Zig et Puce is a Franco-Belgian comics

Franco-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 created by Alain Saint-Ogan

Alain Saint-Ogan

Alain Saint-Ogan was a French comics author and artist.-Biography:In 1925, he created the well-known comic strip Zig et Puce , which initially appeared in the Dimanche Illustré , the weekly youth supplement of the French daily newspaper, l'Excelsior.His other comic...

 in 1925 that became popular and influential over a long period. After ending production, it was revived by Greg for a second successful publication run.

Synopsis

Zig and Puce, the thin and the chubby one, respectively, are two teenagers who frequently experience adventures. On an expedition to the North Pole

North Pole

The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...

 they meet their pet penguin, Alfred. Their adventures are often exotic, and occasionally fantastic

Speculative fiction

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...

 in nature, leading to destinations such as Venus

Venus

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...

 or the future

The Future

The Future is a studio album from 1992 by Leonard Cohen. It has come to be recognized as his "film-score" album as nearly every one of the songs on the album has appeared in some notable form in a Hollywood film....

.

Publication history

Zig et Puce first appeared in the Dimanche Illustré, weekly supplement of the French newspaper l’Excelsior, on May 3, 1925. The third major character, Alfred, made his first appearance on December 25, 1925. The series' style was influenced by the Art-Deco design of the period, and its engaging stories are suggested to be the main reason for its wide appeal among both adults and youth, and the subsequent success of the series. It is also considered the earliest French comic strip to employ speech bubbles, the device which was popularized by The Yellow Kid

The Yellow Kid

The Yellow Kid emerged as the lead character in Hogan's Alley, drawn by Richard F. Outcault, which became one of the first Sunday supplement comic strips in an American newspaper, although its graphical layout had already been thoroughly established in political and other, purely-for-entertainment...

. After a long run of serial and album publications, Saint-Ogan ceased to produce the series in 1954.

The series was later revived by Greg who, with the consent of Saint-Ogan, resumed production in the comics magazine

Franco-Belgian comics magazines

Belgium and France have a long tradition in comics. They have a common history for comics and magazines.In the early years of its history, magazines had a large place on the comics market and were often the only place where comics were published. Most of them were kids-targeted.In the 1970s,...

 Tintin

Tintin (magazine)

Le journal de Tintin or Kuifje , was a weekly Belgian comics magazine of the second half of the 20th century...

. It was first published on March 26, 1963, and continued serial publication until 1969.

Influences

As a seminal comic strip in the bande dessinée culture, although appearing several years after Les Pieds Nickelés, Zig et Puce made an influential impact a few years before the debut of Hergé

Hergé

Georges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...

 and The Adventures of Tintin

The Adventures of Tintin

The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...

. The character of Alfred is also considered a pioneering central animal character, in the tradition of Franco-Belgian comics animals such as Milou

Snowy (character)

Snowy is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. He is a white Wire Fox Terrier and Tintin's four-legged companion who travels everywhere with him...

 (Snowy), Spip, Jocko

Jo, Zette and Jocko

The Adventures of Jo, Zette and Jocko is a comic book series created by Hergé, the Belgian writer-artist who was best known for The Adventures of Tintin...

, Jolly Jumper

Jolly Jumper

Jolly Jumper is a horse character in the Franco-Belgian comics series Lucky Luke, created by Belgian artist Morris. Described as "the smartest horse in the world" and able to perform tasks such as chess-playing and tightrope walking, Jolly Jumper accompanies his master in their travels across the...

, Marsupilami

Marsupilami

Marsupilami is a fictional comic book species created by André Franquin, first published on 31 January 1952 in the magazine Spirou. Since then it appeared regularly in the popular Belgian comic book series Spirou et Fantasio until Franquin stopped working on the series in 1968 and the character...

 and Idéfix

Dogmatix

Dogmatix is a fictional character, a tiny white dog who belongs to Obelix in the Asterix comics. Dogmatix is a pun on the words dog and dogmatic. In the original French his name is Idéfix, itself a pun on the French expression idée fixe meaning an obsession...

 (Dogmatix).

Alfred the Penguin was chosen as mascot by Charles Lindbergh

Charles Lindbergh

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...

 who brought a plush effigy

Effigy

An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...

 on board the Spirit of St. Louis

Spirit of St. Louis

The Spirit of St. Louis is the custom-built, single engine, single-seat monoplane that was flown solo by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris for which Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize.Lindbergh took off in the Spirit from Roosevelt...

 for hist first transatlantic flight

Transatlantic flight

Transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. A transatlantic flight may proceed east-to-west, originating in Europe or Africa and terminating in North America or South America, or it may go in the reverse direction, west-to-east...

 in May 1927.

The character Alfred was chosen as the mascot of the 1974 Angoulême Comics Festival

Angoulême International Comics Festival

The Angoulême International Comics Festival is the largest comics festival in Europe. It has occurred every year since 1974 in Angoulême, France, in the month of January.The four-day festival is notable for awarding several prestigious prizes in cartooning...

, and the name given to an award

Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Best Comic Book

The Prize for Best Album , also known as the Golden Wildcat , is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival....

. The term Alfred was used until 1989 when it was renamed Alph'art(in honor of the Tintin

The Adventures of Tintin

The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...

 book Tintin and Alph-Art

Tintin and Alph-Art

Tintin and Alph-Art was the intended twenty-fourth and final book in the Tintin series, created by Belgian comics artist Hergé. It is a striking departure from the earlier books in tone and subject, as well as in some parts of the style; rather than being set in a usual exotic and action-packed...

).

Alain Saint-Ogan

Lists French album titles, titles translated into English, the first year of publication in album format, and the date of republication by Glénat. At least for the first nine albums, the republished Glénat versions have between 1 and 24 pages not included in the originals.

• 1. Zig et Puce (Zig and Puce), 1927, Glénat 1995.
• 2. Zig et Puce millionnaires (Zig and Puce, Millionnaires), 1928, Glénat 1995.
• 3. Zig, Puce et Alfred (Zig, Puce and Alfred), 1929, Glénat 1995.
• 4. Zig et Puce à New-York (Zig and Puce in New York), 1930, Glénat 1995.
• 5. Zig et Puce cherchent Dolly (Zig and Puce look for Dolly), 1931, Glénat 1995.
• 6. Zig et Puce aux Indes (Zig and Puce in South Asia), 1932, Glénat 1995.
• 7. Zig, Puce et Furette (Zig, Puce and Furette), 1933, Glénat 1996.
• 8. Zig, Puce et la petite princesse (Zig, Puce and the Little Princess), 1933, Glénat 1996.
• 9. Zig et Puce au XXIè siècle (Zig and Puce in the 21st Century), 1935, Glénat 1997.
• 10. Zig et Puce Ministres (Ministers Zig and Puce), unknown, Glénat 1997.
• 11. Zig et Puce and le Professeur Médor followed by Revoilà Zig et Puce (Zig and Puce and Professor Médor ) and (Zig and Puce Again), unknown, Glénat 1997, only the first story. The second was republished in a separate album, Glénat 1998.
• 12. Zig et Puce et l’homme invisible (Zig and Puce and the Invisible Man), 1949, Glénat 1998.
• 13. Zig et Puce et le complot (Zig and Puce and the Conspiracy), 1950, Glénat 1999.
• 14. Zig et Puce et le cirque (Zig and Puce and the Circus), 1951, Glénat 1999.
• 15. Zig et Puce en Éthiopie (Zig and Puce in Ethiopia), 1952, Glénat 1999.
• 16. Zig et Puce sur Venus (Zig and Puce on Venus), unknown, Glénat 2000.
• 17. Zig, Puce, Nénette et la baronne Truffe (Zig, Puce, Nénette and Baroness Truffe) unknown, Glénat 2001. Multiple stories, printed under slightly different titles.

Greg

Lists French titles, titles translated into English, and the first year of publication in album format.

• 1. Le voleur fantôme (The Phantom Robber), 1965.
• 2. S.O.S. 'Shelia (S.O.S. 'Sheila' ), 1966.
• 3. Le prototype Zèro-Zèro (The Zero-Zero Prototype), 1967.
• 4. La pierre qui vole (The Flying Rock), 1968.
• 5. Les frais de la princesse (The Princess' Expenses), 1970.
• 6. Zig et Puce contre le légume boulimique (Zig and Puce versus the Bulimic Vegetable), after 1966.

Sources

• Zig, Puce et Alfred publications in Belgian Tintin and French Tintin BDoubliées
• Zig et Puce original albums and Zig et Puce second series Bedetheque

Footnotes

External links

• Zig et Puce on Cool French Comics