28 March, 2024

Marsupilami + Spirou crossover

From Marsupilami #27, 'Coeur d'etoile' in JdS #3945, p.45 (ill. Batem & Colman; (c) Marsu/Dupuis and the artists)

Journal de Spirou #3945 cover (ill. Maltaite; (c) Dupuis and the artist)Since Dupuis acquired Marsu Productions, there’s been a lot of talk about how this means the Marsupilami can once again appear in The Adventures of Spirou and Fantasio. What hasn’t been considered so much is that it also works the other way. The issue of Journal de Spirou currently on sale (until tomorrow) includes the last part of the Marsupilami adventure Coeur d’etoile (Marsupilami #27, “Star’s Heart”) by Batem and Colman, and features a cameo by Spirou, Fantasio, Spip, and “their” Marsupilami.

The story also reveals (for the first time, as far as I am aware) that the two Marsupilamis are brothers. Although we should perhaps take this with a grain of salt, since the whole story is told as a campfire tale in the village of a nearby tribe, and it’s not clear at least to me how the (white) storyteller could possibly know this. Still, fun to see the universes being tied together more!

Spirou Reporter

I grew up reading Spirou in Scandinavian translations. Now I'm learning French and trying to decode the originals.

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4 thoughts on “Marsupilami + Spirou crossover

    1. Yeah? I agree it looks a little different from Batem’s usual style, but I figured that was just him trying to imitate 50s-Franquin. I’m not familiar enough with Colman to recognize his style. Out of context I might have guessed Krings.

      Colman is only credited for the script, but that doesn’t prove anything, of course. (Colman also writes the cover story, an interesting spin-off focusing on Monsieur Choc (“Mr Shock”), the villain from Tif & Tondu, illustrated by Éric Maltaite. As you probably know, Maltaite is the son of T&T’s most famous artist, Will.)

      1. He drew some jungle backgrounds too, and a few pages for the “Sur la Piste du Marsupilami” adaptation. Drawing Spirou & Fantasio is one of his old dreams ; search for his “Mange Lumière” cover to see an example. He’s accustomed to mix his own artwork into Batem’s one ; that’s the way they work on “Sam Speed” (with Eric Maltaite). The only thing I’m quite sure about this page is that Batem lettered and inked it (look at the Spip)

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