Category: Gomer Goof

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Gomer Goof volume 12: Twenty-One Goof Salute!


By Franquin, translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-80044-161-3 (PB Album/Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced during less enlightened times and some used for dramatic and comedic effect.

Born in Etterbeek, Belgium on January 3rd 1924, André Franquin began his astounding career in the golden age of European cartooning. In 1946, as assistant to Joseph “Jijé” Gillain on top strip Spirou, he inherited sole control of the keynote feature, going on to create countless unforgettable characters like Fantasio and The Marsupilami. Over two decades Franquin made the strip purely his, expanding its scope and horizons, as co-stars Spirou & Fantasio – with hairy Greek Chorus Spip the squirrel – became globetrotting troubleshooters visiting exotic places, exposing crimes, exploring the incredible and clashing with bizarre, eccentric arch-enemies. Throughout all that, Fantasio remained a full-fledged – albeit entirely fictional – reporter for Le Journal de Spirou, popping back to base between assignments. Regrettably, ensconced there like a splinter under a fingernail was an arrogant, accident-prone office junior tasked with minor jobs and general dogs-bodying. He was Gaston Lagaffe; Franquin’s other immortal – or peut-être unkillable? – conception…

There’s a hoary tradition of comics personalising fictitiously back-office creatives and the arcane processes they indulge in, whether it’s Marvel’s Bullpen or DC Thomson’s lugubrious Editor and underlings at The Beano and Dandy; it’s a truly international practise. Somehow though, after debuting in LJdS #985 (February 28th 1957), the affable dimwit grew – like one of his own monstrous DIY projects – beyond control. Whether guesting in Spirou’s romps or his own strips/faux reports on the editorial pages Lagaffe became one of the most popular and ubiquitous components of the comic he was supposed to paste up.

In initial cameos or occasional asides on text pages, the well-meaning foul-up and ostensible studio gofer Gaston lurked and lounged amidst a crowd of diligent toilers until the workshy slacker employed as a general assistant at LJdS’s head office became a solid immovable fixture. Ultimately the scruffy bit-player inevitably stumbled into his own star feature…

In terms of schtick and delivery, older readers will recognise favourite beats and elements of well-intentioned helpfulness wedded to irrepressible self-delusion as seen in Benny Hill or Jacques Tati vehicles and recognise recurring riffs from Only Fools and Horses and Mr Bean. It’s blunt-force slapstick, using paralysing puns, fantastic ingenuity and inspired invention to mug smugness, puncture pomposity, lampoon the status quoi? (and that’s British punning, see?) and ensure no good deed goes noticed, rewarded or unpunished…

As previously stated, Gaston/Gomer can be seen (if you’re very quick or extremely patient) toiling at Le Journal de Spirou’s editorial offices. At first he reported to Fantasio, but as pressure of work took the hero away, the Goof instead complicated the lives of office manager Léon Prunelle and other harassed and bewildered staffers, all whilst effectively ignoring any tasks he’s paid to actually handle. These notionally include page paste-up, posting packages, filing, clean-up, collecting stuff inbound from off-site and editing readers’ letters – the reason why fans’ requests and suggestions are never acknowledged or answered…

Gomer is lazy, hyperkinetic, opinionated, ever-ravenous, impetuous, underfed, forgetful and eternally hungry: a passionate sports fan, self-proclaimed musician maestro and animal lover whose most manic moments all stem from cutting work corners, stashing or consuming contraband nosh in the office or inventing the Next Big Thing. This situation leads to constant clashes with colleagues and draws in notionally unaffiliated bystanders like increasingly manic traffic cop Longsnoot and fireman Captain Morwater, plus ordinary passers-by who should know by now to keep away from this street.

Through it all, the obtuse office oaf remains affable, easy-going and incorrigible. Only three questions matter: why everyone keeps giving him one last chance, what does gentle, lovelorn Miss Jeanne see in the self-opinionated idiot, and will perpetually-outraged and accidentally abused capitalist financier De Mesmaeker ever get his perennial, pestiferous contracts signed?

Gathering material created between 1980-1982, Gaston – La saga des gaffe became the 14th European album, and the last to use originated material solely by the increasingly troubled genius. Released in translation, it’s Cinebook 12th compilation, offering non-stop, all-Franquin gags and wry observations in formats ranging from single tier and half pagers to extended multi-page yarns.

There’s a preponderance of bitter and bizarre clashes with hard-pressed, long suffering traffic cop Longsnoot (AKA Joseph Longtarin in European editions) that has become known as the “Parking Meter War”, as their protracted clash of ideologies and nerves seemingly reflected Franquin’s mounting ecological concerns and increasingly fraught emotional state and declining mental health.

Here, many strips indulge that struggle via clashes with forces of authority, revealed via encounters with polluters, open support of Greenpeace, advocacy of urban “greening” projects and even anti-military, pro “Save the Whales” episodes, which never forget to be funny as well as trenchant.

The simmering duel with the rulers of the road peaks over many car-based clashes as a cold war involving the million-&-one things that can be done with (and to) parking meters goes into overdrive. This all culminates in the Goof’s invention of mobile dummy replicas of the despised coin collecting taxation-tools, programable roving units and prophetically realistic wandering self-driving robots like those terrorising us all right now…

Other riffs revisited include rare moments of paradise with inexplicably besotted paramour Miss Jeanne, more nigh-deadly diversions with his menagerie (Cheese the mouse, goldfish Bubelle, an adopted feral cat and a black-headed gull) and Gomer’s growing tendency to insomnia or nightmares with real world consequences…

As ever, the forward-looking Goof is blind to the problems his antiquated automobile causes, despite numerous attempts to soup up, cleanse, modify and mollify the motorised atrocity he calls his. The decrepit, dilapidated Fiat 509 is only fit for assisted dying, and here the ultimate improvements are beta-tested, as the boy genius trials super-elastic seat belts and his electric, (barely) roadworthy mobile bedstead – to the shock, awe and horror of all that see it…

Naturally, many moments of chaos still occur at work (if and when he gets there): incidents involving “improved” fire suppression systems, coatracks, photocopiers, recycling schemes and especially the untapped potential of the studio’s new computers…

Our well-meaning, overconfident, overly-helpful know-it-all hindrance invents more stuff making office life unnecessarily dangerous, and continues his pioneering and perilous attempts to befriend and boost fauna and flora alike and improve the modern mechanised world, but this doesn’t leave much time for recreation. Still, there’s time to “master” kitchen bicycle trials and haul out the truly terrifying old Brontosaurophone/Goofophone, and Gomer does make a new enemy after a protracted dispute with the office plumber – an old lag who knows a blowhard meddler when he sees one…

At least lovely Miss Jeanne and forever faithful pal/accomplice Jules-from-Smith’s-across-the-street are still keenly appreciative of his efforts to improve the world, even if it seems at the cost of a few paltry lives, much municipal and private property, the wellbeing of long-suffering Prunelle and eternally frustrated De Mesmaeker …

Dipped in dark mordant wit, but still the funniest French comic ever, isn’t it time you quit being so serious and started Goofing around?
© Dupuis, Dargaud-Lombard s.a. 2009 by Franquin. All rights reserved. English translation © 2025 Cinebook Ltd.

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Gomer Goof volume 11: Goof-Off at the Gomer Corral


By Franquin, translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-80044-128-6 (PB Album/Digital edition)

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: A Little Euro-Sparkle for Any Occasion …9/10

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

Born in Etterbeek, Belgium on January 3rd 1924, André Franquin began his astonishing comics career in a golden age of European cartooning. As assistant to Joseph “Jijé” Gillain on the strip Spirou, he inherited sole control of the keynote feature in 1946, and went on to create countless unforgettable new characters like Fantasio and The Marsupilami. Over two decades Franquin made the strip purely his, expanding Spirou & Fantasio’s scope and horizons, as they became globetrotting journalists who visited exotic places, exposed crimes, explored the incredible and clashed with bizarre, exotic arch-enemies. Throughout, Fantasio remained a full-fledged – albeit entirely fictional – reporter for Le Journal de Spirou, popping back to base between assignments. Sadly, ensconced there was an arrogant, accident-prone office junior tasked with minor jobs and general dogs-bodying. This was Gaston Lagaffe; Franquin’s other immortal – or peut-être unkillable? – conception…

There’s a hoary tradition of comics personalising fictitiously back-office creatives and the arcane processes they indulge in, whether it’s Marvel’s Bullpen or DC Thomson’s lugubrious Editor and underlings at The Beano and Dandy; it’s a truly international practise. Somehow though, after debuting in LJdS #985 (February 28th 1957), the affable dimwit grew – like one of his monstrous projects – beyond control, becoming one of the most popular and ubiquitous components of the comic, whether guesting in Spirou’s adventures or his own strips/faux reports on the editorial pages he was supposed to paste up. Initial cameos in Spirou yarns or occasional asides on text pages featured well-meaning foul-up and ostensible gofer Gaston lurking and lounging amidst a crowd of diligent toilers: a workshy slacker employed as a general assistant at LJdS’s head office. The scruffy bit-player eventually and inevitably stumbled into his own star feature…

In terms of schtick and delivery, older readers will recognise favourite beats and elements of well-intentioned helpfulness wedded to irrepressible self-delusion as seen in Benny Hill or Jacques Tati vehicles and recognise recurring riffs from Only Fools and Horses and Mr Bean. It’s blunt-force slapstick, paralysing puns, fantastic ingenuity and inspired invention, compiled to mug smugness, puncture pomposity, lampoon the status quoi? (that there’s British punning, see?) and ensure no good deed goes noticed, rewarded or unpunished…

As previously stated, Gaston/Gomer can be seen (if you’re quick) toiling at Spirou’s editorial offices: initially reporting to Fantasio, but latterly complicating the lives of office manager Léon Prunelle and other harassed and bewildered staffers, all whilst effectively ignoring any tasks he’s paid to actually handle. These include page paste-up, posting packages, filing, clean-up, collecting stuff inbound from off-site and editing readers’ letters (the real reason fans’ requests and suggestions are never acknowledged or answered)…

Gomer is lazy, hyperkinetic, opinionated, ever-ravenous, impetuous, underfed, forgetful and eternally hungry: a passionate sports fan and animal lover whose most manic moments all stem from cutting work corners, stashing or consuming contraband nosh in the office or inventing the Next Big Thing. It leads to constant clashes with colleagues and draws in notionally unaffiliated bystanders like increasingly manic traffic cop Longsnoot and fireman Captain Morwater, plus ordinary passers-by who should know by now to keep away from this street. Through it all, the obtuse office oaf remains affable, easy-going and incorrigible. Only three questions matter: why everyone keeps giving him one last chance, what does gentle, lovelorn Miss Jeanne see in the self-opinionated idiot, and will perpetually-outraged capitalist financier De Mesmaeker ever get his perennial, pestiferous contracts signed?

In 1979, after a long pause while the auteur dealt with his mental health issues, Gaston – Lagaffe mérite des baffes became the 13th collected album and in 2023 was Cinebook’s 11th translated compilation. As Goof-off at the Gomer Corral, it offers single page bursts and half-page gags in non-stop all-Franquin jabs and japes. From this point on the frequency of Gaston collections reduced by 50%…

A brighter spotlight falls upon Longsnoot (AKA Joseph Longtarin in European editions) too, a protracted war of nerves across future volumes as Gomer increasingly clashed with forces of authority, and revealed here via many car-based clashes and a cold war involving parking meters culminating in the Goof’s invention of mobile dummy replicas of the despised coin collectors.

As always, forward looking Gomer is blind to the problems his antiquated automobile causes, despite numerous attempts to soup up, cleanse, modify and mollify the motorised atrocity he calls his. The decrepit, dilapidated Fiat 509 is more in need of assisted execution than his many well-meant engineering interventions, as seen in its brief conversion to natural gas fuel, petrol-powered gassifiers, onboard coal-burners and addition of crash bags years ahead of anything produced by hitmen or torturers. With travel so important, it’s no wonder he also finds time to similarly improve his motor bike with augmented horns and lethally heated seats…

Work gets tougher as a succession of nightmares plague Gomer even as unanswered mail piles up, making more trouble for Prunelle and in-house staff artist Yves (occasionally “Yvon”) Lebrac who often act as unwilling, inadvertent beta testers for our well-meaning, overly-helpful, know-it-all office hindrance. This time the poor saps are at ground zero for numerous moments of projectile madness after Gomer improves the pedal bin lid springs…  Devoted to his inhouse menagerie (Cheese the mouse, goldfish Bubelle, an adopted feral cat and a black-headed gull) our loving lad adds doors and passages and even teaches them all to blow gum bubbles. It doesn’t take long, but the clean-up sure does… almost as long as training a troupe of snails to perform a nightclub act…

Although there’s less opportunity to invent interesting foodstuffs, Gomer has leisure enough to augment office traffic, filing and even automate suitcase usage, but his greatest triumph this time round is renovating the office reference library, creating a thing of architectural wonder and lethal imprecision…

At least lovely Miss Jeanne and forever faithful pal Jules-from-Smith’s-across-the-street are able to appreciate the efforts made to improve the world, even if it seems at the cost of a few paltry lives and much municipal and private property…

Far better enjoyed than précised or spoken of, these strips allowed Franquin to flex whimsical muscles, subversively sneak in satirical support for their environmental beliefs, pacifism and animal rights and remain sublime examples of all-ages comedy: wholesome, barbed, daft and incrementally funnier with every re-reading. Why haven’t you got your Goof on yet?

Isn’t it time you started Goofing around?
© Dupuis, Dargaud-Lombard s.a. 2009 by Franquin. All rights reserved. English translation © 2023 Cinebook Ltd.

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Gomer Goof volume 10: Gomers Goons


By Franquin, translated byJerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-80044-092-0 (PB Album/Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

André Franquin was born in Etterbeek, Belgium on January 3rd 1924 and began his astonishing comics career in a golden age of European cartooning. Beginning as assistant to Joseph “Jijé” Gillain on the strip Spirou, he inherited sole control of the keynote feature in 1946, and went on to create countless unforgettable new characters like Fantasio and The Marsupilami.

Franquin – with Jijé, Morris (Lucky Luke) and Willy “Will” (Tif et Tondu) Maltaite – was co-founder of creative powerhouse La bande des quatre: “the Gang of Four” who reshaped and revolutionised Belgian comics and all European cartooning with their prolific and engaging “Marcinelle school” graphic style.

Over two decades Franquin made the strip purely his, expanding Spirou & Fantasio’s scope and horizons, as they became globetrotting journalists who visited exotic places, exposed crimes, explored the incredible and clashed with bizarre, exotic arch-enemies. Throughout, Fantasio remained a full-fledged – albeit entirely fictional – reporter for Le Journal de Spirou, popping back to base between assignments. Sadly, ensconced there was an arrogant, accident-prone office junior tasked with minor jobs and general dogs-bodying. This was Gaston Lagaffe – Franquin’s second immortal invention…

There’s a long tradition of comics personalising fictitiously back-office creatives and the arcane processes they indulge in, whether it’s Marvel’s Bullpen or DC Thomson’s lugubrious Editor and underlings at The Beano and Dandy – it’s a truly international practise. Somehow though after debuting in Le Journal de Spirou #985 (February 28th 1957), the affable dimwit grew beyond control to become one of the most popular and ubiquitous components of the comic, whether as a guest in Spirou’s adventures or his own comedy strips and/or faux reports on the editorial pages he was supposed to paste up. Initial cameos in Spirou yarns or occasional asides on text pages featured well-meaning foul-up and ostensible gofer Gaston lurking and lounging amidst a crowd of diligent toilers: a workshy slacker employed as a general assistant at Le Journal de Spirou’s head office. The scruffy bit-player eventually and inevitably shambled into his own star feature…

In terms of schtick and delivery, older readers will recognise favourite beats and elements of well-intentioned helpfulness wedded to irrepressible self-delusion as seen in Benny Hill or Jacques Tati vehicles and recognise recurring riffs from Some Mothers Do Have ’Em and Mr Bean. It’s all blunt-force slapstick, paralysing puns, fantastic ingenuity and inspired invention, compiled to mug smugness, puncture pomposity, lampoon the status quoi? (that there’s some British punning, see?) and ensure no good deed goes noticed, rewarded or unpunished…

As previously stated, Gaston/Gomer obtains a regular salary – let’s not dignify what he does as “earning” a living – from Spirou’s editorial offices: initially reporting to top journalist Fantasio, and latterly complicating the lives of office manager Léon Prunelle and the other staffers, all whilst effectively ignoring any tasks he’s paid to actually handle. These include page paste-up, posting packages, filing, clean-up, collecting stuff inbound from off-site and editing readers’ letters (the real reason fans requests and suggestions are never acknowledged or answered)…

Gomer is lazy, hyperkinetic, over-opinionated, ever-ravenous, impetuous, underfed, forgetful and eternally hungry: a passionate sports fan and animal lover with his most manic moments all stemming from cutting work corners, stashing or consuming contraband nosh in the office or inventing the Next Big Thing. It leads to constant clashes with colleagues and draws in notionally unaffiliated bystanders like traffic cop Longsnoot and fireman Captain Morwater, as well as ordinary passers-by who should know by now to keep away from this street.

Through it all the office oaf remains affable, easy-going and incorrigible. Only three questions really matter: why everyone keeps giving him one last chance, what does gentle, lovelorn Miss Jeanne see in the self-opinionated idiot and will perpetually-outraged capitalist financier De Mesmaeker ever get his perennial, pestiferous contracts signed?

In 1974 Gaston – Le gang des gaffeurs was the 12th collected album and in 2023 became Cinebook’s 10th translated compilation, offering single page bursts and some half-page sight gags: non-stop all-Franquin comics jabs and japes, with a few ideas and contributions from colleagues Joop, Degotte and Yvan (The Smurfs, Steve Severin, Idées noires) Delporte.

The assistants were necessary as Franquin’s mental health was increasingly being affected by stress. After this album the frequency of Gaston collections reduced by 50%…

Here an increased spotlight falls upon distressed in-house staff artist Yves (occasionally called Yvon) Lebrac who often acted as unwilling, inadvertent beta tester for our well-meaning, overly-helpful, know-it-all office hindrance. This tome is packed with innovations that make Lebrac’s life increasingly annoying and unnecessarily hazardous, such as super-amped central heating so workers can make toast on radiators, a retractable, ceiling-mounted eraser, assorted games, further experiments with (light-repelling) aerosol air-fresheners and paste-up adhesives that just should not be allowed under the Geneva Convention…

Crucially, Gomer’s pets regard Lebrac’s desk and drawing board as their playground but are always ready to have him join in their games…

Whilst concentrating on avoiding his job, The Goof always seeks to improve life for his animal pals. The adopted feral cat and black-headed gull still accompany illicit studio companions Cheese the mouse in many destructive romps but it’s studio goldfish Bubelle who really benefits this time as Gomer installs several solutions to improve mobility and grant the water-dweller FULL access to the building…

When not pursuing illicit culinary dreams – like lighter-than-air pancakes made on a desktop crêpe fryer – Gomer is quick to solve pressing problems such as a cat very stridently trapped in a bass tuba, but even that paralysing din is as nothing to the near-lethal advent of ultrasonic violin tuning, A.I. cup-&-ball machine, casual/office-wear robot suits, self-emptying pedal bins, recycling Soviet components for airplane models, the most wonderful couch on Earth, Inter-Office ski-lift systems and accidentally perfecting the most volatile motion-sensitive explosive ever to grace an art kit…

The installation of roller towels in the toilets sparks a wave of (dangerous) inspiration and innovation and when Gomer’s like-minded chum, opposite number and born accomplice Jules-from-Smith’s-across-the-street joins him in moonlighting as advertising prop makers, the resulting giant shoe fiasco sets the entire city panicking. Ever-eager to slope off for a chat, Jules is also a confirmed devotee of Gomer’s sporting methods for passing the time at work and complicit in seducing the office redecorators: turning hard-working diligent toilers to their laggardly ways, and introducing them to the joys of adventure cooking, citizen chemistry and colossally big bangs…

Semi-regular burglar Freddy falls foul of Gomer’s lethal filing system – something Prunelle also suffers from often – but both are mercifully absent when the inventor’s inquiries into aural animal attractant whistles (affecting owls, mosquitos, moles, and a certain (uniformed) species of “Pig”) make an extended camping trip to “Gus’s farm” a weird nightmare…

Also on view are more skirmishes in the ongoing car-parking war with Longsnoot and a succession of sporting gags including a clash with a karate master, snow paddleball and swamp football, but in the end even our recumbent genius has no cure for peasouper fog – although his quick work-around does get the city moving… in the wrong direction…

Far better enjoyed than précised or described, these strips allowed Franquin and his occasional co-scenarists to flex whimsical muscles, subversively sneak in satirical support for their beliefs in pacifism, environmentalism and animal rights and sometimes even appear in person…

These are sublime examples of all-ages comedy: wholesome, barbed, daft and incrementally funnier with every re-reading. Why haven’t you got your Goof on yet?
© Dupuis, Dargaud-Lombard s.a. 2009 by Franquin. All rights reserved. English translation © 2023 Cinebook Ltd.

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Gomer Goof volume 9: Good Golly, Mr. Goof!


By Franquin, with additional texts by Delporte, translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-80044-064-7 (PB Album/Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced during less enlightened times.

André Franquin was born in Etterbeek, Belgium on January 3rd 1924 and began his career in a golden age of European cartooning. Beginning as assistant to Joseph “Jijé” Gillain on the strip Spirou, he inherited sole control of the keynote feature in 1946, and creating countless unforgettable new characters such as Fantasio and The Marsupilami.

Franquin – with Jijé, Morris (Lucky Luke) and Willy “Will” Maltaite (Tif et Tondu) – was a co-founder of a creative force of nature dubbed La bande des quatre – “the Gang of Four” – who revolutionised and reshaped Belgian comics with their prolific and engaging “Marcinelle school” graphic style.

Over two decades Franquin enlarged Spirou & Fantasio’s scope and horizons, until it became purely his as the strip evolved into the saga of globetrotting journalists. They visited exotic places, exposed crimes, explored the incredible and clashed with bizarre, exotic arch-enemies, but throughout, Fantasio remained a full-fledged – albeit entirely fictional – reporter for Le Journal de Spirou, regularly popping back to the office between assignments. Sadly, lurking there was an arrogant, accident-prone junior tasked with minor jobs and general dogs-bodying. He was Gaston Lagaffe – Franquin’s other immortal invention…

There’s a long tradition of comics personalising fictitiously back-office creatives and the arcane processes they indulge in, whether it’s Marvel’s Bullpen or DC Thomson’s lugubrious Editor and underlings at The Beano and Dandy – it’s a truly international practise. Somehow though after debuting in Le Journal de Spirou #985 (February 28th 1957), the affable conniving dimwit grew beyond control, to become one of the most popular and ubiquitous components of the comic, whether as a guest in Spirou’s adventures or his own comedy strips and faux reports on the editorial pages he was supposed to paste up…

Initial cameos in Spirou yarns and occasional asides on text pages featured a well-meaning foul-up and ostensible office gofer Gaston who lurked amidst the crowd of diligent toilers: a workshy slacker working (sic) as a gofer at Le Journal de Spirou’s head office. That scruffy bit-player eventually and inevitably shambled into his own star feature…

In terms of schtick and delivery, older readers will recognise favourite beats and elements of well-intentioned self-delusion as seen in Benny Hill or Jacques Tati and recognise recurring riffs from Some Mothers Do Have ’Em and Mr Bean. It’s slapstick, paralysing puns, infernal ingenuity and inspired invention, all to mug smugness, puncture pomposity, lampoon the status quoi? (there’s some of that punning there, see?) and ensure no good deed going noticed, rewarded or unpunished…

As previously stated, Gaston/Gomer obtains a regular salary – let’s not dignify what he does as “earning” a living – from Spirou’s editorial offices: reporting to top journalist Fantasio, or complicating the lives of office manager Léon Prunelle and the other staffers, all whilst effectively ignoring any tasks he’s paid to handle. These officially include page paste-up, posting (initially fragile) packages, collecting stuff inbound and editing readers’ letters (that’s the official reason fans’ requests and suggestions are never acknowledged or answered)…

Gomer is lazy, over-opinionated, ever-ravenous, impetuous, underfed, forgetful and eternally hungry, a passionate sports fan and animal lover, with his most manic moments all stemming from cutting work corners, stashing or consuming contraband nosh in the office or inventing the Next Big Thing.

This leads to constant clashes with colleagues and draws in notionally unaffiliated bystanders like traffic cop Longsnoot and fireman Captain Morwater, as well as any simple passers-by who should know by now to keep away from this street.

Through it all our office oaf remains eternally affable, easy-going and incorrigible. Only three questions really matter here: why everyone keeps giving him one last chance, what can gentle, lovelorn Miss Jeanne possible see in the self-opinionated idiot and will ever-outraged capitalist financier De Mesmaeker ever get his perennial, pestiferous contracts signed?

In 1973 Gaston – Gaffes, bévues et boulettes was the 11th collected album (albeit rejigged in 2018 to become the 16th European compilation). It became in 2022 Cinebook’s 9th translated compilation, once more offering non-stop all-Franquin comics gags in single page bursts with some script contributions from Yvan Delporte (The Smurfs, Steve Severin, Idées noires).

Our well-meaning, overconfident, overly-helpful know-it-all office hindrance invents more stuff making life unnecessarily dangerous and continues his pioneering and perilous attempts to befriend and boost fauna and flora alike, always improving the beleaguered modern mechanised world. As he concentrates on avoiding his job, Gomer’s big heart swells to nurture his animal pals. His adopted feral cat and black-headed gull still accompany illicit studio companions Cheese the mouse and goldfish Bubelle, but their hyperactive gluttonous presences generate much chaos, especially as they have learned to work together now. Not only must Gaston face starvation on a daily basis, but even the street’s shopkeepers find themselves in a silent war of nutrition attrition…

The dreamer also fosters the belief that he is a musical prodigy only awaiting discovery, but in a wave of Christmas strips everyone else remains violently unconvinced, as they are of his painful innovations in furniture design. Gomer’s chum and opposite number Jules-from-Smith’s-across-the-street is a like-minded soul and born accomplice, ever-eager to slope off for a chat, and a confirmed devotee of Gomer’s methods of passing the time whilst at work. He is always ready to help, as here when assisting in facing the out-of-control cactus from Aunt Hortense’s home again or joining his pal’s bike racing escapade…

Sport is important to the Goof, but rugby, soccer, basketball, billiards and – technically – ice skating all prove faithless and painful masters, but such is his passion, however, that Gomer is allowed to report on one peculiar particular match he played goal keeper in, as seen in illustrated text report ‘A Match to Remember’…

Despite resolute green credentials and leanings, Gomer is colour-blind to the problems his antiquated automobile cause, even after all his attempts to soup up the antique. Many strips focus on his doomed love affair with and manic efforts to modify and mollify the accursed motorised atrocity he calls his car. The decrepit, dilapidated Fiat 509 is more in need of merciful euthanasia than engineering interventions for countering its lethal road pollution and violent and unpredictable failures to function. Here, new tweaks certainly impress passing wildlife if not obsessive gendarme Longsnoot in splendidly daft road dalliances intermixed with repeated visits to his friends at the zoo. Hint: none of them wear clothes…

Also suffering a succession of painful reversals, benighted yet fanatical business bod De Mesmaeker turns up repeatedly here with ever more crucial contracts for poor office manager Prunelle to sign and for Gomer to accidentally shred or otherwise intercept and eradicate.

A new edifice of the Establishment to undergo the Goof effect is the local Customs officer who on more than one occasion deeply regrets asking if the geek in the poisonous car has anything to declare, although brief explorations of motorcycling and yoga don’t cause that much carnage relative to the general aura of weird science prototypes, arcane chemical concoctions and the in-house manic menagerie able to shred chairs and open sardine tins with a bash of the beak. At least Gomer understands why redecorating costs are so high and frequent…

Far better enjoyed than précised or described, these strips allowed Franquin and occasional co-scenarists/idea providers like Roba, Bibi, Michel, Delporte & Jidéhem (AKA Jean De Mesmaeker: just one of many in-joke analogues who populate the strip) to flex whimsical muscles, subversively sneak in some satirical support for their beliefs in pacifism, environmentalism and animal rights and sometimes even appear in person as does poor Raoul Bluecoats Cauvin…

These gags are sublime examples of all-ages comedy: wholesome, barbed, daft and incrementally funnier with every re-reading. Why haven’t you got your Goof on yet?
© Dupuis, Dargaud-Lombard s.a. 2009 by Franquin. All rights reserved. English translation © 2022 Cinebook Ltd.

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Gomer Goof volume 8: A Giant Among Goofs


By Franquin, translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-80044-021-0 (PB Album/Digital edition)

Like so much else in Franco-Belgian comics, it all started with Le Journal de Spirou, which debuted on April 2nd 1938, with its iconic lead strip created by François Robert Velter AKA Rob-Vel. In 1943, publisher Dupuis purchased all rights to the comic and its titular star, and comic-strip prodigy Joseph Gillain (Jijé) took the helm for the redheaded kid’s further exploits as the magazine gradually became a cornerstone of European culture.

In 1946, Jijé’s assistant André Franquin was handed creative control and slowly abandoned short gag vignettes in favour of extended adventure serials. Franquin introduced a broad, engaging cast of regulars and created the phenomenally popular Marsupilami. Debuting in 1952 (Spirou et les héritiers) the beast became a spin-off star of screen, plush toy stores, console games and albums in his own right. Franquin continued crafting increasingly fantastic tales and absorbing Spirou sagas until his resignation in 1969. He was born in Etterbeek, Belgium on January 3rd 1924. Drawing from an early age, the lad only began formal art training at École Saint-Luc in 1943. When WWII forced the school’s closure a year later, he found work at Compagnie Belge d’Animation in Brussels and met Maurice de Bévére (Lucky Luke creator “Morris”), Pierre Culliford (Peyo, creator of The Smurfs and Benny Breakiron) and Eddy Paape (Valhardi, Luc Orient). In 1945 all but Peyo signed on with Dupuis, and Franquin began his career as a jobbing cartoonist and illustrator, producing covers for Le Moustique and scouting magazine Plein Jeu.

During those early days, Franquin and Morris were being tutored by Jijé, who was the main illustrator at LJdS. He turned the youngsters – and fellow neophyte Willy Maltaite (AKA “Will” – Tif et Tondu, Isabelle, Le jardin des désirs) – into a smoothly functioning creative team known as La bande des quatre or “Gang of Four”. They ultimately revolutionised and reshaped Belgian comics with their prolific and engaging “Marcinelle school” graphic style.

Over two decades he had enlarged Spirou & Fantasio’s scope and horizons, until it became purely his own. Constantly, fans met startling new characters as the strip evolved into the saga of globetrotting journalists who visited exotic places, exposed crimes, explored the incredible and clashed with bizarre and exotic arch-enemies. Throughout it all, Fantasio remained a full-fledged – albeit entirely fictional – reporter for Le Journal de Spirou: regularly popping back to the office between cases. Sadly, lurking there was an arrogant, accident-prone, junior tasked with minor jobs and general dogs-bodying. He was Gaston Lagaffe – Franquin’s other immortal invention…

There’s a hallowed tradition of comics personalising fictitiously mysterious creatives and the arcane processes they indulge in, whether it’s Marvel’s Bullpen or DC Thomson’s lugubrious Editor and underlings at The Beano and Dandy – it’s a truly international practise. At first cameos in Spirou yarns and occasional asides on text pages featured well-meaning foul-up and ostensible office gofer “Gaston” who debuted in issue #985, cover-dated February 28th 1957. The affable conniving dimwit grew to be one of the most popular and perennial components of the comic, whether as guest in Spirou’s adventurous comics cases or his own comedy strips and faux reports on the editorial pages he was supposed to paste up.

In terms of actual schtick and delivery, older readers will recognise favourite beats and timeless elements of well-intentioned self-delusion as seen in Benny Hill and Jacques Tati and recognise recurring riffs from Some Mothers Do Have ’Em and Mr Bean. It’s slapstick, paralysing puns, infernal ingenuity and inspired invention, all to mug smugness, puncture pomposity, lampoon the status quoi? (there’s some of that punning there see?) and ensure no good deed going noticed, rewarded or unpunished…

As previously stated, Gaston/Gomer obtains a regular salary (let’s not dignify what he does as “earning” a living) from Spirou’s editorial offices: reporting to top journalist Fantasio, or complicating the lives of office manager Léon Prunelle and the other, more diligent, staffers, whilst effectively ignoring those minor jobs he’s paid to handle. These include page paste-up, posting (initially fragile) packages and editing readers’ letters… and that’s the official reason fans’ requests and suggestions are never acknowledged or answered…

Gomer is lazy, over-opinionated, ever-ravenous, impetuous, underfed, forgetful and eternally hungry, a passionate sports fan and animal lover, with his most manic moments all stemming from cutting work corners and stashing or consuming contraband nosh in the office. This leads to constant clashes with colleagues and draws in seemingly notionally unaffiliated bystanders like traffic cop Longsnoot and fireman Captain Morwater, as well as many simple passers-by who should know by now to keep away from this street.

Through it all our office oaf remains eternally affable, easy-going and incorrigible. Only three questions really matter here: why everyone keeps giving him one last chance, what can gentle, lovelorn Miss Jeanne possible see in the self-opinionated idiot, and will ever-outraged capitalist financier De Mesmaeker ever get his perennial, pestiferous contracts signed?

In 1972 Gaston – Le géant de la gaffe became the 10th European album and in 2021 was Cinebook’s 8th translated compilation: again focussing on non-stop, all-Franquin comics gags in single-page bursts. Our well-meaning, overconfident, overly-helpful know-it-all office hindrance invents more stuff making life unnecessarily dangerous and continues his pioneering and perilous attempts to befriend and boost fauna and flora alike and improve the modern mechanised world…

Despite resolute green credentials and leanings, Gomer is colour-blind to the problems his antiquated automobile causes, even after numerous attempts to soup up, cleanse, and modify and mollify the motorised atrocity he calls his car. The decrepit, dilapidated Fiat 509 is more in need of merciful execution than his many well-meant engineering interventions as seen here in a range of cold weather exploits proving the indomitable optimism of office editor Léon Prunelle who really should know by now the cost of accepting lifts from his incorrigible subordinate… especially in light of Gomer’s pioneering seat belt invention and obsession with solving road pollution.

…And when not actually the cause of automotive disasters, Gomer’s car attracts the Ahab-like attentions of increasingly obsessed traffic cop Longsnoot…

At the office, work avoidance is masked as “improving” perfectly functional equipment, speeding up these newfangled copiers, printers and the like, but his monorail messaging system – adjusted to average head height – proves to be the next best thing in concussion causation…

One evergreen strand of anarchic potential is a subgenre of strips involving “guest-shots” by other LJdS stars. Previously falling foul of the fool were creators such as Lambil (Bluecoats) and Roba (Billy & Buddy), and here the gofer’s disturbing tendency to don mascot costumes and paying heavily for it continues as Gomer garbs himself as (cartoonist Charles DeGotte’s) big yellow bird The Flagada and rapidly regrets it…

Just as much fun if not actually safer are the feral creatures Gomer’s big heart compels him to adopt. These include a sassily savage alley cat and nastily nefarious black-headed gull to accompany illicit studio companions Cheese the mouse and goldfish Bubelle.

Here the combined critter chaos factor repeatedly lands the oaf in hot water… and swamp mud and potholes and wild woodland paths and rooftops and… Gomer almost adds a skunk to the menagerie before animal instinct and nature convince him otherwise…

However, their hyperactive gluttonous presences are as nothing compared to the spiky depredations of a rapidly mutating cactus Gomer rescued from his Aunt Hortense’s home and which is increasingly dominating the Spirou offices. It doesn’t fit there either, but at least has plenty of fresh victims to puncture and terrify. When he also introduces Hortense’s creeper, it soon becomes a case for applying the un-soothing, discomforting tones of his manic musical WMD the Brontosaurophone…

Heavily featured are episodes of (imagined) sporting glory, dalliances with fishing and clay pigeon shooting plus an extended run of strips with Gomer and opposite number Jules-from-Smith’s-across-the-street seeking to smuggle a radio into work to follow the football. Old habits die hard however and there are still moments of culinary catastrophe and inventive debacle – like when he beefs up the office chainsaw or creates tomato soup gas…

The holidays and Year’s End festivities offer their own hazards, generating much mayhem but still prevent benighted business bod De Mesmaeker getting an even break whenever he brings contracts for poor Prunelle to sign.

Far better enjoyed than described, these strips let Franquin flex his sardonically whimsical creative muscles and subversively propound his views on environmentalism, pacifism and animal rights. These gags are sublime examples of all-ages comedy: wholesome, barbed, daft and incrementally funnier with each re-reading.

So… fancy a bit of Goofing off yet?
© Dupuis, Dargaud-Lombard s.a. 2009 by Franquin. All rights reserved. English translation © 2021 Cinebook Ltd.