28 March, 2024
Spirou strip (ill. Claire/Cannary-the-wolf; (c) the artist; from tumblr)

Challenge: Make a Spirou one-pager

Spirou strip (ill. Claire/Cannary-the-wolf; (c) the artist; from tumblr)
Accidental Fanart Thursday with a strip by Claire from tumblr.

As part of its 2014 program, the Journal de Spirou is holding a “Spirou Challenges” competition, Les Défis de Spirou, where each month readers and fans are given a task to complete in order to win a selection of prizes. The challenges so far haven’t been too relevant to Spirou Reporter (photograph a Spirou lookalike, cosplay as characters from one of the magazine’s comics, etc.), but this month it might be of some interest…

Challenge #4 is to draw a one-page Spirou & Fantasio story, to be judged by a a jury consisting of Émile Bravo, Fabrice Tarrin, Yann, and Olivier Schwartz. The deadline for submission is 30. May, and entries should be sent to laplanche@spirou.com, along with your full (real) name and address. You do not have to be a magazine subscriber or buyer, and as far as I can tell the contest is open to anyone in the whole world (not associated with the magazine), but if you are a minor you should get permission from a parent or legal guardian. One entry per contestant. (Complete rules here, in French.)

The prizes the winner can select among include a one-year subscription to the Journal or to the Izneo e-comic service, 100 EUR worth of purchases from the Spirou store, 10 comic albums from the Dupuis catalog, or your portrait drawn by a Journal de Spirou artist. Runners-up get to choose some number of Dupuis albums. In addition, entries may be published in the magazine or online.

While the rules don’t mention anything about the comic having to be in French, I think that’s probably assumed. Or at least it should help your chances. But perhaps some commenters could assist if you need someone to translate?

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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20 thoughts on “Challenge: Make a Spirou one-pager

  1. Omg I’m ready I’m so ready for this!!!!

    So does it must have to be a “Spirou and Fantasio” only comic or it can be included other characters?

    1. Well, the way it’s described in the announcement, they mean “Spirou & Fantasio” as in the title of the comic (the official French title is Les aventures de Spirou et Fantasio).

      I’m sure you can use other characters from the comic as well, though it’s probably a good idea to keep in mind that Spirou and Fantasio are the series’ main characters, not (just to pick a random example) Fantasio and Zantafio. 😉

    1. Yes, one page. You can use as many panels as you like in whatever layout, but I’m guessing the format should be something that would fit on a magazine page. (The image used in this post is just an illustration, and probably wouldn’t fit the contest format.)

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