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News on upcoming publications from the last couple of weeks: Drawing Spirou is a full-time job, new titles for Spaniards and young Marsupilami fans, and more!
Spirou or the women
Benoît Feroumont is working hard on his one-shot album with Zidrou, Fantasio quitte la maison (“Fantasio Moves Out”; previously known as Spirou et les femmes). So hard that he’s had to neglect his own comic, Le Royaume (“The Kingdom”), and its main character, Anne.
This strip ran in the letter pages of Journal de Spirou #4043 and was also posted to his blog.
Checkpoint Bravo
Grelots from the unofficial Émile Bravo blog has done an email interview with Bravo, discussing his current projects. There’s a running theme: “I’m working on a big Spirou album, and I can’t do two things at a time.” Asked about whether he has any other projects: “No, nothing other than Spirou.” While he expects he’ll make another Jules album (his original series about a boy adventurer) afterwards, he hasn’t given it any thought, because “Spirou takes all my concentration.” So yes, for Spirou artists it’s all Spirou all the time!
Bravo also explains that he has been working on the album, a sequel to Journal d’un ingénu (“Diary of a Naive Young Man”), for three years, and that the script may be finished by the end of this year, but that he can’t say for sure. He doesn’t know when the comic will actually be done. Finally, he reveals that although the page count has been estimated at 250 pages, last thing he heard it was planned for a single volume.
Raptus report repost
Thierry Capezzone hung out with Yoann at the Raptus convention in Norway last month, and had a chance to see the first 20 or so pages from Spirou & Fantasio #55. He has good things to say about the art (he doesn’t want to comment on the script based on less than half the album), praising the drawings of the Marsupilami and certain snow scenes in particular, and explaining that this time around Yoann has been given the time to work at the top of his game (a number of fans criticized what they felt were rushed drawings in the last album, Le Groom de Sniper Alley). On that point, he also puts the date of publication to around April–May of next year. In the interview Yoann gave at Raptus he said next March (unless he slips), but maybe this means we shouldn’t count on that.
Atlantic leaks
While it’s not yet officially announced by the publisher Dibbuks, Spanish comics database Whakoom now lists a Spanish edition of Panique en Atlantique (“Panic in the Atlantic”) by Parme & Trondheim for publication in February 2016, under the title Pánico en el Atlántico. (Mentioned on the T.I.A. forum)
Marsupilami monthly magazine
A new Marsupilami magazine is launching this month. Houba! features a mix of puzzles, games, activities, comics and stories, and is aimed at children from 7 to 10. In the first issue, viewable here, the Marsupilami appears in two strips (by Batem), and in illustrations throughout, while the other comics are the one-pagers Helmout (by Amalric & Madaule), Eddy Milveux (Mandel) and Minions (Collin & Ah-Koon), which also runs in the Journal de Spirou. It’s published by the children’s publisher Milan Presse, under the Club des p’tits héros imprint.
Nothing new on the Franquin front
A Dupuis spokesperson has clarified that the upcoming third edition of Franquin, chronologie d’une oeuvre (“Franquin: A Chronology of His Works”) will be identical to the second edition, apart from correcting a few typos.
Also, Numa Sadoul has declined to say anything more about the previously announced book Et Gaston sema la gaffe – Entretiens avec André Franquin (“And Gaston Sowed the Seeds of the Blunder: Interviews with André Franquin”), a revised and expanded edition of the classic Et Franquin créa la gaffe (“And Franquin Created the Blunder”) that was originally supposed to be out by now, until the book is properly in production. No new date of publication has been announced.
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I wouldn’t have pegged Anne as a Fujoshi…
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I don’t know what “Les Nombrils” are called in English, but I’m sure you’re aware it’s a pun on navel-gazing teenagers (a behavior known as “être nombriliste” in French). Would “The Navels” be a more appropriate translation?
Good input, though I’m pretty sure I remember reading somewhere that the title was a reference to the midriff-baring fashions or piercings that Jenny and Vicky wear. Of course, it could very well be a double meaning. In any case, the young omphalocentrics are published in English as The Bellybuttons (from Cinebook).
They’re called “The Navel-gazers” in Swedish, but I think the pun is a bit strained… and probably lost on the target group of tween and teenage girls…
I lost my trust in Émile Bravo…
How so? Are you disappointed in how long the sequel is taking?
No, I was referring to the “joke” at Spiroufest in Brussels. I assume Bravo must have given permission for that…
[url=https://spiroureporter.net/2015/09/09/reveal-of-ingenu-sequel-surprises/]Oh, right.[/url] Yes, maybe. I don’t know.
As for the album he’s working on, it might be worth pointing out (as other sites have) that his “script” is in sketch format, with the whole text, layout and rough drawings of every page and every panel, as seen [url=https://spiroureporter.net/2014/10/07/bravos-sketchy-diary-sequel/]here[/url]. So once that’s complete he just needs to redraw it more carefully, which is usually pretty quick for him. In other words, he’s further along than it might sound like from his description.
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