Follow TV Tropes

Following

A primer on French-Belgian comics

Go To

Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#51: Jun 29th 2013 at 7:22:49 PM

Could be, but not a direct match. The other obvious similarity is the Straight Man and The Foil, but even that doesn't match (In most cases the Hero doesn't act as a Typical Straight Man: he's not the setup for his funny partner's jokes)

Patachou Since: Jan, 2011
NapoleonDeCheese Since: Oct, 2010
#53: Sep 13th 2014 at 8:34:42 PM

Something that had never occured to me despite being obvious about some of the Biggest Franco Belgian comics: How the main characters often resemble themselves:

Thank God Iznogoud and Gaston Lagaffe don't fall into that pattern.

Is Sophie any good? I'd like to try that one, as long as it isn't too kiddy. It's sort of MLP:FIM in tone and nature, right?

Patachou Since: Jan, 2011
#54: Sep 21st 2014 at 8:02:27 PM

Sophie is good, depends on what you like to read, of course.

By the way, as of now Pierre Tombal has his own page!

purplefishman Misanthrope Supreme from Ganzir Since: Feb, 2011 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Misanthrope Supreme
#55: Sep 23rd 2014 at 4:00:45 AM

[up]Oh hey, haven't read one in years. I should pick it up again, one of those days.

Yardlet6 Since: Apr, 2013
#56: Sep 25th 2014 at 1:45:56 PM

Sophie is one of my favorites. It's a shame that it isn't in English. Girls would like a smart and feisty girl like her. Also check out the cars in the strip. Jidehem could draw some cool cars.

Patachou Since: Jan, 2011
#57: Oct 15th 2014 at 10:54:01 AM

Added a recap page for Blake and Mortimer. The first album with a page is The Yellow "M".

edited 20th Nov '14 2:19:32 PM by Patachou

Nevermore2002 Since: Jan, 2015
#58: Dec 27th 2015 at 5:35:42 PM

Added a recap page for Ric Hochet. Feel free to contribute.

Robbery Since: Jul, 2012
#59: Dec 27th 2015 at 10:19:43 PM

I'v recently been getting Paper Cutz big Smurf (or Schtroumpf, if you'd rather) albums. I'd gotten a couple of earlier translations of these when I was a youngster (Astro Smurf and King Smurf). I'd forgotten how clever and sharp they are, and how solid the cartooning really is. I must say, though, that I liked the earlier translations better. Paper Cutz title for "King Smurf" is "The Smurf King," for one, which doesn't seem to have the same punch, and they have Grouchy going around saying "Me, I don't like X" rather than the snappier "I hate X." Still, Paper Cutz has done a great job with these collections; they're very handsome and well done. Just wish whoever wrote the English Script had a better ear for dialogue.

Misiael Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: Dancing with myself
Silverblade2 Since: Jan, 2013 Relationship Status: I know
#61: Nov 9th 2016 at 7:04:04 AM

I recently laucnhed Lament of the Lost Moors. I plan to do Aria next.

Silverblade2 Since: Jan, 2013 Relationship Status: I know
#62: Jan 5th 2017 at 3:04:02 AM

I started Aria. I plan to do Jojo or Les démons d'Alexia next.

maus42 Since: Aug, 2016 Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
#63: Jan 28th 2017 at 7:22:10 AM

This is where we discuss Franco-Belgian comics?

I recently found out there is a Spirou et Fantasio film at works and the promo photo looks ...narm inducing.

C105 Too old for this from France Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Too old for this
#64: Jan 19th 2018 at 2:52:24 AM

[up] The trailer managed to kill any motivation I had for watching the film. Too bad, the special effects do seem kind of nice, though.

Whatever your favourite work is, there is a Vocal Minority that considers it the Worst. Whatever. Ever!.
Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#65: Jan 23rd 2018 at 8:08:27 PM

It didn't look awful till they also made Spirou a bumbling idiot, which he never was.

Shame.

C105 Too old for this from France Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Too old for this
#66: Feb 16th 2018 at 1:08:01 AM

An now Gaston Lagaffe is getting his Live-Action Adaptation (trailer here, in French).

It does seem slightly better than the Spirou one, but not by a large margin. At least the director was responsible for the film of Les Profs (another French comic, about a bunch of quirky or incompetent high school teachers), which was somewhat better than I feared it would be (OK that's not saying much).

Man, why is it so hard to adapt French-Belgian comics into live action...

edited 16th Feb '18 1:08:12 AM by C105

Whatever your favourite work is, there is a Vocal Minority that considers it the Worst. Whatever. Ever!.
Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#67: Feb 22nd 2018 at 2:05:19 PM

Several reasons?

For one Franco Belgian comics are usually pretty short - 30 to 40 pages at most. Which is not a lot of material for a movie.

For two, a lot of them don't really have a three act structure or even a movie-like plot structure. Like, a lot of the Gaston book barely have a plot.

For three a lot of them are pretty old, and very often tie into the period where they were written fairly well, so adapting them in a modern setting isn't always easy.

Spielberg had to Frankenstein three books togheter to make a good Tintin movie, and that this movie turned out THAT good is a small miracle.

edited 22nd Feb '18 2:06:22 PM by Ghilz

C105 Too old for this from France Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Too old for this
#68: Feb 22nd 2018 at 2:23:32 PM

Gaston is a special case as it's a gag-a-day format, so any attempt to adapt it is tricky (and adaptations of similar American comics ran into similar problems). But comics like Tintin or Spirou had complex adventures whose plot could very well make a decent movie. I'm not sure length is really an issue, as it's always possible to add a development that was not there in the original comic or expand one. Merging two stories is another option: the animated adaptations of Asterix regularly did it. And I don't think they are old enough for Values Dissonance to be a problem.

I fear what happens is the cinematic version of The Problem with Licensed Games: producers bank too much on people coming to watch the movie due to Nostalgia Filter that they forget the need for a good story, characters, or faithful adaptation. That, or the people who end up in charge of the film simply have a very simplified understanding of the comic.

The few reviews I have read of the Spirou film so far are abysmal. I had wanted to give it a try, but I will probably wait and find another way to watch it.

edited 22nd Feb '18 2:23:56 PM by C105

Whatever your favourite work is, there is a Vocal Minority that considers it the Worst. Whatever. Ever!.
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#69: Feb 25th 2018 at 1:13:56 PM

[up]They need to tighten that shit. Look at Asterix. Astier did a fantastic job with the Domain of the Gods, and the new comics, while not raising the bar as such, are on par with Goscinny's best work.

Still, there will never be a better Asterix book than Légionnaire. [lol][lol][lol][lol]

What happened with the Spielberg/Jackson Tintin franchise? The first movie was fantastic!

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
C105 Too old for this from France Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Too old for this
#70: Feb 25th 2018 at 1:26:14 PM

[up] From what I heard, motion capture films fell out of favour in Hollywood because one of them failed hard, and this has put the plug or at least severely slowed down any future projects. According to The Other Wiki, it is now the Tintin sequel is now stuck into Development Hell.

I agree The Mansions of the Gods was great. The same team is working on another Asterix film, with an original plot, that should be released at the end of the year.

Whatever your favourite work is, there is a Vocal Minority that considers it the Worst. Whatever. Ever!.
C105 Too old for this from France Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Too old for this
#71: Mar 2nd 2018 at 2:24:53 AM

Sorry for the double post, but the topic is different.

I just wanted to mention here the excellent comic De Cape Et De Crocs. I sadly doubt it will ever be translated, as it would require massive amounts of Woolseyism, and some visual puns, or even plot points, would not be easily translatable (the comic initial plot references a lot from Molière's plays, and later on Cyrano De Bergerac's work). But it's a delight to read for anybody familiar with French literature and a good knowledge of the language (to the point that native speakers may learn some new words there). Not to mention the endearing characters of all sexes and species (it's a world where Funny Animals live along humans) and enthralling plot (which begins as swashbuckling adventures and ends up as some kind of Renaissance Fantasy).

It's the kind of comic where a fox ends up in a rap battle against a pirate on the Moon, after all.

Whatever your favourite work is, there is a Vocal Minority that considers it the Worst. Whatever. Ever!.
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#72: May 22nd 2018 at 3:12:41 AM

I did the trope page for Violine a while back, which was a very interesting comic series, and one that could certainly qualify for movie adaptation, though some aspects could perhaps make American audiences squeamish.

I thought the Tintin movie was pretty good. Shame it didn't do better. But the animated series they made of it is still the best around in my opinion.

The Asterix reboot is great, and will surely help to lose the bad taste of Asterix and the Falling Sky.

edited 22nd May '18 3:13:40 AM by Redmess

Optimism is a duty.
KeironCioran Since: Aug, 2018
KeironCioran Since: Aug, 2018
#74: Feb 13th 2019 at 7:35:49 PM

Or even the work of Mœbius. Has anybody here read Arzach. Or even Blueberry

gropcbf from France Since: Sep, 2017
#75: Feb 14th 2019 at 5:22:11 AM

Obviously if there are work pages, then some people here would know them. I have read Blueberry and The Incal, but not Arzach.


Total posts: 95
Top