In the world of comics, the year 2017 marked the sixtieth birthday of an essential icon – which even earned him an exhibition at the Bpi of the Centre Pompidou: the aptly named Gaston Lagaffe, who made his timid debut in February 1957 in the pages of the Journal de Spirou. In the continuity of this celebration, Dupuis has just published La Galerie des gaffes, an album-tribute to the character and its author, the inevitable André Franquin.
As always in this kind of compilation project, there is food and drink and the best rubs shoulders with the worst. And, of course, it is according to the tastes of the readers that the appreciation of the plates included in this album will be made. We are therefore alternately enthusiastic and hilarious or disgusted and disappointed according to what we read in these pages. Among the 60 authors, there are renowned artists who offer their contributions to unknown or even unknown signatures. But the alternation of genres and styles still allows a pleasant reading.
The subject has obviously inspired some more than others: some are disappointing (Blutch, Parma, Goossens, Munuera or Yoann & Vehlmann – by the way, their very beautiful (and funny) GASTON board from 2010, which was stupidly not included in the H.S.5 of SPIROU & FANTASIO recently published, is not here either). Conversely, we discover some good surprises (Saive, Obion, Burniat in particular). There are also those who have a good story but should have had it illustrated by someone else (Aranega, Fabcaro, James and Boris Mirroir, Alfred, Nicoby, Nix, Mardon or Trondheim, as always) and those who have an obvious graphic talent, but whose subject has little interest (Yoann and Blutch, Opulent, Nob, Thibaudier, Jouvray, Reynès, Götting). Bertschy proves that Gaston's cat by Franquin is more a cat than a real cat. Without unnecessary words, Jousselin beautifully evokes the nostalgia and imaginative power aroused by reading in general and by GASTON in particular. Tarrin rewrites history with humour and malice, Spiessert focuses more particularly on the graphics of an outdated era, Neidhardt sympathizes with the fate of poor De Mesmaeker and overwhelms Gaston in his squeaky tribute, Saive produces the most effective gag of the album, Obion is amused by De Mesmaeker's paranoia while Frank Pé prefers nicely turned black humor and Burniat turns instead to Franquin only towards his creature in an amused wink. As for Schwartz, to see his contribution, we hope again and again one day to read something that definitively highlights him in the place he deserves, without the cumbersome emphasis of the omnipresent Yann, moreover absent from the project (how can it be?)
There are absentees (Tome & Janry, Fournier, Walthéry, Le Gall, Bonhomme, Verron, Bravo, Conrad) that we would certainly have preferred to read to Tébo (always as vulgaro-rude), Bouzard, Bourhis, Thuin, Priou, Cromheecke & Sti, Porcel or Krassinsky. There is also the trickster of the gang, Dodier, who recases a gag already present in La Ballade des baffes, the irreverent tribute of 1983 to the hero-unemployed.
And then, the best for last, there is this superb plate which, if we inserted it without warning, for example in Le Cas Lagaffe, could pass for an unpublished Franquin. It is signed Delaf (yet known for his navels and who, in the same genre, also committed the cover illustration of La Galerie des gaffes) and in his gag on page 28, he shows us his hidden talents. It's amazing! The gag is pure GASTON, the line brushes Franquin and the coloring is perfect. Only Prunelle in the first box is missed, but compared to the rest, we don't care. When will a SPIROU SEEN BY Delaf drawn like that, Monsieur Dupuis?
