GASTON LAGAFFE'S UNIVERSE


FRANQUIN : « The editorial staff members are totally invented. I didn'’t put anypersonal characteristics in there.»



Gaston Lagaffe : full-time blunderer
« Gaston was created with orange espadrilles. One day, I received a letter from a little village in the Pyrannees which basically said : « Gaston’s espadrilles are in bad condition, and we here, in the espadrille capital, highly resent this. Thus we are sending you, enclosed, two new pairs of espadrilles for Gaston ! » And there were a black pair and a sky blue pair. I choose the blue espadrilles, I announced the news in SPIROU and this was how I changed the colour of Gaston’s espadrilles! »

Fantasio : Editorial Secretary
The stressed and nervous Fantasio who must supervise Gaston no longer corresponded to the entertaining Fantasio of Spirou and Fantasio, so he left the editorial and was replaced by Prunelle.


Léon Prunelle : Chief-Editor.
He replaced Fantasio in the role of « he who makes Lagaffe work » beginning in page 481. He smokes a pipe, is very anguished and nervous. We must admit that Gaston really puts his nerves to the test and he often falls victim to Gaston’s unfortunate experiments. His name was found by Yvan Delporte. He appears for the first time in page 207.

Charles Dupuis : Editorial Director of Charles Dupuis Editions
Charles Dupuis, in the Comic Strip, is the perfect image of the big boss. One cannot blunder if not under the menace of an authority. A boss must be imposing. One must fear him. Although omnipresent in the editorial office, we never see him. The only part of him seen in Gaston are his legs. Note that his rare visits in person are not without risk. He already received a plunger in the face thown by Gaston (page 228).

Mademoiselle Jeanne : archives.
Hopelessly in love with Gaston. « They are always in the preliminary stage, and it’s better that way. It’s what my rhetorical professor would call « the fertility of the incompleted »! She makes her first appearance in page 224, where Gaston invites her to a costume ball because her ponytail would do wonderfully as the horse’s tail in Gaston’s disguise. Little by little in the albums, Jeanne develops her personality and the threads between her and Gaston begin to get woven.


Yvon Lebrac : illustrator
Like all respectable illustrators, he always has a drawing late in being delivered. One must add that Gaston does not improve his work conditions. Nevertheless, he keeps his sense of humour, especially when when it comes to word games. He appears for the first time at the same moment as Prunelle in page 207.

Daily Life Personages


Aimé De Mesmaeker : « contract signer : -) ».
This businessman desperately tries to get his contracts signed (always of unknown nature) by Dupuis. Desperately because each time Gaston unfalteringly makes him fail to get this signature. Up until today he has succesfully gotten three things signed : the text of the chronic sportsperson (page 248) and two contracts with Gaston : one for soup (page 348) and another for a wall clock in the form of the Apollo cabin : the « cosmic-coucou : the clock ahead of it’s time » (page 604). His name was inspired by the father of Jidéhem (= J.D.M.= Jean de Mesmaeker) : « When we started this story about the contract, one of Greg’s ideas, I created this little round and quick-tempered man. After a couple of jokes, Jidéhem said to me : « Everyone thinks that he resembles my father. » His father was Director of the Purchasing Department in a chain of big stores, and he was very quick-tempered. » If you give me permission, I said to him, we’ll call him De Mesmaeker, like your father. It’s a catchy name, it’ll be funny. »


Joseph Longtarin : Police Sergeant.
He has to deal with Gaston alot, especially concerning the unauthorized way he parks his car. « Gaston is in conflict with Longtarin because he’s a nasty stupid cop. Me, I’m not anti-police. In the contrary. But, we need quality!... Longtarin in the end is just an adaptation of the fool, he’s the policeman who gets a thrashing for the great joy of the children.» He appears for the first time in page 191 but he is only named Longtarin with his regular appearances starting on page 355.

Alphonse Beaucoudeau : Captain of the Firemen and Chief of the Barracks.
With all of Gaston’s catastrophies, when he hears the name « Dupuis Editions », he doesn’t even think : he just takes out the big equipment and rushes directly to the publishing house, to which he knows the way by heart.

Jules-de-chez-Smith-en-face : Office boy from-Smith-across-the-road, Gaston’s friend.

Bertrand Labévue : Gaston's friend
He likes joking around with Gaston alot, however, he has a certain depressive tendancy. He appears for the first time in page 347, but reappears more regularly a little later. Gaston, Jules and Bertrand form a nice blundering trio.

Gaston's Animals and Objects

Les Bubulle : gold fish

Le Chat : Cat!It’'s Cesar’s twin brother, Franquin’s daughter’s cat at the time. He appears for the first time in the album Le cas Lagaffe

La mouette rieuse : actually rather depressing.
It was inspired by the seagulls who hang around the man-made lakes of Ixelles in Brussels. « It’s really his name, Mouette rieuse. And I only needed to take the opposite of this to build his character. It'’s capable, due to it’s sad face, of discouraging and even depressing people. It has a disgusting character, it’s really a monster. But it likes to laugh. » The seagull and the cat appear for this first time in page 613. Prunelle wanted to chase them out of the office, but because of a stupid bet, he had to give Gaston permission to keep them against his will.

Cheese : grey mouse.

Le cactus : very prickly.
Gaston grew up with this cactus in his aunt Hortense’s home, but when she became frightened of the size of the cactus, Gaston brought it to the office. Note that besides stabbing people it also serves to organize documents.


Le gaffophone : devastating musical instument
« The gaffophone was inspired by a type of African harp made with a branch bent by stringing cords from the summit towards a skin stretched at the base. » The branch used by Gaston is actually a piece of «cornouiller ».
It'’s sound waves have the singular capacity of making everything it meets vibrate with the same resonance, thus making it collapse. Note that it is with this musical instrument (once an electrical version was used), that Gaston completely destroyed twice the buildings of Dupuis Editions (pages 433 and 600 (electrical version).

Gaston’'s car : Fiat 509 dating from 1927.
« It'’s a friend who is at the origin of this car, a Fiat 509 from 1923.
Just after the war, he possesed a little german motorbike, that a swindler proposed to exchange for a « car ». And he accepted this machine... It drove around in a thick blue cloud, a terrible cloud of oil. When Jidéham and I drew it, he no longer owned it. So, I had to redesign it from memory. Later, Dupuis Editions succeeded in finding one - dating from the same period- in a French farm. It served as a nest for the chickens. They entirely renovated it, which was very expensive. It was thus able to participate in diverse demonstrations, to which it drove at forty kilometers per hour. The driver spent several days getting to his destination. It always broke down. Each time the driver was completely exhausted. » This car never stops braking down in the most trying circumstances for it’s passengers, which makes Prunelle declare each time « I swear it’s the last time I get into this old Tacot ». This car also causes a lot of problems for Gaston when it comes to illegal parking and parking meters too closely watched by Longtarin..

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