Gaston Lagaffe returns 25 years after the death of its creator Franquin

The character of Gaston Lagaffe will return after 30 years of absence and the disappearance of its creator Franquin, who however did not wish to see his hero survive him, announced the Dupuis editions in Angoulème as part of the International Band Festival drawn.

The Belgian publisher, which is celebrating its centenary, entrusted the series to the Canadian Delaf (Marc Delafontaine of his real name). The Return of Lagaffe, a classic 48-page album and the 22nd volume in the series, is due out October 19. The print run will match the fame of this sweet, idealistic, lazy and inventive anti-hero: 1.2 million copies.

“It’s risk taking. Even if it means relaunching the series, we said to ourselves that there was no point in doing it small arm. Because he is one of the most emblematic characters of Franco-Belgian comics. If we hadn’t, he wouldn’t have many more years of notoriety ahead of him, because most comic book heroes who don’t find a sequel just disappear.“, explained Stéphane Beaujean, the editorial director of Dupuis.

Legendary characters such as Asterix, Lucky Luke or even more recently Corto Maltese, relaunched by Casterman editions in 2021, experienced a rebirth after the death of their creator. The choice of Delaf was imposed after the publication in 2017 of a tribute to André Franquin, The Gaffe Gallerywhere the board drawn by the Quebecer had struck readers by the mimicry with the work of the Belgian designer (1924-1997).

“This Delaf tribute perfectly imitated Franquin, everyone said so. It is therefore the return of Gaston in his canonical character, closer to the original version. We made the choice to resuscitate Gaston in his golden age, the 70s, which is the most appropriate choice when bringing a hero back to life.“, has explained Stephane Beaujean during a press conference at the Angoulême International Comics Festival.

The 21st and last album released by Franquin, Gaffe to Lagaffe, dates from 1996. The launch was made to 900,000 copies at the time. The character was the subject of a film adaptation in 2018, Gaston Lagaffe, which had greatly displeased Franquin’s daughter, Isabelle. “I helplessly witness the disaster“, she had said to the Belgian daily The future.

Isabelle Franquin is also opposed to this revival of comics, respecting the wishes of her father. But she can’t stop it. “Franquin has expressed himself several times publicly to say that he does not want Gaston to be taken over“and Isabelle Franquin”opposed it orally“, recognised Stephane Beaujean. But, he added, the rights to the character belong to Dupuis, under a contract whose “the clauses specify that a recovery is possible“.

The publisher has also announced the end of another emblematic character of the house, Spirou, on the occasion of a volume 56 to be published, The Death of Spirou. “Spirou, our ambassador, accompanied us during our first century, and he will give way to another hero“, explained the editorial director of Dupuis. It will always be a groom, accompanied by Fantasio, soon to be presented in the magazine Spirou. Dupuis editions have been owned since 2004 by the French publishing group Média-Participations.