoy reading.
Title: Re: Time to introduce you guys to a European comic strip legend
Post by: Saf on April 19, 2009, 11:48:32 AM
Guust Flater!! The best comic "hero" ever. I have a couple of flater books and when I still laugh my balls off everytime I read them. And I've read them so much I can dream the comics.
Title: Re: Time to introduce you guys to a European comic strip legend
Post by: Blazer on April 19, 2009, 11:58:33 AM
Well Saf what do you think of my translations?
Title: Re: Time to introduce you guys to a European comic strip legend
Post by: Highlander on April 19, 2009, 04:14:51 PM
Nice...

Someone has got to post some "Footrot Flats" (Tony...?) and I'll have to dig out some R'n'R classics by the late great Ray Lowry...
Title: Re: Time to introduce you guys to a European comic strip legend
Post by: Blazer on April 20, 2009, 09:21:59 AM
Here's a couple that show what kind of relationship George has with Miss Janine.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e22/guitarman91/guust71.jpg
In this one from the early sixties, George, ever being the gentleman, takes her out on a Picnic

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e22/guitarman91/Guust8.jpg
From the mid seventies, what good would a man be without his woman providing support, although Janine provides a little too much support here...

Note also that Franquin has changed Janine's looks, he made her far more attractive than she used to be. And that guy in the third panel, is Franquin himself.
Title: Re: Time to introduce you guys to a European comic strip legend
Post by: uwe on April 20, 2009, 10:20:33 AM
I liked Jo-Jo (as he was called initially in Germany when the series came out there in the sixties) as a kid. He'd make a mess of things on first sight, but there was an inner wisdom to his chaos, kind of like Forrest Gump much, much later, it all works out in the end.

Uwe
Title: Re: Time to introduce you guys to a European comic strip legend
Post by: Saf on April 20, 2009, 01:21:42 PM
You translation is good, like it. The comic with the water trough the telephone is one of my favorites.
Title: Re: Time to introduce you guys to a European comic strip legend
Post by: Pilgrim on April 20, 2009, 08:15:59 PM
I miss Pogo....but it's nice to get a look at some cartoons from across the pond...
(http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j306/apowell1/pogoquote.jpg)
Title: Re: Time to introduce you guys to a European comic strip legend
Post by: Saf on April 21, 2009, 10:34:04 AM
I should try to translate the comic. "de stamgasten" or "Dirk Jan"
Title: Re: Time to introduce you guys to a European comic strip legend
Post by: Rhythm N. Bliss on April 22, 2009, 04:06:16 AM
Cool that this comic has kept going so long.
Many of our greatest American cartoonists are gone. Schultz for example.

R. Crumb is probly our best tho...but he now resides in France.

Title: Re: Time to introduce you guys to a European comic strip legend
Post by: Blazer on June 14, 2009, 07:01:15 PM
Raising this one up again because I translated a few more. In these two George's ride, a thirties Fiat is playing central stage. Both gags are from the late sixties.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e22/guitarman91/Guust9.jpg
His own parking space is a luxury that George in no way should have...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e22/guitarman91/Guust10.jpg
And a car which always breaks down makes for very interresting tanlines...
Title: Re: Time to introduce you guys to a European comic strip legend
Post by: Saf on June 15, 2009, 01:27:44 PM
Just bought an mini album of guust. Specialy made for the phillips factory
Title: Re: Time to introduce you guys to a European comic strip legend
Post by: Barklessdog on June 16, 2009, 02:41:46 PM
Really reminds me of Peter Baf=gge's Hate comic. It must have influenced him.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/Fenderbird/misc/BuddySeattle_thumb.jpg)
Title: Re: Time to introduce you guys to a European comic strip legend
Post by: Blazer on June 16, 2009, 03:40:04 PM
Really reminds me of Peter Baf=gge's Hate comic. It must have influenced him.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/Fenderbird/misc/BuddySeattle_thumb.jpg)

Are you sure? George Blunder first appeared in 1957, and judging from the style from the Hate comic, that one appeared in the seventies.