{"id":33006,"date":"2025-05-30T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T08:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=33006"},"modified":"2025-05-29T15:46:48","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T15:46:48","slug":"gomer-goof-volume-12-twenty-one-goof-salute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/05\/30\/gomer-goof-volume-12-twenty-one-goof-salute\/","title":{"rendered":"Gomer Goof volume 12: Twenty-One Goof Salute!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Franquin<\/strong>, translated by Jerome Saincantin<\/strong> (Cinebook)
\nISBN: 978-1-80044-161-3 (PB Album\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced during less enlightened times and some used for dramatic and comedic effect. <\/em><\/p>\n

Born in Etterbeek, Belgium on January 3rd<\/sup> 1924, Andr\u00e9 Franquin began his astounding career in the golden age of European cartooning. In 1946, as assistant to Joseph \u201cJij\u00e9\u201d Gillain on top strip Spirou<\/strong>, he inherited sole control of the keynote feature, going on to create countless unforgettable characters like Fantasio<\/strong> and The Marsupilami<\/strong>. Over two decades Franquin made the strip purely his, expanding its scope and horizons, as co-stars Spirou & Fantasio<\/em> – with hairy Greek Chorus Spip<\/em> 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<\/strong> Spirou<\/strong>, 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<\/strong>; Franquin\u2019s other immortal – or peut-\u00eatre<\/em> unkillable? – conception\u2026
\n\"\"
\nThere\u2019s a hoary tradition of comics personalising fictitiously back-office creatives and the arcane processes they indulge in, whether it\u2019s Marvel\u2019s Bullpen or DC Thomson\u2019s lugubrious Editor and underlings at The<\/strong> Beano <\/strong>and Dandy<\/strong>; it\u2019s a truly international practise. Somehow though, after debuting in LJdS<\/strong> #985 (February 28th<\/sup> 1957), the affable dimwit grew – like one of his own monstrous DIY projects – beyond control. Whether guesting in Spirou\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong>\u2019s head office became a solid immovable fixture. Ultimately the scruffy bit-player inevitably stumbled into his own star feature\u2026<\/p>\n

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<\/strong> or Jacques Tati<\/strong> vehicles and recognise recurring riffs from Only Fools and Horses <\/strong>and Mr Bean<\/strong>. It\u2019s blunt-force slapstick, using paralysing puns, fantastic ingenuity and inspired invention to mug smugness, puncture pomposity, lampoon the status quoi?<\/em> (and that\u2019s British punning, see?) and ensure no good deed goes noticed, rewarded or unpunished\u2026<\/p>\n

As previously stated, Gaston\/Gomer can be seen (if you\u2019re very quick or extremely patient) toiling at Le Journal de<\/em><\/strong> Spirou<\/strong>\u2019s<\/em> 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 L\u00e9on Prunelle<\/em> and other harassed and bewildered staffers, all whilst effectively ignoring any tasks he\u2019s paid to actually handle. These notionally include page paste-up, posting packages, filing, clean-up, collecting stuff inbound from off-site and editing readers\u2019 letters – the reason why fans\u2019 requests and suggestions are never acknowledged or answered\u2026<\/p>\n

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<\/em> and fireman Captain Morwater<\/em>, plus ordinary passers-by who should know by now to keep away from this street.<\/p>\n

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<\/em> see in the self-opinionated idiot, and will perpetually-outraged and accidentally abused capitalist financier De Mesmaeker<\/em> ever get his perennial, pestiferous contracts signed?<\/p>\n

Gathering material created between 1980-1982, Gaston – La saga des gaffe <\/em><\/strong>became the 14th<\/sup> European album, and the last to use originated material solely by the increasingly troubled genius. Released in translation, it\u2019s Cinebook 12th<\/sup> compilation, offering non-stop, all-Franquin gags and wry observations in formats ranging from single tier and half pagers to extended multi-page yarns.
\n\"\"
\nThere\u2019s a preponderance of bitter and bizarre clashes with hard-pressed, long suffering traffic cop Longsnoot (AKA Joseph Longtarin<\/em> in European editions) that has become known as the \u201cParking Meter War\u201d, as their protracted clash of ideologies and nerves seemingly reflected Franquin\u2019s mounting ecological concerns and increasingly fraught emotional state and declining mental health.<\/p>\n

Here, many strips indulge that struggle via clashes with forces of authority, revealed via encounters with polluters, open support of Greenpeace, advocacy of urban \u201cgreening\u201d projects and even anti-military, pro \u201cSave the Whales\u201d episodes, which never forget to be funny as well as trenchant.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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…<\/p>\n

Other riffs revisited include rare moments of paradise with inexplicably besotted paramour Miss Jeanne, more nigh-deadly diversions with his menagerie (Cheese<\/em> the mouse, goldfish Bubelle<\/em>, an adopted feral cat and a black-headed gull) and Gomer\u2019s growing tendency to insomnia or nightmares with real world consequences…
\n\"\"
\nAs 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…<\/p>\n

Naturally, many moments of chaos still occur at work (if and when he gets there): incidents involving \u201cimproved\u201d fire suppression systems, coatracks, photocopiers, recycling schemes and especially the untapped potential of the studio\u2019s new computers…<\/p>\n

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\u2019t leave much time for recreation. Still, there\u2019s time to \u201cmaster\u201d 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…
\n\"\"
\nAt least lovely Miss Jeanne and forever faithful pal\/accomplice Jules-from-Smith\u2019s-across-the-street<\/em> 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<\/em> \u2026<\/p>\n

Dipped in dark mordant wit, but still the funniest French comic ever, isn\u2019t it time you quit being so serious and started Goofing around?
\n\u00a9 Dupuis, Dargaud-Lombard s.a. 2009 by Franquin. All rights reserved. English translation \u00a9 2025 Cinebook Ltd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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, Andr\u00e9 Franquin began his astounding career in the golden age of European cartooning. In 1946, as assistant … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Gomer Goof volume 12: Twenty-One Goof Salute!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[280,113,255,63,102,346,125,328,111,210],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animal-antics","category-comedy","category-environmentalism","category-european-classics","category-fantasy","category-gomer-goof","category-humour","category-music","category-satirepolitics","category-sport"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8Am","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33006"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33013,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33006\/revisions\/33013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}