''Le dictateur et le champignon'', written and drawn by Franquin, is the seventh album of the ''

Spirou et Fantasio ''Spirou & Fantasio'' (), commonly shortened to ''Spirou'', is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comics. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European comics, European humorous adventu ...

'' series. After serial publication in '' Spirou'' magazine, the story was released as a hardcover album in 1956.

Story

When the

Marsupilami ''Marsupilami'' is a comic book character and fictional animal species created by André Franquin. Its first appearance was in the 31 January 1952 issue of the Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Spirou''. Since then it appeared regularly in th ...

causes chaos all over Champinac on the Sticks, Spirou and Fantasio decide that it is time to take him back to his home in the Palombian jungles. After an eventful journey by cruise ship, they find that Fantasio's shady cousin

Zantafio Zantafio is a recurring fictional antagonist in the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' comic book series. He was created by André Franquin and first appeared in ''Spirou et les héritiers'' (1952). Zantafio bears a strong resemblance to Fantasio, because t ...

has reinvented himself as General Zantas and become the country's ruthless and chariasmatic

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

. The now power-mad Zantafio, intent on invading a neighbouring country, offers them top positions in his army. When they indignantly refuse, Zantafio throws them in jail. The pair decide to feign a change of heart, and plan to foil the invasion using one of The Count of Champignac's curious inventions...

Background

Two characters introduced in previous stories return for the first time in this one: the resourceful Seccotine, and the shifty Zantafio who was last seen repenting his scoundrel ways at the conclusion of ''

Spirou et les héritiers ''Spirou et les héritiers'', written and drawn by André Franquin, Franquin, is the fourth album of the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' series, and a great leap in the expansion of the Spirou universe. After serial publication in ''Spirou (magazine), Spir ...

'', but later evolved into a worse villain. Franquin expressed regrets at twisting the character back and forth like this, but later did the same again with Zorglub. One of Champignac's most memorable mushroom-based inventions, the "Métomol", a powerful metal-softening gas, is introduced in this story and is later used again in several others. The sequence where Spirou and Fantasio melt a whole army's gear is an early, still quite gentle, expression of Franquin's anti-militarism, which he would let loose much more ferociously in ''

Gaston Lagaffe ''Gaston'' is a Belgian gag-a-day comic strip created in 1957 by the Belgian cartoonist André Franquin in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Spirou''. The series, serving as a spin-off of the magazine's primary series ''Spirou et Fantasio ...

'' and '' Idées noires''.

References

Franquin publications in ''Spirou''
BDoubliées

External links

Spirou official site album index

Franquin site album index
Comics by André Franquin Spirou et Fantasio albums 1956 graphic novels 1956 in comics Comics set in South America Works originally published in Spirou (magazine) Literature first published in serial form Comics set in fictional countries Dictatorship {{FrancoBelgian-comics-stub