The Smurfs (comics)
Encyclopedia
| The Smurfs Les Schtroumpfs |
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| Created by | Peyo Peyo Pierre Culliford , known as Peyo, was a Belgian comics artist, perhaps best known for the creation of The Smurfs comic strip.-Biography:... |
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| Publication information | |
| Genre | Action/adventure Adventure An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports... , Humor |
| Publication date | October 23, 1958 |
| Status | Ongoing |
| Country of origin | Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... |
| Original language | French French language French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts... |
| Publisher | Dupuis Dupuis Éditions Dupuis S.A. is a Belgian publisher of comic books and magazines.Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis was founded in 1922 by Jean Dupuis, and is mostly famous for its comic albums and magazines. It is originally a French language publisher, but publishes many editions both in French... |
| Formats | Original material for the series has been published as a strip in the Belgian comics magazine Spirou Spirou (magazine) Spirou magazine is a weekly Belgian comics magazine published by the Dupuis company... , and as a set of graphic novels. |
| Main character(s) | Papa Smurf Papa Smurf Papa Smurf is a male fictional character from The Smurfs. At 542 years old is the third-oldest Smurf after Grandpa and Nanny, and well above the typical age of the other Smurfs, which are approximately 100 years old... |
| Number of books published: | 29 |
| Website: | official website |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Peyo Peyo Pierre Culliford , known as Peyo, was a Belgian comics artist, perhaps best known for the creation of The Smurfs comic strip.-Biography:... and Studio Peyo |
| Artist(s) | Peyo Peyo Pierre Culliford , known as Peyo, was a Belgian comics artist, perhaps best known for the creation of The Smurfs comic strip.-Biography:... and Studio Peyo |
| Creator(s) | Peyo Peyo Pierre Culliford , known as Peyo, was a Belgian comics artist, perhaps best known for the creation of The Smurfs comic strip.-Biography:... |
| Reprints | |
| The series has been reprinted, at least in part, in Dutch Dutch language Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second... , English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... , and German German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... . |
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The Smurfs
The Smurfs
The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
are a Belgian comic series, created by cartoonist Peyo
Peyo
Pierre Culliford , known as Peyo, was a Belgian comics artist, perhaps best known for the creation of The Smurfs comic strip.-Biography:...
(pen name of Pierre Culliford). The fictional characters of the Smurfs first appeared in Johan and Peewit
Johan and Peewit
Johan and Peewit is a Belgian comics series created by Peyo. Since its initial appearance in 1947 it has been published in 13 albums that appeared before the death of Peyo in 1992. Thereafter, a team of comic book creators from Studio Peyo continued to publish the stories.The series is set in...
in 1958, and the first independent Smurf comics appeared in 1959. Twenty-nine Smurf comic albums have been created, 16 of them by Peyo. Originally, the Smurf stories appeared in Spirou magazine
Spirou (magazine)
Spirou magazine is a weekly Belgian comics magazine published by the Dupuis company...
with reprints in many different magazines, but after Peyo left the publisher Dupuis
Dupuis
Éditions Dupuis S.A. is a Belgian publisher of comic books and magazines.Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis was founded in 1922 by Jean Dupuis, and is mostly famous for its comic albums and magazines. It is originally a French language publisher, but publishes many editions both in French...
, many comics were first published in dedicated Smurf magazines, which existed in French, Dutch and German. A number of short stories and one page gags have been collected in comic books next to the regular series of 29. By 2008, Smurf comics have been translated into 25 languages, and some 25 million albums have been sold. A new Smurfs comic album sold in 2009 in French alone some 140,000 copies.
History
In 1952, Peyo created a Franco-Belgian comicsFranco-Belgian comics
Franco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
series in Le Journal de Spirou titled Johan et Pirlouit (translated to English as Johan and Peewit
Johan and Peewit
Johan and Peewit is a Belgian comics series created by Peyo. Since its initial appearance in 1947 it has been published in 13 albums that appeared before the death of Peyo in 1992. Thereafter, a team of comic book creators from Studio Peyo continued to publish the stories.The series is set in...
), set in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. Johan serves as a brave young page to the king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
, and Pirlouit functions as his faithful, if boastful and cheating, midget
Midget
A midget is a short person with relatively average bodily proportions in comparison with other human beings. The term is often improperly used to describe a person with the medical condition dwarfism. The two terms are often used synonymously because both terms originate as words defining small...
sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
.
On October 23, 1958, Peyo introduced a new set of characters to the Johan et Pirlouit story La flûte à six trous (tr. "The Flute with Six Holes"). This alone caused no great excitement, as the brave duo constantly encountered strange new people and places. This time, they had the mission of recovering a magic flute, which required some sorcery by the wizard Homnibus. And in this manner, they met a tiny, blue-skinned humanoid creature in white clothing called a "Schtroumpf," followed by his numerous peers who looked just like him, with an elderly leader who wore red clothing and had a white beard called Papa Smurf. The characters proved to be a huge success, and the first independent Smurf stories appeared in Spirou in 1959, together with the first merchandising.
Albums
This is the list of the original French-language comic issues. Some of them are anthologies of several stories. A number of them were translated into English by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge, and published by Random House.Although they are popular and common to find in bookstores in Europe as well as in the Canadian province of Québec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, they are more difficult to find abroad (from where?).
Johan and Peewit appearances
- La flûte à six trous
- La guerre des sept fontaines
- Le pays maudit
- Le sortilège de Maltrochu
- La horde du corbeau
- La nuit des sorciers
Original series
- Les Schtroumpfs noirs (The Black Smurfs), DupuisDupuisÉditions Dupuis S.A. is a Belgian publisher of comic books and magazines.Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis was founded in 1922 by Jean Dupuis, and is mostly famous for its comic albums and magazines. It is originally a French language publisher, but publishes many editions both in French...
, 11/30/1963, ISBN 2-8001-0108-3 - Le Schtroumpfissime (The Smurf King, English title), Dupuis, 09/23/1965, ISBN 2-8001-0109-1
- La SchtroumpfetteLa SchtroumpfetteThe Smurfette is the third album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series. The story has also been made into an episode of the Smurfs animated cartoon show, where the only known significant difference is that Smurfette stays in the village for the rest of the show's run...
(The Smurfette), Dupuis, 03/16/1967, ISBN 2-8001-0110-5 - L'Œuf et les Schtroumpfs (The Egg and the Smurfs), Dupuis, 03/26/1968, 01/1967 ISBN 2-8001-3969-2
- Les Schtroumpfs et le Cracoucass (The Smurfs and the Howlibird, English title), Dupuis, 09/25/1969, ISBN 2-8001-0112-1
- Le Cosmoschtroumpf (The Astrosmurf), Dupuis, 11/05/1970, ISBN 2-8001-0113-X
- L'Apprenti Schtroumpf (The Smurf Apprentice), Dupuis, 11/18/1971, ISBN 2-8001-0114-8
- Histoires de Schtroumpfs (Stories of the Smurfs, an anthology of one-page humorous stories), Dupuis, 11/09/1972, ISBN 2-8001-0115-6
- Schtroumpf Vert et Vert SchtroumpfSchtroumpf Vert et Vert SchtroumpfSchtroumpf Vert et Vert Schtroumpf is the ninth comic book adventure of the Smurfs, written and drawn by Peyo with Yvan Delporte as co-writer. The story is considered a parody on the still ongoing language war between French- and Dutch-speaking communities in the authors' native Belgium...
(Green Smurf VS. Smurf Green), Dupuis, 09/13/1973 ISBN 2-8001-0324-8 - La Soupe aux SchtroumpfsLa Soupe aux SchtroumpfsSmurf Soup is the tenth album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series created by Belgian artist Peyo.Apart from the titular story, it contains several one-page Smurf gags.-Plot:...
(The Soup with Smurfs), Dupuis, 12/06/1976, ISBN 2-8001-0510-0 - Les Schtroumpfs Olympiques (The Olympic Smurfs), Dupuis, 02/03/1983 ISBN 2-8001-0769-3
- Le Bébé Schtroumpf (The Baby Smurf), Dupuis, 11/27/1984, ISBN 2-8001-1148-8
- Les P'tits SchtroumpfsLes P'tits SchtroumpfsThe Smurflings is the thirteenth album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series created by Belgian artist Peyo.Apart from the titular one, it contains other story: The Clockwork Smurf....
(The Little Smurfs), Dupuis, 04/01/1988, ISBN 2-8001-1569-6 - L'AéroschtroumpfL'AéroschtroumpfThe Aerosmurf is the fourteenth album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series created by Belgian artist Peyo....
(The Aerosmurf), Cartoon Creation/Le LombardLe LombardLe Lombard or Lombard Editions is a Belgian comic book publisher established in 1946 when the Tintin magazine was launched. In 1986 the company was acquired by Média-Participations.-Titles:Lombard's more famous series include:*Clifton...
, 10/17/1990, ISBN 2873450002 - L'Étrange Réveil du Schtroumpf ParesseuxL'Étrange Réveil du Schtroumpf ParesseuxThe Strange Awakening of Lazy Smurf is the fourteenth album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series created by Belgian artist Peyo....
(The Strange Awakening of Lazy Smurf), Cartoon Creation/Le Lombard, 01/01/1991, ISBN 2803612348 - Le Schtroumpf Financier (The Financier Smurf), Le Lombard, 01/01/1992, ISBN 2803614545
Albums made after the death of Peyo, with help from his son Thierry Culliford (born 1956):
- Le Schtroumpfeur de Bijoux (The Jewel Smurfer), Le Lombard, 01/01/1994, ISBN 2803610981
- Docteur SchtroumpfDocteur SchtroumpfDoctor Smurf is the eighteenth Smurfs comic book.-Summary:When Handy Smurf and Clumsy Smurf are installing a fence for Farmer Smurf, Handy Smurf mistakenly hits Clumsy Smurf with his hammer, so Papa Smurf is called to attend Clumsy Smurf's injury...
(Doctor Smurf), Le Lombard, 01/01/1996, ISBN 280361216X
- Le Schtroumpf Sauvage (The Wild Smurf), Le Lombard, 11/01/1998, ISBN 2803613514
- La Menace Schtroumpf (The Smurf Menace), Le Lombard, 11/01/2000, ISBN 2803615169
- On ne Schtroumpfe pas le Progrès (You Don't Smurf Progress), Le Lombard, 11/01/2002, ISBN 2803617730
- Le Schtroumpf Reporter (The Reporter Smurf), Le Lombard, 11/01/2003, ISBN 2803619008
- Les Schtroumpfs JoueursLes Schtroumpfs JoueursThe Gambler Smurfs is the twenty-third album of the Smurfs comic series.-Summary:Three Smurfs are getting flour from a human village, trying to not be seen...
(The Gaming Smurfs), Le Lombard, 01/01/2005 ISBN 2803620057
- Salade de Schtroumpfs (Salad Smurfs), Le Lombard, 01/13/2006 ISBN 2803621541
- Un Enfant chez les Schtroumpfs (A Child among the Smurfs), Le Lombard, 01/12/2007 ISBN 9782803622429
- Les Schtroumpfs et le livre qui dit toutLes Schtroumpfs et le livre qui dit tout"The Smurfs And The Book That Tells Everything" is a comic book story that was created and published by Studio Peyo in 2008.-Plot Summary:...
(The Smurfs and the Book that Tell Everything), Le Lombard, 01/18/2008, ISBN 9782803623822
- Schtroumpfs les bains (Bathing Smurfs) , Le Lombard, 04/3/2009, ISBN 9782803625215
- La Grande Schtroumpfette (The Grand Smurfette), Le Lombard, 04/16/2010, ISBN 9782803626489
- Les Schtroumpfs et l'Arbre d'Or (The Smurfs and the Golden Tree), Le Lombard, 04/08/2011, ISBN 9782803628070
Look-In Magazine Strips
In the 1970s and '80s, a British children's magazine called Look-In ran an original series of one-page comic-strip tales called "Meet the Smurfs."Papercutz Graphic Novels
Since August 2010, PapercutzPapercutz
:papercutz is a Portuguese Electronic music project formed in 2005. Bruno Miguel is the only official member of :papercutz and remains solely responsible for its direction but has been working closely with American-born Melissa Veras, since the bands's debut release. After recordings, Bruno...
has been issuing Smurfs comics, translated by Joe Johnson. Following a special preview comic in July 2010 that contained the story "The Smurfnapper," the following graphic novels have been issued to date (or will soon be published):
- The Purple Smurfs (August 31, 2010, ISBN 978-1597072076)
- The Smurfs and the Magic Flute (August 31, 2010, ISBN 978-1597072090)
- The Smurf King (November 23, 2010, ISBN 978-1597072250)
- The Smurfette (January 18, 2011, ISBN 978-1597072373)
- The Smurfs and the Egg (March 15, 2011, ISBN 978-1597072472)
- The Smurfs and the Howlibird (May 10, 2011, ISBN 978-1597072618)
- The Astrosmurf (August 2, 2011, ISBN 978-1597072519)
- The Smurf Apprentice (September 27, 2011, ISBN 978-1597072809)
- Gargamel and the Smurfs (November 22, 2011, ISBN 978-1597072908)
- The Return of the Smurfette (January 17, 2012, ISBN 978-1597072939)
- The Smurf Olympics (March 27, 2012, ISBN 978-1597073028)
Papercutz published "The Smurf Submarine" in Geronimo Stilton & Smurfs for Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores. Retailer Joe Field of in Concord, CA brainstormed the event in his "Big Picture" column in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer...
on May 7, 2011.
Sources
- Les Schtroumpfs publications in Spirou BDoubliées
Footnotes