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I have a page about André Franquin, the artist behind this.

This is a episodic humorous strip. At it's center is the ingenous, lazy, clumsy Gaston Lagaffe (Norwegian name: Viggo). This comic is about his inventions and mishaps, how hard he works to not have to sort the mail, and the friends and passers-by he maims in the process. Somehow I sound like a copywriter. Anyhow, Franquin is undoubtably one of the greatest comic artists ever. Run or drive, do not walk, to a cosmopolitan comic shop somewhere on your continent :-)

Gaston experimenting with propulsion.

This article is from the Norwegian book ``Alle tiders Viggo'', translated by me, no credit was given the author in the book.

The story of a klutz

It was the 28th of February 1957 when a well dressed young man entered the offices of the French/Belgian comic publisher ``Spirou'' the first time. He introduced himself as Gaston Lagaffe (``gaffe'' is the French word for blunder, I notice the americans have adopted it). And since there is nothing to a name the editorial staff hired him. They shouldn't have done that, because since that fateful day ``Spirou'' has been plagued by unnumbered catastrophes because of this fellow, that got the name Viggo in the first Norwegian album in 1974.

Enter: Gaston

At the time André Franquin invented Gaston in cooperation with his assistant Jidehém and ``Spirou''s editor at the time, Yvan Delporte, Franquin was long since famous for ``Spirou et Fantasio'', the magazine's flagship. In other words he was used to working with long, humorous stories. In the strip Gaston he demonstrated mastery of the short, complete humorous situation.

Still, the first years of Viggo show clear evidence of being Spirou spin offs. Spirou and Fantasio is the strips most important supporting characters, you get the impression Franquin uses ideas he rejected for use in Spirou et Fantasio, episodes more suited for the unpredictable Gaston.

But, as the years passed Gastons character evolved and Spirou took a back seat. At the same time Fantasio met strong competition from other strong characters in the Spirou offices. Among the most important we can mention Gaston's big love, Mademoiselle Jeanne, and the always unfortunate, contract seeking Mr. Parker (French: Monsieur de Mesmaeker), that, due to his temperament, is driven from his senses by Gastons ingenious ideas.

The Gaston you met in recent strips isn't much like the one that got a job in 1957. The orderly outside has been replaced with one more in tune with his chaotic inside. At the same his body language has changed, today he is a equally significant character as Franquins masterpiece, the Marsupilami.

But in contrast to the Marsupilami, Gaston has to surround himself with various gadgets to complete the picture; the strange vehicle Gaston claims is a car, the ear(th) shattering Gagophone, the loving cat, the chronically depressed gull... and we must not forget the overeager gendarme, that has evolved into one of Gaston's most notable antagonists.

Gaston and his arch enemy.
- And if it's allowed on a Rolls Royce, it's allowed on my car as well, isn't it?!

Example of the shattering effects of the Gagophone
- It's his sonata in B-minor. It always puts the plaster in motion.
- The problem is to get the Gagophone out without making the strings vibrate.
- I think we have solved the problem

A busy day at the office.

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