Spirou is a weekly Belgian comics magazine published by the Dupuis company since April 21, 1938. It is an anthology magazine with new features appearing regularly, containing a mix of short humor strips and serialized features, of which the most popular series would be collected as albums by Dupuis afterwards.
Spirou No. 1 (21 April 1938) Front cover by Rob-Vel.
Mural painting representing Gaston Lagaffe in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium).
Mural painting « Broussaille » in Louvain-la-Neuve.
Bandes dessinées, abbreviated BDs and also referred to as Franco-Belgian comics, are comics that are usually originally in French and created for readership in France and Belgium. These countries have a long tradition in comics, separate from that of English-language comics. Belgium is a mostly bilingual country, and comics originally in Dutch are culturally a part of the world of bandes dessinées, even if the translation from French to Dutch far outweighs the other direction.
The French comic Les Pieds Nickelés (1954 book cover): an early 20th-century forerunner of the modern Franco-Belgian comic
Close Hergé collaborator and magazine contributor Bob de Moor
Comics artist Mœbius (2008), who achieved international renown through Métal Hurlant
Image: Albert Uderzo
