28 March, 2024
Spirou mural in Brussels (ill. Yoann; photo from http://bdmurales.skynetblogs.be)

New Spirou mural in Brussels

Spirou mural in Brussels (ill. Yoann; photo from http://bdmurales.skynetblogs.be)
Spirou mural, Yoann & Urbana (2014). Photo by Sanza.

A commenter already brought up this news, but here’s a proper post: A Spirou mural has recently been completed in Brussels. Executed by the graffiti artist Urbana (Nicolas Morreel) from a drawing by Yoann, the mural is located on the Rue Notre-Dame De Gráces, in the Marolles district on the south side of the city center, near the Palais de Justice. Brussels is of course known for its many comic book murals, but while it already had ones for Gaston, Petit Spirou, and most recently the Marsupilami, Spirou somehow hasn’t been featured until now.

Yoann comments:

I had free hands. They just gave me the dimensions of the wall and told me which neighborhood it would be situated in. I suggested an image with a giant gorilla, but they thought it would be too scary. Then I wanted to make it a kind of meta-joke, playing on the flea market nearby. Spirou is kind of an antique: the character was created in 1938 and he wears an old-fashioned costume. I thought it would be interesting if he was swarmed by collectors wanting to buy his outfit. Then I realized that the characters I’d drawn resembled real people, and I decided to base them on the previous artists: Franquin, Fournier, Jijé…

The mural, which measures 110 square meters, will be officially inaugurated in September.

Sources (and more photos):

Spirou Reporter

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

View all posts by Spirou Reporter →

10 thoughts on “New Spirou mural in Brussels

  1. I believe the figures are, from the top: Munuera running in the background, Franquin raising his hand to his head, Tome (in trenchcoat) and Janry fighting, Fournier holding up his hand, Nic Broca pushing Fantasio into a chair, Jijé pulling Spirou’s arm, and Rob-Vel counting up a stack of money. The person in the foreground with the monkey could be Yann, though he never drew the comic (Chaland would have been a better choice, I think).

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