Spirou, Tintin’s Lesser Known Belgian Comic Rival

340 words 

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 IN the world of the Franco-Belgian comic strip, when we think “iconic” we usually think of Asterix and Tintin. But the Belgians produced another homegrown classic comic strip with an iconic comic hero character in Spirou, the creation of Robert Velter in 1938.

Spirou & Spip

Of indeterminate age, Spirou’s day job is elevator operator and bellboy in a fictional Brussels hotel, but likeTintin he moonlights as an intrepid reporter, albeit still attired in his trademark red bellhop’s outfit. In fact there’s an awful lot of similarities to the youthful comic hero created by Hergé. Spirou shares his adventures with colleagues, his close buddy Fantasio and his pet squirrel named Spip＊ (cf. Tintin’s Captain Haddock and his canine companion Snowy). The Spirou strip has a genius inventor character, so does the Tintin strip. Both boy reporters visit exotic OS places and fight mad scientists, evil tyrants, etc.

Spirou magazine

Le Lombard v Dupuis 

The Tintin/Spirou rivalry was largely publisher-driven. Le Lombard publishers became the haven of Tintin, whereas the “newcomer” Spirou has been aligned with Dupuis. The enduring popularity of Spirou and Spirou magazine propelled Dupuis into a leading position in comic publishing in Belgium. The fierceness of the rivalry between the two publishing houses meant that with very rare exception its artists tended to work solely for either Dupuis or Le Lombard.

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One significant point of difference between Tintin and Spirou concerns ownership. Unlike Tintin who Hergé kept firm control of during his lifetime, Robert Velter (AKA Rob-Vel) relinquished ownership of his creation to the publishers (Dupuis) in 1943. Consequentially, creation of the Spirou comic strips revolved through a series of writers and artists, of which Franquin was the key contributor. Franquin “developed the strip from single gags and short serials into long adventures with complex plots (and multiple characters), and is usually considered as the definitive author of the strip” (‘Spirou’s and Fantasio’, (Wikipedia). 

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＊ continuing the Sciuridae theme Spirou’s name is a key to his character, the word literally means “squirrel” but also “mischievous” in figurative usage.