Johan and Peewit

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Johan and Peewit set off on adventure — from a French edition, but Peewit's "singing" is beyond translation

Johan and Peewit (French: Johan et Pirlouit) 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. Johan et Pirlouit provided the framework for the first appearances of The Smurfs.

[edit] Publication history

Initially titled simply Johan, the series was first published in Le Dernière Heure in 1947, and then in the newspaper Le Soir from 1950 until 1952. It began publication in the comics magazine Spirou, on September 11, 1952^[1] In 1954, Johan was joined by Pirlouit, and the series took its final name. It was in Johan et Pirlouit, on October 23, 1958, that the first smurf appeared.^[2]

Peyo stated that Pirlouit was his favourite character,^[3] and Johan et Pirlouit was the only series on which he always did the drawings without the aid of the studio until his death.

[edit] Synopsis

Set in the Middle Ages in Europe, the series follows the adventures of Johan, a brave young page to the king, and Peewit, his faithful, if boastful and cheating, midget sidekick. Johan rides off to defend the meek on his trusty horse, while Peewit gallops sporadically behind on his goat, named Biquette. The pair are driven by duty to their king, and the courage to defend the underpowered. The first few adventures did not feature Peewit; he was the main character of the third album and remained in the series from then on.

[edit] Characters

• Johan: Servant of the King. Courageous and equipped with both a sword and a bow, this brown haired hero dreams of becoming a Knight.

• Peewit: A blond, gluttonous dwarf, he lived in the Rockwood Forest before the king hired him as the court jester. He is a terrible musician, though, unlike a certain Gaulish bard, the other inhabitants of the castle can't bring themselves to tell him how bad he is — though the King did once make a show of removing earplugs in Peewit's presence. Peewit is easily upset, especially when Johan volunteers him to go on another adventure but, being cunning and agile, he is quite capable of escaping from a tight corner and putting up a fight.

• Biquette: Peewit's goat, unable to resist cabbage, but endowed with a strong character. Her horn attack is extremely powerful.

• The King: Somewhat carefree, but also firm, the King is loved by his subjects and vassels. He loves wine, and has a beautiful niece, but no direct descendents. He is quite cowardly when he has to engage in physical combat.

• Omnibus: An enchanter, he has the gift of being able to use a crystal ball. He is also an alchemist and herbalist. He has one assistant, the faithful Oliver.

• Rachel: An old sorceress, she has a terrible repution, but is actually very kind. She knows how to make many different potions, one of which makes one die of laughter.

• The Lord Tremaine: He is a knight, and is also a role model in some respects for Johan.

• Lady Barbera: Old lady, always dressed in a green dress. She has a reputation for being a gossip, as well as being somewhat prideful.

• The Smurfs appear in several stories as Johan and Peewit's allies.

[edit] Merchandising

While never as popular as the Smurfs, Johan and certainly Peewit enjoyed their share of fame and popularity as well, and consequently some merchandising was made. In 1959, a first Peewit figurine was made by Dupuis, followed a few years later by a Johan. In the 1970's, Bully and Schleich made Johan and Peewit figurines in their series of PVC Smurf figurines. Plush puppets were made as well.

The adventure The Smurfs and the Magic Flute was adapted into an animated film in 1976 in Europe, with considerable success, and was rereleased in 1983 in the wake of the success of the Smurfs cartoons from Hanna-Barbera, and enjoyed some success in the USA as well. Johan and Peewit were also featured in some of those cartoons, being the main stars in many episodes.

Also in the early 1980's, some records about their adventures were made in France and Italy, amongst others by Cristina D'Avena.

[edit] Albums

The first 13 albums were edited by Dupuis, the last 4 by Le Lombard. The years given are the years of the first album publication and not of the original first magazine publication.

1. Le châtiment de Basenhau (1954, The defeat of Basenhau)
2. Le maître de Roucybeuf (1954, The master of Roucybeuf)
3. Le lutin du Bois aux Roches (1956, The dwarf of the rocky forest)
4. La pierre de lune (1956, The Moonstone)
5. Le serment des vikings (1957, The oath of the Vikings)
6. La source des dieux (1957, The source of the gods)
7. La flèche noire (1959, The black arrow)
8. Le sire de Montrésor (1960, The lord of Montrésor)
9. La flûte à six schtroumpfs (1960, The flute with six smurfs)
10. La guerre des 7 fontaines (1961, The war of the 7 fountains)
11. L'anneau des Castellac (1962, The ring of Castellac)
12. Le pays maudit (1964, The unblessed land)
13. Le sortilège de Maltrochu (1970, The witchcraft of Maltrochu)
14. La horde du corbeau (1994, The clan of the Raven)
15. Les troubadours de Roc-à-Pic (1995, The minstrels of Roc-à-Pic)
16. La nuit des sorciers (1998, The night of the sorcerers)
17. La rose des sables (2001, The rose of the sand)

[edit] English translations

Only two albums have been translated into English: La flûte à six Schtroumpfs as The Smurfs and the Magic Flute (Hodder and Stoughton UK, 1979 and Random House, USA, 1983), and La flèche noire (Fantasy Flight Publishing USA, 1995) under the title The Black Arrow.^[4]

[edit] Sources

Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Johan and Peewit Dupuis Publishing (French)