Marsupilami

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For the band, see Marsupilami (band).

Marsupilami is a fictional comic book animal created by André Franquin, first published on January 31, 1952 in the magazine Spirou.[1] Since then it appeared regularly in the popular Belgian comic book series Spirou et Fantasio until Franquin stopped creating the series in 1968 and took the character with him. In the late 1980s, the Marsupilami got its own successful spin-off series of comic albums, Marsupilami, written by Greg, Yann and Dugomier and drawn by Batem, launching the publishing house Marsu Productions. Later, two animated shows featuring this character, as well as a Sega Genesis video game and a variety of other merchandise followed. The asteroid 98494 Marsupilami is named in its honour.

The name is a portmanteau of the words marsupial, Pilou-Pilou (the French name for Eugene the Jeep, a character Franquin loved as a kid) and ami, French for friend.

Marsupilami's adventures had been translated to several languages, like Dutch, German, Spanish, Portuguese and several Scandinavian languages.

Two albums of Spirou and Fantasio featuring Marsupilami, number 15 and 16, were translated to English by Fantasy Flight Publishing in 1995, although they are currently out of print. In 2007, Egmont's subsidiary Euro Books translated albums number 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 14 for the Indian market.

Contents

[edit] Appearance

The marsupilami is a black-spotted yellow monkey-like creature of which some specimens are known to have a form of melanism, causing them to resemble black panthers, meanwhile other marsupilamis lack spots altogether. The young of the main couple are a good example of how marsupilamis exhibit these different traits: female Bibi has spots, male Bibu does not, while the other male, Bobo, has black fur.

The species originates from the tropical forests of Palombia, a fictional country in South-America and is given the fictitious taxonomy Marsupilamus Fantasii.[2] Though resembling monkeys, marsupilamis have several unique traits: they're egg-laying mammals, similar to monotremes, have bellybuttons, are able to breathe underwater, and each adult has a 7-meter-long tail. This tail can be curled on itself into a ball, which the marsupilami uses to "punch" enemies or predators or it can be coiled in a spring, which the creature can use to jump or bounce phenomenally high. Also, similar to particular birds such as parrots or corvids, the Marsupilami is able to imitate simple words from human speech. The marsupilami is also noted for its strength, as the creature is capable of pulverising rocks with a strike of its tail, or crack a coconut with its fists. Marsupilamis are omnivorous and build clam-shaped nests made of vines and branches, and filled with feathers plucked from local birds and parrots. A marsupilami living in a cold country will adapt by growing thicker fur during winter.

Female marsupilamis have tails a bit shorter than the males, and they also walk on their toes, like if they were wearing heels. Also males make a "houba" sound, whereas females make a "houbi" sound.

[edit] Absence of individual names

It should be noted that "Le Marsupilami" refers originally to the individual captured and then adopted by Spirou and Fantasio, which they never bothered to name because he was the only known specimen. The Spirou et Fantasio album Le nid des Marsupilamis is mostly concerned with a documentary-within-the-comic about the life of a family of marsupilamis still living in the wild in Palombia. The spin-off comics later drawn by Batem star those, and the title of the series now refers to the - also unnamed - father in this family, and not to Spirou's original marsupilami.

In these series, Marsupilami's wife is referred to as Marsupilamie (a female version of the name) but their three young are named, respectively, Bibi, Bibu and Bobo.

[edit] Albums

[edit] Spirou and Fantasio

Spirou et les hommes-bulles, 1959, by Franquin
Spirou et les hommes-bulles, 1959, by Franquin

These albums of Spirou and Fantasio feature the Marsupilami

  • 4. Spirou et les héritiers (Spirou and the Heirs, 1952). First appearance of the Marsupilami.
  • 5. Les voleurs du Marsupilami (The Marsupilami Robbers, 1952, after an idea by Jo Almo). This story picks up exactly where Spirou et les héritiers ends.
  • 7. Le dictateur et le champignon (The Dictator and the Mushroom, 1953)
  • 8. La mauvaise tête (The Wrong Head, 1954) (Only in a short story at the end)
  • 9. Le repaire de la murène (The Murena's Hideout, 1955).
  • 10. Les pirates du silence (Pirates of Silence, 1956, with Rosy (writing) and Will (backgrounds)); followed by La Quick Super (1956)
  • 11. Le gorille a bonne mine (Gorilla's in Good Shape, 1956); followed by Vacances sans histoires (Uneventful Holidays)
  • 12. Le nid des Marsupilamis (The Marsupilamis' Nest, 1957); followed by La foire aux gangsters (Gangsters at the Fair)
  • 13. Le voyageur du Mésozoïque (The Traveller from the Mesozoic, 1957); followed by La peur au bout du fil (Fear at the End of the Line, 1959, with Greg (writing))
  • 14. Le prisonnier du Bouddha (The prisoner of the Buddha, 1959, with Greg (writing) and Jidéhem (backgrounds))
  • 15. Z comme Zorglub (Z is for Zorglub, 1960, with Greg (writing) and Jidéhem (backgrounds)). First appearance of Zorglub.
  • 16. L'ombre du Z (The Shadow of Z, 1960, with Greg (writing) and Jidéhem (backgrounds)). Concludes a diptych.
  • 17. Spirou et les hommes-bulles (Spirou and the Bubble Men, 1959); followed by Les petits formats (The Small Formats, 1960); both with Roba (art). These stories, along with Tembo Tabou, first appeared in a newspaper, Le Parisien Libéré.
  • 18. QRN sur Bretzelburg (Q.R.N. over Bretzelburg, 1963, with Greg (writing) and Jidéhem (backgrounds)). A longer version was published in 1987 in a limited printing.
  • 19. Panade à Champignac (Babysitting in Champignac, 1968; with Peyo and Gos (writing)); followed by Bravo les Brothers (Hurray for the Brothers, 1967; with Jidéhem (backgrounds))
  • 20. Le faiseur d'or (The gold maker, 1970)
  • 24. Tembo Tabou, (1958, with Roba (art)); followed by short stories

[edit] Marsupilami

Robinson Academy (2005). Art by Batem, story by Dugomier
Robinson Academy (2005). Art by Batem, story by Dugomier
  • 0. Capturez un Marsupilami (Capture a Marsupilami, 6/2002) (Short-Story collection). Art and story by Franquin.
  • 1. La Queue du Marsupilami (The tail of Marsupilami, 10/1987). Art by Batem and Franquin, story by Greg.
  • 2. Le Bébé du bout du monde (The baby of the end of the world, 6/1988). Art by Batem and Franquin, story by Greg.
  • 3. Mars le Noir (Mars the Black, 3/1989). Art by Batem and Franquin, story by Yann.
  • 4. Le Pollen du Monte Urticando (The pollen of Mount Urticando, 11/1989). Art by Batem, story by Yann.
  • 5. Baby Prinz (10/1990). Art by Batem, story by Yann.
  • 6. Fordlandia (11/1991). Art by Batem, story by Yann.
  • 7. L'Or de Boavista (The Gold of Boavista, 10/1992). Art by Batem, story by Yann.
  • 8. Le Temple de Boavista (The temple of Boavista, 10/1993). Art by Batem, story by Yann.
  • 9. Le Papillon des cimes (The butterfly of the summit, 10/1994). Art by Batem, story by Yann.
  • 10. Rififi en Palombie (4/1996). Art by Batem, story by Xavier Fauche and Eric Adam.
  • 11. Houba Banana (7/1997). Art by Batem, story by Xavier Fauche and Eric Adam.
  • 12. Trafic à Jollywood (7/1998). Art and story by Batem.
  • 13. Le Défilé du jaguar (The fashion show of the jaguar, 9/1999). Art by Batem, story by Kaminka and Marais.
  • 14. Un fils en or (A golden child, 6/2000). Art by Batem, story by Bourcquardez and Saive.
  • 15. C'est quoi ce cirque !? (What's this circus!?, 9/2001). Art by Batem, story by Dugomier.
  • 16. Tous en Piste (Everyone to the ring, 6/2003). Art by Batem, story by Dugomier.
  • 17. L'orchidée des Chahutas (The orchid of the Chahutas, 6/2004). Art by Batem, story by Dugomier.
  • 18. Robinson Academy (6/2005). Art by Batem, story by Dugomier.
  • 19. Magie Blanche (White magic, 11/2006). Art by Batem, story by Colman.
  • 20. Viva Palombia. Coming in June 2007. Art by Batem, story by Colman.

[edit] Other

  • L'Encyclopédie du Marsupilami (1991) ("Encyclopedia" about how the Marsupilami works, not a comic). Text by Cambier and Verhoest, art by Batem and Franquin.

[edit] The animated series

[edit] Disney animation

Disney's version of the marsupilami first appeared on television in Raw Toonage in 1992, and was then spun off into his own eponymous show on the CBS network. Marsupilami's supporting characters included Maurice the Gorilla, Stuie the Elephant, Eduardo the Jaguar, Norman the Poacher, and other characters. The original Marsupilami stories by Franquin never encountered a gorilla or elephant, since these species are native to Africa, while the marsupilami originates from South America.

There were thirteen episodes in the series, and the series lasted one season. Reruns of the show were aired on both Disney Channel and Toon Disney.

[edit] Marathon animation

A second series, this time produced in France, premiered in March 2000 and ran for 52 episodes in France's Canal J. Produced by Cactus Animation, Marathon Production & Marsu Productions, this series more closely followed the character in the original comic.

In the first season, Marsupilami lived adventures alone, or with his family (his wife Marsupilamie and their three young, Bibi, Bibu and Bobo). For example, in one episode he saved a group of circus animals, got them back to the city and saved the circus from closing. In another, he had to go to the city again to save one of his young, captured by their constant enemy, the hunter Bring M. Backalive.

Marsupilami and Leo from the opening sequence of My Friend Marsupilami
Marsupilami and Leo from the opening sequence of My Friend Marsupilami

In the second season, called Mon ami Marsupilami (translated as My friend Marsupilami in the Disney Channel version), Marsupilami and his family become best friends with a human family, the Du Jardin, that comes to live near them. Amanda is a Marsupilami researcher, while her husband Jean-Pierre is a computer technician that works from home and they have two children, Teo (Leo in the Disney Channel version) and toddler Zoe. Leo and Marsupilami become best friends and they have lots of adventures, with both new friends and old enemies, like Backalive.

This series has been broadcast in several countries, like Germany (Super RTL), Belgium (RTL TVI), Canada (Télé-Quebec), Spain (Antena 3, Disney Channel, Toon Disney and TV3), Finland (MTV3), Cyprus (CyBC), Greece (Alter Channel), Ireland (RTE), Italy (Italia Uno), Portugal (Prisvideo), Switzerland (TSR), Russia (THT Network), Hungary (Minimax), Slovenia (RTV), Morocco (2M Soreheads), Turkey (Sar-An), Mexico (TV Azteca), Brazil (TV Globo), Venezuela (RCTV), Indonesia (RCTI), Malaysia (TV9), the Africa Pansat (CFI), and Latin America (MVS), the Near East and Middle East (TV5), Vietnam (Notorious), Thailand (United Broadcasting Corporation), South Korea (EBS) and Iceland (Uppeldi EHF).

[edit] Film projects

According to the official Marsupilami web site, there are plans for a live action film directed by Alain Chabat to be released in 2008, and an animated picture for 2010.

[edit] Sources

Footnotes
  1. ^ franquin.com. Franquin-Une vie-1952.(French)
  2. ^ Franquin, André (w,p,i).  Spirou et les héritiers  (January 1, 1952)  Éditions Dupuis (61/1). ISBN 2800100060(French)

[edit] External links