Gaston Lagaffe follows the classic "gag" format of Franco-Belgian comics: one-page stories (initially half-a-page) with an often visual punchline, sometimes foreshadowed in the dialogue. The humour mixes slapstick, puns and running gags. Franquin's style is characterised by extremely nervous characters and action and very quotable dialogue. The series is much loved not only for its perfectly timed comedy, but also for its warm outlook on everyday life. Although Gaston works at Spirou magazine and one of his colleagues is a cartoonist, the series satirises office life in general rather than the publishing or comics business; Franquin himself worked at home.In the later episodes, the reader could discover a visual reference to the story in Franquin's signature at the bottom of the page.
Gaston was hired - somewhat mysteriously - as an office junior at the offices of the Journal de Spirou (the real-life publication in which the strip appeared), having wandered in cluelessly. The strip usually focuses on his efforts to avoid doing any work, and indulge instead in hobbies or naps while all around him panic over deadlines, lost mail and contracts. Initially, Gaston was an irritating simpleton, but he developed a genial personality and sense of humour. Common sense however always eludes him, and he has an almost supernatural ability to cause disasters ("gaffes") to which he reacts with his catchphrase: "M'enfin!" ("What the...?"). His job involves chiefly dealing with readers' mail. The ever-growing piles of unanswered letters ("courrier en retard") and the attempts of Fantasio and LÃon Prunelle to make him deal with it or to retrieve documentation are recurring themes of the comic.
Yves Lebrac, (first presented with the name Yvon Lebrac),[26] an in-house cartoonist, is comparatively laid-back. He is fond of puns and we see him woo (and eventually win) one of the attractive secretary girls over the course of the series. Although mostly on good terms with Gaston (unlike Prunelle), he occasionally loses his temper when deadlines loom and Gaston's interference becomes too much. When not a victim of "gaffes", he is a lenient comrade of Gaston, and the character with which Franquin himself most identified.[27]
Jules-de-chez-Smith-en-face (Jules-from-Smith's-across-the-street) is one of Gaston's friends. He "works" (much in the same way as Gaston "works") in the office just across the street from the Journal de Spirou, prompting countless attempts at cross-street communication via walkie-talkie, flash card, carrier seagull etc. Jules shares Gaston's childish enthusiasm, and is his sidekick in many ventures. Although they are close, Jules addresses Gaston as "Lagaffe".
Over the years, Fantasio and Prunelle's efforts to get the iconic contracts signed become increasingly frantic and desperate. Prunelle even goes so far as to send Lagaffe to the other side of town on some wild goose chase or bound and gag him and lock him into a cupboard but even these drastic measures backfire and fail.
Gaston Lagaffe is among the many Belgian comics characters to jokingly have a Brussels street named after them. The Rue du Marchà aux Herbes / Grasmarkt has a commemorative plaque with the name Rue Gaston Lagaffe / Guust Flaterstraat placed under the actual street sign.[63]
In 1981, a live-action French film based on Gaston, called Fais gaffe à la gaffe! directed by Paul Boujenah and starring Roger Mirmont. Future The Sopranos star Lorraine Bracco, then residing in France, appears in a supporting role. Franquin, uncomfortable with the prospect of a live adaptation of Gaston, had given permission for the elements and jokes from his work to be used, but not the actual characters. As a result, the characters' names were all changed, making the film appear more like an imitation than a proper adaptation.[67]
Plot: Another comic in French, but unlike many comics that focus on heroes, this comic focuses on the everyday life of Gaston Lagaffe (whose last name means "the blunder"). He is a lazy and accident-prone office junior working at Spirou- the magazine in which the comic was originally published. Gaston never gets any work done and always avoids his responsibilities. He prefers to spend his workdays assembling together odd contraptions, playing music, and conducting chemical experiments that usually end with the explosion of his makeshift science lab.
By the way it really sucks if all those series are published out of order, because there is so much continuity involved. Even for Gaston Lagaffe which is constantly evolving despite being a strip gag serial, that one you reviewed was like volume 4 in French.
This is probably the smallest mural on the route, and is based on the comic Gaston, which follows the life of Gaston Lagaffe, a lazy and humorous character who lands himself a job at the offices of the Journal de Spirou (which is somewhat comical in itself as the comic was published in Spirou). He was created by Andrà Franquin.
d0d94e66b7