By Franquin, Jidéhem and Greg
Publisher: Cinebook
ISBN: 9781800441354
This volume sees a leap back to an older Spirou and Fantasio tale, which is fine by me as it means we’re getting more Franquin. Ably supported by Jidéhem on backgrounds, with a script by Greg, this one’s got spies, wacky inventions, and, best of all, the Marsupilami.
Spirou and Fantasio are paying a surprise visit to the Count de Champignac, but their unexpected arrival is met with immediate trouble. Firstly, the Count’s garden has grown to colossal proportions ehile, secondly, the Count is acting strangely around them. This turns out to be because he’s harbouring a fugitive from Russia, hiding from KGB agents. He is the co-creator of a remarkable and powerful device that his country fears will fall into enemy hands.
The other inventor, it transpires, is an American and he’s a prisoner in China. The authorities there are just as interested in what he’s been working on as their Russian counterparts. It’s a tricky, diplomatic nightmare to organise any state-based rescue mission, but Spirou and Fantasio, with the aid of the incredible invention, think they can do it.
The story is fun and rolls along at a cracking pace, but the real hero of these pages is the artwork. Every panel is drawn to perfection, and I was constantly reminded how this style of illustration drew me in to cartooning in the first place. Nothing is wasted, and the energy of the story crackles along from scene to scene.
Not a bad place at all to introduce yourself to Spirou and Fantasio, should you never have read one before. You certainly don’t need to have them in order to get a kick from them.
And if you liked that: Another tale on its way soon, plus plenty of Spirou and Fantasio available at Cinebook.com
No comments yet.