Haha! I didn't even think of that.

Yeah, Franquin created Marsupilami for Spirou back in 1952 (in the story "Spirou et les héritiers", or "Spirou and the Heirs"). Marsupilami was a sidekick on the series throughout Franquin's run, but when he retired from Spirou in 1968 he declined to let other writers/artists use the animal in the series.

Instead he created/licensed a separate spin-off series about one of Marsupilami's wild cousins in the 1980s. (This marsulipami was first seen in the 1956-57 Spirou story "Le nid des Marsupilamis", "The Nest of the Marsupilamis".) That comic series was the basis for the Disney cartoon.

So the marsupilami seen on the show is different from the one in the Spirou comic, just another animal of the same species. What happened to Spirou's marsupilami after its last appearance in 1970 is unknown. While Spirou and Fantasio certainly don't have it any more, references such as this one seem to indicate that it isn't dead... at least as far as they know.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

To the best of my knowledge, the French animated series was based on Le Nid, and the Disney animated was about yet another Marsupilami and his battles with a poacher. His kids and wife don't figure into the other two.

One assumes the marsupilami that Spirou & Fantasio had (it was more Fanta's pet than Spirou's really) was sent back to live in the wild, although it's not explicitly mentioned. When Franquin left the series he took the rights to his creation with him (thus the spin-off), and future creative teams weren't allowed to use it. Which is a pity in some ways, although I don't see how it would fit into modern era books in any case.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Erg, typo. His wife and kids don't enter into the Disney one, but they do in the other two. The cubs are awfully cute, though.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Your icon. I know that character from a french comic I read years ago. Do you know what it was called?

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Yeah, that's Julien Boisvert from the similarly titled series by Michel Plessix and Dieter. The first two books, Neekibo and Grisnoir, were published in English by Heavy Metal/Kitchen Sink Press, though this picture comes from the third one. I'll probably do some scans from it at some point in the future.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Thank you. I believe I read Neekibo (where he crash-lands in a country in Africa) and one where he meets his father during the civil rights movement (I think it was called Carl)

(Reply to this) (Parent)