''Sylvain et Sylvette'' is a

French comics French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

series created in 1941 by

Maurice Cuvillier Maurice may refer to: *Maurice (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name Places * or Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean *Maurice, Iowa, a city *Maurice, Louisiana, a village *Maurice River, a trib ...

. The most popular and successful series relating the adventures of Sylvain and Sylvette were drawn by

Jean-Louis Pesch Jean-Louis Poisson (29 June 1928 – 17 May 2023), better known as Jean Louis Pesch, was a French author of comics series, including ''Sylvain et Sylvette''. Biography Born on 29 June 1928, he lived at Juvardeil, a small village in Anjou (France ...

and are currently published by

Dargaud Société Dargaud (), doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud, publishing its first comics in 1943. ...

. This is the only series still unfinished and published.

Publication history

The first series dedicated to the comics characters Sylvain and Sylvette was created by Maurice Cuvillier in 1941 for the magazine Cœurs Vaillants, and later published in the magazine ''Fripounet et Marisette''. From 1956, Jean-Louis Pesch and Claude Dubois took over the series and drew and wrote albums on their own and separately, but still in the same series, published by

Fleurus Fleurus (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It has been the site of four major battles. The municipality consists of the following districts: Brye, Heppignies, Fleurus, Lambusart, Saint-Am ...

from 1953. Cuvillier stopped drawing in 1958, and a new series was launched in 1967, with the same authors and publisher. In 1973, an alternative series called "Seribis" was created, grouping Jean-Louis Pesch's albums and published in the casual size for comics, so that the former series stopped and from 1978, Dubois and Pesch published albums in distinct series. In 1986, Fleurus stopped publishing these adventures. While Dubois gave up, Pesch's series went on being published thanks to

Le Lombard Le Lombard (), known as Les Éditions du Lombard () until 1989, is a Belgian comic book publisher established in 1946 when '' Tintin'' magazine was launched. Le Lombard became part of Média-Participations since 1986, alongside publishers Darg ...

from 1990, then by Dargaud from 2001. All the albums of the former series "Seribis" were republished by Le Lombard and Dargaud.

Evolution of the series

At the beginning of the series, as drawn and written by Maurice Cuvillier, the story is a call to go back to nature and a traditional way of life influenced by the

catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the attachment to land. In the first series, Sylvain and Sylvette has fewer animals than in the current series. At that time, their pets comprised only ''Gris – Gris'', ''Cui – Cui'', ''Moustachu'', ''Panpan'', ''Barbichette'', ''Mignonnet'', ''Raton'', ''Poulette'', and all of them play active roles. As for the "compères", they are all very dangerous and mean and are the archetypes of the villains, so that the series was designed as largely dualistic and moralistic. The themes of

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

and

punishment Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon an individual or group, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a deterrent to a particular action or beh ...

are very present in the spirit of the Cuvillier's albums, and Sylvain and Sylvette don't hesitate to severely retaliate against their pets when they joke or make a mistake. Gradually, these characters evolved under the influence of Claude Dubois and above all Jean-Louis Pesch who turned the comperes into comic protagonists and added some characters. But the theme of nature is still very present in the recent albums who praise the beauty and the harmony of the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

. Jean-Louis Pesch focused much more than Cuvillier on the life in the forest and the necessary protection of nature. The graphic style of the series also evolved a lot, and while Jean-Louis Pesch had a style similar to that of Cuvillier and Dubois, his drawings became more original and individual.

Synopsis

''This is the synopsis of the series currently published by Dargaud and designed by Jean-Louis Pesch''. Sylvain et Sylvette, are the main characters of the comics series. Orphans, they live alone and autonomously in a house that they call their "cottage", in the middle of the forest. They live with several animals referred in the series as their "friends" and have a very simple way of life, wearing clogs and eating with picking and fishing. Sometimes they pass to Laville (literally "Thetown" in French), a small village near their house, when they need a doctor or a veterinary for example. However, four starving animals, the "comperes", who live in a cavern not far from the cottage, seek to catch their animals or to steal their food. The atmosphere of the series is largely humoristic and the so-called villains' attempt to catch animals always fails. In some albums, Sylvain and Sylvette live more adventurous situations than the usual fight against the Comperes, particularly when Tartalo, a scientist, intervenes in the story.

Characters

''Here are the characters present in the series drawn by Jean-Louis Pesch and published in the casual format for comics. The characters are described as they appear in this series only.''

Main characters

* Sylvain: rather optimistic and resourceful to avoid the Comperes' traps and attacks. * Sylvette: courageous and pessimistic, she takes care of cooking, washing and cleaning.

Sylvain and Sylvette's pets

*Cui-cui, small red

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

, very vigilant, he watches over the cottage and warm in case of danger. *Gris-gris, the

donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

who pulls the owners' carriage, often complains about this charge. *Barbichette, the manny-

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

, is the most relentless enemy of Compere Renard. *Mignonnet, a

lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

, very naive and weak, he is a frequent target for Renard and Loup. *Poulette, a

hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen, HEN or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in R ...

and another target for the Comperes. *Coin-coin, a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

also threatened by the Comperes' appetite. *Sidonie, wild

goose A goose (: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egy ...

cured by the owners, and also targeted by the Comperes. *Raton, a

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...

joker and mischievous. *Cloé, a

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

who claims not to be afraid of the Comperes. *Alfred, a spotted watch

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

. *Panpan, a comic

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

. *Moustachu, a red-haired

cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

. *Olga, a

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

The "compères"

In the French series, these four animals are called "les compères" ("the mates" or "the partners" in French), and each of them are called either by their zoological name with capital letters, which suggests it is their real name (for example, the fox is called "Renard" or "Compere Renard"). *Renard (

fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

), his specialities are spying the cottage and finding ideas. *Loup (

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

), rather wary of Renard's ideas, he doesn't hesitate to scold him each time they fail. *Ours (

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

), very stupid and thoughtless but very strong, he can sometimes be helpful in the Comperes' attempts. *Sanglier (

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

), inactive compere, he contents himself with eating potatoes and laughing at other mates' failures.

Other characters

* Bastien, bear who used to work for a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

, he decided to retire. Compere Ours' cousin, he is a reader of "l'Ours libre" magazine. * Léocadie, former circus bear and Bastien's wife, very wary of the Compere, especially Renard * Basile, Bastien and Leocadie's son, likes following Renard especially when he is suited by Barbichette, believing it is a race. * Croa-croa, a

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

who stammers, and occasional ally of the Comperes, he provides them with information. * Hurluberlu, an

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

who lives in the forest and sleeps during the day, but occasionally helps Sylvain and Sylvette. * Tartalo, a

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

who seeks refuge either in a castle or in a mill not far from the cottage to develop unbelievable inventions.

Albums

These albums were first published by Fleurus 1973–1986 in the series called "Seribis". Then the series was entirely republished by ''

'' from 1990 to 2001 and by

after 2001. Only the first publication is mentioned. All these albums were drawn by Jean-Louis Pesch, unless indicated. By Jean-Louis Pesch *1. ''La ferme abandonnée'' *2. ''La chasse au canard'' *3. ''Le lance-pierre'' *4. ''Le banquet des compères'' *5. ''La partie de luge'' *6. ''La chaumière en péril'' *7. ''Le voleur envolé'' *8. ''Drôle de corrida'' *9 ''Du poisson au menu'' *10 ''La lettre des compères'' *11. ''La clef perdue'' *12. ''Le bonhomme de neige'' *13. ''Le mot de passe'' *14. ''La grande épreuve'' *15. ''La forêt en danger'' *16 ''En avant la musique'' *17. ''Sauve qui peut'' *18. ''Le défi des compères'' *19. ''L'escapade de Cloé'' *20. ''Le mystère de Castelbobêche'' *21. ''Le sauvetage de Sidonie'' *22. ''L'embuscade'' *23. ''Le génie de la forêt'' *24. ''Des pas dans la neige'' *25. ''La malle à malices'' *26. ''Fromages à emporter'' *27. ''L'arbre qui parle'' *28. ''Premier de cordée'' *29. ''Un nouveau petit Chaperon Rouge'' *30. ''Renard fait bande à part'' *31. ''Pauvre compère Renard'' *32. ''La nouvelle Sidonie'' *33. ''Le dragon volant'' *34. ''Le bonjour d'Alfred'' *35. ''Une lettre pour Nestor Bedondaine'' *36. ''La mystérieuse invention'' *37. ''La grotte de Patatrac'' *38. ''En piste, les compères!'' *39. ''Vas-y, Basile!'' *40. ''La vengeance de Barbichette'' *41 ''La machine infernale'' *42. ''Magie dans la forêt'' Other authors *43. ''Le plein de gags'' (one-strip stories, written by Pesch and Belom and illustrated by Pesch) *44. ''Silence, on tourne !'' (written by Pesch, illustrated and coloured by Berik) *45. ''Cascade de gags'' (one-strip stories, written by Pesch and Belom and illustrated by Pesch) *46. ''La croisière des compères'' (by Berik) *48. ''Bouquet de gags !'' (one-strip stories, written by Pesch and Belom and illustrated by Pesch) *49. ''Pluie d'étoiles'' (written by Pesch, illustrated by Berik, and coloured by Berik and Veronique Bergese) *50. ''Guirlandes de gags !'' (one-strip stories, written by Pesch and Belom and illustrated by Pesch) *51. ''Le petit gorille'' (by Berik, coloured by Veronique Bergese) *52. ''Le trésor du pirate'' (by Jean-Louis Pesch) *53. ''Tranches de gags !'' (one-strip stories, by Berik) *54. ''La ruée vers l'eau'' (by Berik)

Other publications

There were several series relating the adventures of Sylvain and Sylvette, all finished. They consist of albums published in the Italian size (29х23 cm) comprising 20 pages, unless indicated. The illustrations are separately by Maurice Cuvillier, Claude Dubois,

Pierre Chéry Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

and Jean-Louis Pesch. The artist is also the writer, unless indicated. The albums drawn by Cuvillier have been republished by

Editions du Triomphe Edition may refer to: * Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies * Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run * Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text * Edition Records ...

since 1998. *''Les aventures de Sylvain et Sylvette (albums Fleurette)'' is the first series, published by Fleurus in the collection Serie Fleurette. 84 volumes were published between 1953 and 1967. *''Sylvain et Sylvette (collection Fleurette nouvelle série)'' consists of 97 volumes published in the collection Fleurette from 1967 to 1979 and drawn separately by Jean-Louis Pesch and Claude Dubois. *''Sylvain et Sylvette (Fleurette troisième série) consists of 30 volumes published from 1978 to 1986, drawn by Claude Dubois and written by Robert Guénin. *''Sylvain et Sylvette (albums pour les tous petits)'' comprises small-sized albums (18х19 cm) for children of more than three years, all drawn by Pesch and published by Dargaud jeunesse between 1993 and 1996. *''Les nouvelles aventures de Sylvain et Sylvette'' consists of 10 volumes of normal size drawn between 1957 and 1965 by Pierre Chery and Jean-Louis Pesch. *''Le grenier de Sylvain et Sylvette'' are the very first adventures of Sylvain and Sylvette drawn by Cuvillier from 1941 to 1948 and previously unpublished in albums. Published by Le Triomphe since 1998.

References

External links

''Sylvain et Sylvette'' on Dargaud.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sylvain Et Sylvette French comic strips Dargaud titles 1941 comics debuts Comics characters introduced in 1941 Child characters in comics Fictional French people French comics characters Comic strip duos Comics about children Comics set in forests Comics set on farms Comics set in France Humor comics Adventure comics Fantasy comics Comics about women