Spirou & Fantasio ( French : Spirou et 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 humorous adventure comics like The Adventures of Tintin , Lucky Luke , and Asterix . It has been written and drawn by a succession of artists.
154-458: Spirou and Fantasio are the series' main characters, two adventurous journalists who run into fantastic adventures, aided by Spirou's pet squirrel Spip and their inventor friend the Count of Champignac . The comic strip was originally created by Rob-Vel for the launch of Le Journal de Spirou ( Spirou magazine) on April 21, 1938, and published by Éditions Dupuis . The main character
308-602: A communist state with a planned and public economy which declared itself not the successor of the German Reich a legal-former German state, was established in the Soviet zone on 7 October 1949. It de jure did not include East Berlin, occupied by the Soviets, although the city was de facto its capital: the severe ideological conflict between German politicians and sociologists in their self-governing East-West society
462-606: A de facto part of West Germany, in order to form the city of Berlin , which joined the Federal Republic as its third city-state alongside Bremen and Hamburg . Berlin was still formally under Allied occupation (that would only be terminated later, as a result of the provisions of the Two Plus Four Treaty ), but the city's administrative merger and inclusion in the enlarged Federal Republic as its capital, effective on 3 October 1990, had been greenlit by
616-597: A national holiday in Germany since 1991. On the same date, East and West Berlin were also reunified into a single city, which eventually became the capital of Germany. The East German government , controlled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), started to falter on 2 May 1989, when the removal of Hungary's border fence with Austria opened a hole in the Iron Curtain . The border
770-588: A protectorate of France (1947–1956), united with West Germany (and thus rejoined Germany) as the 11th state of the Federal Republic; this was called "Little Reunification" although the Saar Protectorate itself was only one disputed territory , as its existence was opposed by the Soviet Union. The other option was set out in Article 146, which provided a mechanism for a permanent constitution for
924-591: A wave of revolutions swept throughout the Eastern Bloc that year. In May 1989, Hungary removed their border fence. However, the dismantling of the old Hungarian border facilities did not open the borders nor were the previous strict controls removed, and the isolation by the Iron Curtain was still intact over its entire length. The opening of a border gate between Austria and Hungary at the Pan-European Picnic on 19 August 1989 then set in motion
1078-625: A "destabilizing rather than a stabilizing force in Europe". In December 1989, she warned fellow European Community leaders at a Council summit in Strasbourg which Kohl attended, "We defeated the Germans twice! And now they're back!". Although Thatcher had stated her support for German self-determination in 1985, she now argued that Germany's allies only supported reunification because they did not believe it would ever happen. Thatcher favored
1232-484: A "return to the nation-state of earlier times". In the 1980s, opposition to a united German country and support for lasting peaceful coexistence between the two German countries were very common amongst left-wing parties of West Germany, especially the SPD and Greens . The division of Germany was considered necessary to maintain peace in Europe, and the emergence of another German state was also seen as possibly dangerous to
1386-586: A French protectorate on 17 December 1947. Among the Allies, geo-political tension between the Soviet Union and Western Allies in occupied Germany as part of their tension in the world led the Soviets to de facto withdraw from the ACC on 20 March 1948 (four occupying countries restored the act of the ACC in 1971) and blockade West Berlin (after the introduction of a new currency in West Germany on 20 June of
1540-762: A Monetary, Economic and Social Union between the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany"); it came into force on 1 July 1990, with the West German Deutsche Mark replacing the East German mark as the official currency of East Germany. The Deutsche Mark had a very high reputation among the East Germans and was considered stable. While the GDR transferred its financial policy sovereignty to West Germany,
1694-470: A Naive Young Man, published November 21, 2018, ASIN B07K8LLM6D 16. Spirou in Berlin, published March 20, 2019, ASIN B07NY7B3QR 14. Spirou – Hope Against All Odds: Part 1, published March 18, 2020, ASIN B0859LLWGT 15. Spirou – Hope Against All Odds: Part 2, published June 17, 2020, ASIN B08B6C53ZV The popularity of the series has led to an adaptation of
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#17327826976501848-463: A course of quick unification was negotiated, the public responded with concern. In February 1990, two-thirds of West Germans considered the pace of unification as "too fast". West Germans were also hostile towards the newcomers from the East—according to an April 1990 poll, only 11% of West Germans welcomed the refugees from East Germany. After unification, the national divide persisted—a survey by
2002-568: A cultural defeat", as "blooming of German culture and philosophy is possible only at times of fruitful national disunity", and also cited Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 's opposition to the first unification of Germany in 1871: Goethe wrote: "Frankfurt, Bremen, Hamburg, Lübeck are large and brilliant, and their impact on the prosperity of Germany is incalculable. Yet, would they remain what they are if they were to lose their independence and be incorporated as provincial cities into one great German Empire? I have reason to doubt this." Grass also condemned
2156-617: A major female character in Franco-Belgian comics of this period. One Franquin creation that went on to develop a life of its own was the Marsupilami , a fictional monkey-like creature with a tremendously long prehensile tail. The Marsupilami appears in the majority of the Franquin stories, starting in 1952 with Spirou et les héritiers . In the series, it is adopted by the duo and follows them everywhere they go. Marsupilamis in
2310-412: A more realistic graphic style. This sudden shift into a darker tone shocked many readers, although its seeds were apparent in previous Spirou albums and in other series by the same authors ( Soda , Berceuse assassine ). While many considered the change in tone to be courageous and laudable, there was some concern that Spirou lost much of its point when presented as a "realistic" character. At any rate,
2464-709: A mural in the Rue Notre Dame des Grâces/Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Gratiestraat in Brussels as part of the Brussels' Comic Book Route . The mural was based on a design by Yoann and created in 2014 by graffiti artist Urbana (Nicolas Morreel). A second mural was created in the Elsenesteenweg 227A in Elsene , based on a drawing by Schwartz and Yann from the Spirou story Spirou and the leopard woman . In September 2016
2618-710: A mural was made in Middelkerke , based on a design by Hanco Kolk and created by Art Mural vzw. SPIRou ( SpectroPolarimètre Infra-Rouge ) is a near-infrared spectropolarimeter and high-precision velocimeter designed and constructed by an international consortium for observing exoplanets and the forming of Sun -like stars and their planets . Silhouettes of Spirou and Spip are featured in its logo. Spirou (comics) Spirou ( Walloon pronunciation: [spiˈʀu] , Walloon pronunciation: [spiˈʀøː] ; French: [spiʁu] ; Walloon for "squirrel", "mischievous"; Dutch: Robbedoes )
2772-509: A neutral Germany, as he believed that would destroy NATO, cause the United States and Canada to leave Europe, and cause Britain and France to form an anti-German alliance. The United States increased its support of Kohl's policies, as it feared that otherwise Oskar Lafontaine , a critic of NATO, might become Chancellor. Horst Teltschik, Kohl's foreign policy advisor, later recalled that Germany would have paid "100 billion deutschmarks" if
2926-468: A number of limitations stemming from their post- World War II status as occupation zones , though only on 31 August 1994 did the last Russian occupation troops leave Germany. After the end of World War II in Europe , the old German Reich was abolished and Germany was occupied and divided by the four Allied countries. There was no peace treaty. Two countries emerged. The American-occupied , British-occupied , and French-occupied zones combined to form
3080-601: A peaceful chain reaction, at the end of which there was no longer a GDR and the Eastern Bloc had disintegrated. Extensive advertising for the planned picnic was made by posters and flyers among the GDR holidaymakers in Hungary. The Austrian branch of the Paneuropean Union , which was then headed by Karl von Habsburg , distributed thousands of brochures inviting them to a picnic near the border at Sopron . It
3234-523: A poll in July 1990 found that the main motivation for reunification was economic concern rather than nationalism. Opinion polls in the late 1980s showed that young East Germans and West Germans saw each other as foreign, and did not regard themselves as a single nation. Heinrich August Winkler observes that "an evaluation of the corresponding data in the Deutschland Archiv in 1989 showed that
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#17327826976503388-648: A realistic geopolitical context. Le prisonnier du Bouddha is set in mainland China , with veiled references made to the Cold War . As for QRN sur Bretzelburg , it takes place in two imaginary European countries which bring to mind pre- reunification Germany . Lastly, it is with Greg that Franquin created the famed villain Zorglub in the diptych of Z comme Zorglub and L'ombre du Z . However, as Franquin grew tired of Spirou, his other major character Gaston began to take precedence in his work, and following
3542-565: A realistic possibility, however, significant NATO and European opposition emerged in private. A poll of four countries in January 1990 found that a majority of surveyed Americans and French supported reunification, while British and Poles were more divided: 69 percent of Poles and 50 percent of French and British stated that they worried about a reunified Germany becoming "the dominant power in Europe". Those surveyed stated several concerns, including Germany again attempting to expand its territory,
3696-407: A reunified Germany. This route would have entailed a formal union between two German states that then would have had, among other things, to create a new constitution for the newly-established country. However, by the spring of 1990, it was apparent that drafting a new constitution would require protracted negotiations that would open up numerous issues in West Germany. Even without this to consider, by
3850-518: A revival of Nazism, and the German economy becoming too powerful. While British, French, and Americans favored Germany remaining a member of NATO, a majority of Poles supported neutrality for the reunified state. The key ally was the United States. Although some top American officials opposed quick unification, Secretary of State James A. Baker and President George H. W. Bush provided strong and decisive support to Kohl's proposals. We defeated
4004-472: A second series of one-off volumes by various authors, under the name Une aventure de Spirou et Fantasio par... ('A Spirou and Fantasio adventure by...'). It has subsequently been renamed Le Spirou de... ('The Spirou story by...') The first volume, Les géants pétrifiés by Fabien Vehlmann and Yoann , had a modern storyline and art, not dissimilar in spirit to Morvan and Munuera's work. The second volume, Les marais du temps , by Frank Le Gall ,
4158-495: A separate state. However, SED members were overrepresented amongst the responders, constituting 13% of the population, but 23% of those polled. Reporting on a student protest in East Berlin on 4 November 1989, Elizabeth Pond [ de ] noted that "virtually none of the demonstrators interviewed by Western reporters said they wanted unification with the Federal Republic". In West Germany, once it became clear that
4312-554: A text by Yann Le Pennetier , illustrated by Chaland, that finishes the interrupted story. It was the team of Tome (writing) and Janry (art) which was to find lasting success with Spirou, both in terms of sales and critical appeal. Graphically, the authors' work was seen as a modern homage to Franquin's classic work, while their plots involved such modern topics as biotech ( Virus ), robotics ( Qui arrêtera Cyanure? ), and even time travel (the diptych of L'horloger de la comète and Le réveil du Z , featuring future descendants of
4466-528: A transition period of five years for reunification, during which the two Germanies would remain separate states. Although she gradually softened her opposition, as late as March 1990, Thatcher summoned historians and diplomats to a seminar at Chequers to ask "How dangerous are the Germans?", and the French ambassador in London reported that Thatcher told him, "France and Great Britain should pull together today in
4620-528: A united Germany". Although she welcomed East German democracy, Thatcher worried that a rapid reunification might weaken Gorbachev, and she favored Soviet troops staying in East Germany as long as possible to act as a counterweight to a united Germany. Thatcher, who carried in her handbag a map of Germany's 1937 borders to show others the "German problem", feared that Germany's "national character", size, and central location in Europe would cause it to be
4774-471: Is a Belgian comic strip character and protagonist in the comic strip series Spirou & Fantasio and Le Petit Spirou , and the eponymous character of the Belgian comic strip magazine Spirou . The character was originally created by Robert Velter (Rob-Vel) for the launch of Le journal de Spirou ( Spirou magazine) in 1938. Spirou was originally an elevator operator and bell-boy at
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4928-413: Is drawn in a more classic style not dissimilar to The Adventures of Tintin and Théodore Poussin , Le Gall's own comic series. The third, Le tombeau des Champignac , by Yann and Fabrice Tarrin , is a slightly modernized homage to Franquin's classic period. The fourth, Journal d'un ingénu , by Emile Bravo , is a novelistic homage to the original Rob-Vel and Jijé 's universes and stories, and
5082-548: Is for Zorglub, 2017, ISBN 978-1-84918-362-8 36. The Clockmaker and the Comet, 2018, ISBN 978-1-84918-404-5 16. Shadow of the Z, 2018 ISBN 978-1-84918-419-9 37. The Z Rises Again, 2019 ISBN 978-1-84918-441-0 12. The Marsupilamis' Nest, 2020 ISBN 978-1-84918-5-332 51. Attack of the Zordolts, 2021 ISBN 978-1800440227 13. The Visitor from
5236-412: Is more frequently shown doing some reporting in several of his adventures. While he and reporter colleague Fantasio occasionally pursue stories, in most cases they simply find themselves in the centre of adventures. An honest and brave young man of indeterminate age, he tries to fight injustice around him and help people. He is usually more level-headed than Fantasio, who always accompanies him, along with
5390-538: Is named Alerte aux zorkons . Their last album was La Colére du Marsupilami , published in 2016. In 2018, Yoann and Vehlmann launched a spin-off series with Spirou as a superhero – Supergroom (French for 'Superbellhop') – and have since then been focusing on this version of the character. In 2022, Sophie Guerrive and Benjamin Abitan (writers) and Olivier Schwartz (artist) had their first Spirou album ( La Mort de Spirou ) published. In 2006, Dupuis launched
5544-514: Is the eventual reunification of Germany. But in a realistic view of the world, this is a goal that could take generations beyond my own to achieve. Mikhail Gorbachev had led the country as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union since 1985. During this time, the Soviet Union experienced a period of economic and political stagnation , and correspondingly decreased intervention in Eastern Bloc politics . In 1987,
5698-677: The Allensbach Institute in April 1993 found that only 22% of West Germans and 11% of East Germans felt they were one nation. Dolores L. Augustine [ de ] observed that "the sense of oneness felt by East Germans and West Germans in the euphoric period after the fall of the wall proved all too transitory", as the old divisions persisted and Germans not only still saw themselves as two separate people, but also acted in accordance with their separate, regional interests. This state of mind became known as Mauer im Kopf ("wall in
5852-761: The Bay of Pigs Invasion ), written by Clément Lemoine & Michaël Baril, and illustrated by Elric. These new adventures are styled after the Franquin run of the series, especially in art style. Main and recurring Spirou et Fantasio characters: This list includes French titles, their English translation, and the first year of publication The strip has been translated to several languages, among them Spanish , Portuguese , English , Japanese , German , Bahasa Indonesia , Vietnamese , Turkish , Italian , Dutch , Finnish , Scandinavian languages , Serbo-Croatian , Galician , Catalan and Icelandic . One book, number 15,
6006-779: The European Economic Community (EC) (later the European Union ) and in international organizations including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United Nations (UN), while relinquishing membership in the Warsaw Pact (WP) and other international organizations to which only East Germany belonged. The term "German reunification" was given to the process of the German Democratic Republic joining
6160-606: The European Economic Community to call for an extraordinary European summit in Dublin in April 1990 to calm the fears held of fellow members of the EEC. Haughey saw similarities between Ireland and Germany, and said "I have expressed a personal view that coming as we do from a country which is also divided many of us would have sympathy with any wish of the people of the two German States for unification". Der Spiegel later described other European leaders' opinion of reunification at
6314-623: The Foundation of the East German state . An alternative date to commemorate the reunification could have been the day the Berlin Wall came down, 9 November (1989), which coincided with the anniversary of the proclamation of the German Republic in 1918, and the defeat of Hitler's first coup in 1923. However, 9 November was also the anniversary of the first large-scale Nazi-led pogroms against Jews in 1938 ( Kristallnacht ), so
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6468-654: The Nobel Prize in Literature in 1999, also expressed his vehement opposition to the unification of Germany, citing his tragic memories of World War II as the reason. According to Grass, the emergence of National Socialism and the Holocaust had deprived Germany of its right to exist as a unified nation state: he wrote: "Historical responsibility dictates opposition to reunification, no matter how inevitable it may seem." He also claimed that "national victory threatens
6622-622: The Trizone occupied by three Western Allies and established on 1 August 1948. Its forerunner was the Bizone formed by the US and UK zones on 1 January 1947 before the inclusion of the French zone. The Trizone did not include West Berlin, which was also occupied by three Western Allies, although the city was de facto part of the West German state; the German Democratic Republic or "East Germany",
6776-612: The West German constitution ( Grundgesetz or Basic Law) of 1949 to facilitate eventual reunification. The Basic Law stated that it was only intended for temporary use until a permanent constitution could be adopted by the German people as a whole. Under that document's (then existing) Article 23, any new prospective Länder could adhere to the Basic Law by a simple majority vote. The initial 11 joining states of 1949 constituted
6930-589: The 1930s, denouncing the emerging anti-Zionism , unification sentiments and reemergence of pan-Germanism . Hermann L. Gremliza , who left the SPD in 1989 because of its support for German unification, was repulsed by the universal support for unification amongst most major parties, stating that it reminded him of " Social Democrats joining the National Socialists (Nazis) in singing the German national anthem in 1933, following Hitler 's declaration of his foreign policy." Several thousand people joined
7084-514: The 1970 Treaty of Warsaw ) and East Germany in 1973 (with the 1972 Basic Treaty ) when applying a common policy to reconcile with the communist countries in the East . The East German government also had encouraged two-state status after initially denying the existence of the West German state, influenced by the Soviet policy of " peaceful coexistence ". The mutual recognition of the two Germanies paved
7238-639: The 1970s) as nuclear energy ( L'Ankou ), drug-funded dictatorships ( Kodo le tyran ) and Duvalier -style repression ( Tora Torapa ). Fournier introduced some new characters such as Ororéa, a beautiful girl reporter with whom Fantasio was madly in love (in contrast with his dislike of Seccotine ); Itoh Kata, a Japanese magician ; and an occult SPECTRE -like criminal organisation known as The Triangle. None of these were reused by later artists until some thirty years later when Itoh Kata appeared in Morvan and Munuera's Spirou et Fantasio à Tokyo . However, at
7392-525: The Anti-Germans' 1990 protests against German reunification. According to Stephen Brockmann, German reunification was feared and opposed by ethnic minorities, particularly those of East Germany. He observes that "right-wing violence was on the rise throughout 1990 in the GDR, with frequent instances of beatings, rapes, and fights connected with xenophobia", which led to a police lockdown in Leipzig on
7546-477: The Basic Law as it then stood, but rather of the Basic Law as subsequently amended in line with the Unification Treaty. Legally, the reunification did not create a third state out of the two. Rather, West Germany effectively absorbed East Germany. Accordingly, on Unification Day, 3 October 1990, the German Democratic Republic ceased to exist, and five new federated states on its former territory joined
7700-469: The Basic Law was in force was simply extended to include its constituent parts. Thus, while legally East Germany as a whole acceded to the Federal Republic, the constituent parts of East Germany entered into the Federal Republic as five new states, which held their first elections on 14 October 1990. Nevertheless, although the Volkskammer's declaration of accession to the Federal Republic had initiated
7854-631: The Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 and the GDR's first free elections later on 18 March 1990 and then to negotiations between the two countries that culminated in a Unification Treaty. Other negotiations between the two Germanies and the four occupying powers in Germany produced the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany , which granted on 15 March 1991 full sovereignty to a reunified German state, whose two parts were previously bound by
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#17327826976508008-632: The Count and Zorglub). Their position as the official Spirou authors made them the flagship team to a whole new school of young, like-minded artists, such as Didier Conrad , Bernard Hislaire , or Frank Le Gall , who had illustrious careers of their own. For a time, Spirou also acted as a side character in Frank Pé 's short-lived absurd humor strip L'Élan (originally published in the weekly Spirou magazine). With La jeunesse de Spirou (1987), Tome and Janry set out to imagine Spirou's youth. This idea
8162-604: The Counterfeit Collaborator" and "The Mandarin Prince". A live-action movie adaptation directed by Alexandre Coffre was released in 2018, starring Thomas Solivérès as Spirou, Alex Lutz as Fantasio, Christian Clavier as Count of Champignac, Géraldine Nakache as Seccotine and Ramzy Bédia as Zorglub. On October 3, 1988, the Belgian Post issued a stamp featuring Spirou, drawn by Tome and Janry, in
8316-427: The East. An influential part of the reunification opponents were the so-called Anti-Germans . Emerging from the student Left, Anti-Germans were supportive of Israel and strongly opposed German nationalism , arguing that an emergence of a united German state would also result in a return of fascism ( Nazism ). They considered the social and political dynamics of 1980s and 1990s Germany to be comparable to those of
8470-799: The Exiles, 2013, ISBN 978-1-84918-157-0 05. The Marsupilami Thieves, 2013, ISBN 978-1-84918-167-9 42. Spirou & Fantasio in Moscow, 2014, ISBN 978-1-84918-193-8 06. The Rhinoceros' Horn, 2014, ISBN 978-1-84918-224-9 43. Tough Luck Vito, 2015, ISBN 978-1-84918-248-5 07. The Dictator and the Mushroom, 2015, ISBN 978-1-84918-267-6 33. Virus, 2016, ISBN 978-1-84918-297-3 08. The Wrong Head, 2016, ISBN 978-1-849183-130 35. Who Will Stop Cyanide?, 2017, ISBN 978-1-84918-355-0 15. Z
8624-533: The FRG, i.e., West Germany, on 23 May 1949. The Soviet-occupied zone formed the GDR, i.e., East Germany, in October 1949. The West German state joined NATO in 1955. In 1990, a range of opinions continued to be maintained over whether a reunited Germany could be said to represent "Germany as a whole" for this purpose. In the context of the revolutions of 1989; on 12 September 1990, under the Two Plus Four Treaty with
8778-435: The Federal Republic as the five Länder (states) of Brandenburg , Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt , and Thuringia . These states were the five original states of East Germany, but were abolished in 1952 in favor of a centralized system. As part of the 18 May treaty, the five East German states were reconstituted on 23 August. East Berlin , the capital of East Germany, reunited with West Berlin ,
8932-445: The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic on the Establishment of German Unity), was approved by large majorities in the legislative chambers of both countries on 20 September 1990 (442–47 in the West German Bundestag and 299–80 in the East German Volkskammer). The Treaty passed the West German Bundesrat on the following day, 21 September 1990. The amendments to the Federal Republic's Basic Law that were foreseen in
9086-478: The Federal Republic of Germany with full German sovereignty from the four Allied-occupied countries to distinguish it from the process of unification of most of the German states into the German Empire (German Reich) led by the Kingdom of Prussia that took place from 18 August 1866 to 18 January 1871, 3 October 1990 was the day when Germany again became a single nation-state . However, for political and diplomatic reasons, West German politicians carefully avoided
9240-412: The Federal Republic of Germany. East and West Berlin were reunited as the third full-fledged federated city-state of the enlarged Federal Republic. The reunited city became the capital of the enlarged Federal Republic. Under this model, the Federal Republic of Germany, now enlarged to include the five states of the former GDR plus the reunified Berlin, continued to exist under the same legal personality that
9394-488: The GDR was perceived by a large portion of the younger generation as a foreign nation with a different social order which was no longer a part of Germany". Winkler argues that the reunification was not a product of popular opinion, but rather "crisis management on the highest level". Support for unified Germany fell once the prospect of it became a tangible reality in the fall of 1989. A December 1989 poll by Der Spiegel indicated strong support for preserving East Germany as
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#17327826976509548-479: The Germans twice ! And now they're back! British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was one of the most vehement opponents of German reunification. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Thatcher told Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev that neither the United Kingdom nor, according to her, Western Europe, wanted the reunification of Germany. Thatcher also clarified that she wanted the Soviet leader to do what he could to stop it, telling Gorbachev, "We do not want
9702-523: The Marsupilami in Spirou et Fantasio , with the exception of a few discreet references. Only in the 1980s did the Marsupilami reappear in its own series, and later a television cartoon and video game. Fournier authored nine books in the series, which saw Spirou evolve into a more modern character. Where Franquin's stories tended to be politically neutral (in his later works, notably Idées noires , he would champion pacifist and environmental views), Fournier's stint on Spirou addressed such hot topics (for
9856-438: The Mesozoic, 2022 ISBN 978-1800440661 52. The Dark Side of the Z, 2023 ISBN 9781800441033 14. The Prisoner of the Buddha, 2024 ISBN 9781800441354 Concurrently, Europe Comics has published translations of the One-Shot albums, available in digital form. Books released so far: 12. His Name Was Ptirou, published April 18, 2018, ASIN B07CPTFFH3 4. Spirou: The Diary of
10010-554: The Nazi-occupied Belgium. Unlike traditional Spirou stories, but similar to other works by Yann, the story features rather much dark humour and political satire. It was released once again to some acclaim but also attracted controversy for its cavalier approach to sensitive issues. The sixth album, Panique en Atlantique , authored by Lewis Trondheim and Fabrice Parme , was released on April 16, 2010. A One-Shot album from 2017, Il s'appelait Ptirou ( His Name Was Ptirou ), written by Yves Sente and illustrated by Laurent Verron, which
10164-409: The President of the West German Bundestag, Rita Süssmuth , by means of a letter dated 25 August 1990. Thus, formally, the procedure of reunification by means of the accession of East Germany to West Germany, and of East Germany's acceptance of the Basic Law already in force in West Germany, was initiated as the unilateral, sovereign decision of East Germany, as allowed by the provisions of article 23 of
10318-400: The Soviet Union would abandon the Brezhnev Doctrine and allow the Eastern European countries to freely determine their own internal affairs. In early 1989, under a new era of Soviet policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring), and taken further by Gorbachev, the Solidarity movement took hold in Poland. Further inspired by other images of brave defiance ,
10472-430: The Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, comprising the Four-Power Authorities —retained authority over Berlin , such as control over air travel and its political status. From the onset, the Soviet Union sought to use reunification as a way to push Germany out of NATO into neutrality, removing nuclear weapons from its territory. However, West Germany misinterpreted a 21 November 1989 diplomatic message on
10626-481: The Soviets demanded it. The USSR did not make such great demands, however, with Gorbachev stating in February 1990 that "[t]he Germans must decide for themselves what path they choose to follow". In May 1990, he repeated his remark in the context of NATO membership while meeting Bush, amazing both the Americans and Germans. This removed the last significant roadblock to Germany being free to choose its international alignments, though Kohl made no secret that he intended for
10780-453: The Strasbourg summit, Mitterrand and Thatcher discussed the fluidity of Germany's historical borders. On 20 January 1990, Mitterrand told Thatcher that a unified Germany could "make more ground than even Adolf had". He predicted that "bad" Germans would reemerge, who might seek to regain former German territory lost after World War II and would likely dominate Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia , leaving "only Romania and Bulgaria for
10934-420: The Trizone. West Berlin had been proposed as the 12th state, but this was legally inhibited by Allied objections since Berlin as a whole was legally a quadripartite occupied area. Despite this, West Berlin's political affiliation was with West Germany, and, in many fields, it functioned de facto as if it were a component state of West Germany. On 1 January 1957, before the reunification, the territory of Saarland ,
11088-635: The Unification Treaty or necessary for its implementation were adopted by the Federal Statute of 23 September 1990, that enacted the incorporation of the Treaty as part of the Law of the Federal Republic of Germany. The said Federal Statute, containing the whole text of the Treaty and its Protocols as an annex, was published in the Bundesgesetzblatt (the official journal for the publication of
11242-580: The United States President Ronald Reagan gave a famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate , challenging Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to " tear down this wall " which prevented freedom of movement in Berlin. The wall had stood as an icon for the political and economic division between East and West, a division that Churchill had referred to as the " Iron Curtain ". Gorbachev announced in 1988 that
11396-670: The West German Basic Law as it then existed. In the wake of that resolution of accession, the "German reunification treaty", commonly known in German as " Einigungsvertrag " (Unification Treaty) or " Wiedervereinigungsvertrag " (Reunification Treaty), that had been negotiated between the two German states since 2 July 1990, was signed by representatives of the two governments on 31 August 1990. This Treaty, officially titled Vertrag zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik über die Herstellung der Einheit Deutschlands (Treaty between
11550-801: The West German democracy. A German publicist Peter Bender wrote in 1981: "Considering the role Germany played in the origins of both World Wars, Europe cannot, and the Germans should not, want a new German Reich, a sovereign nation-state. That is the logic of history which is, as Bismarck noted, more exact than the Prussian government audit office." Opinion on reunification was not only highly partisan, but polarised along many social divides—Germans aged 35 or younger were opposed to unification, whereas older respondents were more supportive; likewise, low-income Germans tended to oppose reunification, whereas more affluent responders were likely to support it. Ultimately,
11704-517: The West started granting subsidies for the GDR budget and social security system. At the same time, many West German laws came into force in the GDR. This created a suitable framework for a political union by diminishing the huge gap between the two existing political, social, and economic systems. The Volkskammer , the Parliament of East Germany, passed a resolution on 23 August 1990 declaring
11858-513: The West". Opposition was also prevalent amongst Jewish circles, who had special status and rights in East Germany. Some Jewish intellectuals such as Günter Kunert expressed concern of Jews being portrayed as part of the East German socialist elites, given that the Jews had unique rights, such as being allowed to travel west. There was also a significant opposition to the unification in intellectual circles. Christa Wolf and Manfred Stolpe stressed
12012-625: The West." In particular, Habsburg and the Hungarian Minister of State Imre Pozsgay considered whether Moscow would command the Soviet troops stationed in Hungary to intervene. But, with the mass exodus at the Pan-European Picnic, the subsequent hesitant behavior of the Socialist Unity Party of East Germany and the nonintervention of the Soviet Union broke the dams. Thus, the bracket of the Eastern Bloc
12166-498: The accession ( Beitritt ) of the German Democratic Republic to the Federal Republic of Germany, and the extension of the field of application of the Federal Republic's Basic Law to the territory of East Germany as allowed by Article 23 of the West German Basic Law, effective 3 October 1990. This Declaration of Accession ( Beitrittserklärung ) was formally presented by the President of the Volkskammer, Sabine Bergmann-Pohl , to
12320-731: The agreement (US, UK, France, and the USSR). The declaration also formed the Allied Control Council (ACC) of these four countries ruling Germany, and confirmed the German borders which had been in force before the annexation of Austria . With the Potsdam Agreement at the Potsdam Conference between the three main Allies defeating the European Axis (US, UK, and the USSR) on 2 August 1945, Germany
12474-511: The aid of the young Belgian artist Luc Lafnet. Spirou became the property of the publisher Dupuis (atypical in France and Belgium where most comic characters are owned by their creator(s)), who bought the character from Rob-Vel in 1943, and since then the series has belonged to no specific author. The title has therefore subsequently been passed on to several different artists and writers. The first success came in 1943 when Joseph Gillain , known by
12628-407: The authors were not allowed by the publisher to use any of the side characters and because of this, the duo's three stories read somewhat like a parenthesis in the series. Yves Chaland proposed a far more radical make-over. His (very short) stint on Spirou is an ironic re-staging of the strip as it was in the 40s. This homage to Jijé and early Franquin was seen at the time as too sophisticated for
12782-409: The border in Berlin, were physically fortified and tightly controlled by East Germany from 1952 and 1961, respectively. The flags of the two German countries were originally the same , but in 1959 East Germany changed its flag . The West German government initially did not recognize the new and de facto German–Polish border , nor East Germany, but later eventually recognized the border in 1972 (with
12936-540: The character Vito Corleone from The Godfather movies, was introduced in Spirou à New York , while Spirou à Moscou (1990) sees Spirou and Fantasio pay their first visit to the USSR , just as it was about to collapse (the country was dissolved in 1991). In Machine qui rêve (1998), Tome and Janry tried to once again renew the series with a more mature storyline (wounded hero, love relationships, etc.), coupled with
13090-493: The characters into different media. On February 25, 1961, and October 16, 1963, two radio audio play adaptations were broadcast on the RTBF radio channel. The stories were based on Le Dictateur de Champignon and Les Robinsons du Rail , with participation of Yvan Delporte and André Franquin . Two TV cartoon series has been produced, the first, Spirou , consisting of 52 episodes originally aired between 1993 and 1994, and
13244-450: The city for more than 30 years saw the East and the West develop their own distinct urban forms, with many of these differences still visible to this day. As urban planning in Germany is the responsibility of the city government, the integration of East and West Berlin was in part complicated by the fact that the existing planning frameworks became obsolete with the fall of the Wall. Prior to
13398-428: The consciousness and unique identity of both nations, with this newly developed culture being now endangered by looming reunification. David Gress remarked that there was "an influential view found largely, but by no means only, on the German and international left" which saw "the drive for unification as either sinister, masking a revival of aggressive nationalist aspirations, or materialist". Günter Grass , who won
13552-516: The controversial Panade à Champignac , the series passed on to a then-unknown young cartoonist, Jean-Claude Fournier , in 1969. One side effect of this is that the Marsupilami would only appear in one last story, Le faiseur d'or . This is because Franquin decided to retain the rights to that character; all the other characters remained the property of the publisher. Starting with Du glucose pour Noémie , there would be no more appearances of
13706-492: The controversy caused Tome and Janry to concentrate on Le Petit Spirou , and stop making albums in the main series. After a six-year break, which only saw the publication of L'accélérateur atomique , a Spirou spoof by Lewis Trondheim not included in the official series (but which received Dupuis' approval), the series went back to a more classical storytelling mode with seasoned cartoonists Jean-David Morvan (writing) and José-Luis Munuera (art). The latter kept close to
13860-533: The day that marks the official unification of the former East and West Germany in 1990, 3 October has since then been the official national holiday of Germany, the German Unity Day ( Tag der deutschen Einheit ). It replaced the previous national holiday held in West Germany on 17 June commemorating the East German uprising of 1953 and the national holiday on 7 October in the GDR, that commemorated
14014-417: The day was considered inappropriate for a national holiday. Throughout the entire Cold War and until 1990, reunification did not appear likely, and the existence of two German countries was commonly regarded as an established, unalterable fact. Helmut Kohl briefly addressed this issue during the 1983 West German federal election , stating that despite his belief in German national unity, it would not mean
14168-570: The dictator Stalin of the Soviet Union. During and after the war, many ethnic Germans who lived in the traditionally German lands in Central and Eastern Europe , including territories east of the Oder–Neisse line, fled and were expelled to post-war German and Austrian territory. Saarland, an area in the French occupation zone , was separated from Germany when its own constitution took effect to become
14322-465: The dissolution of the GDR on 3 October 1990, all planning projects under the socialist-totalitarian regime were abandoned. Vacant lots, open areas, and empty fields in East Berlin were subject to redevelopment, in addition to space previously occupied by the Wall and associated buffer zone . Many of these sites were positioned in central, strategic locations of the reunified city. To commemorate
14476-562: The end of the 1970s Fournier's pace began to slow down and the publisher, Dupuis, sought new authors to replace him. For a time, three separate teams worked on concurrent stories. Nic Broca (art) and Raoul Cauvin (writing) took on Fournier's lead without adding much to the characters. Their primary addition to the Spirou universe, namely the "Black box", a device that annihilates sound, is in fact an acknowledged rehash from an early Sophie story by Jidéhem ( La bulle du silence ). Strangely,
14630-486: The events of 1989–1990, and the collapse of the East German economy further magnified the problem. Discussions immediately began on an emergency merger of the German economies. On 18 May 1990, the two German states signed a treaty agreeing on monetary, economic, and social union. This treaty is called Vertrag über die Schaffung einer Währungs-, Wirtschafts- und Sozialunion zwischen der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik und der Bundesrepublik Deutschland ("Treaty Establishing
14784-429: The exchange of notices regarding the completion of the respective internal constitutional requirements for the adoption of the treaty in both East Germany and West Germany. With that last step, and in accordance with article 1 of the Treaty, and in conformity with East Germany's Declaration of Accession presented to the Federal Republic, Germany was officially reunited at 00:00 CEST on 3 October 1990. East Germany joined
14938-401: The face of the German threat." The pace of events surprised the French, whose Foreign Ministry had concluded in October 1989 that reunification "does not appear realistic at this moment". A representative of French President François Mitterrand reportedly told an aide to Gorbachev, "France by no means wants German reunification, although it realises that in the end, it is inevitable." At
15092-723: The fall of the Berlin Wall—West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl announced a 10-point program calling for the two Germanies to expand their cooperation with a view toward eventual reunification. Initially, no timetable was proposed. However, events rapidly came to a head in early 1990. First, in March, the Party of Democratic Socialism —the former Socialist Unity Party of Germany —was heavily defeated in East Germany's first free elections . A grand coalition
15246-403: The fictional Moustique Hotel. At some point he became a reporter for the eponymous magazine, though he remained dressed in his trademark red uniform. Spirou's design was changed through the years by the various writers and artists who created his adventures but he has kept his spiky red-hair and clothes of the same colour even after ditching his hotel uniform. In contrast to Tintin , Spirou
15400-480: The four Allies, and were formally approved in the final meeting of the Allied Control Council on 2 October 1990. In an emotional ceremony, at the stroke of midnight on 3 October 1990, the black-red-gold flag of West Germany —now the flag of a reunited Germany—was raised above the Brandenburg Gate , marking the moment of German reunification. The process chosen was one of the two options set out in
15554-401: The four Allies, both East and West Germany committed to the principle that their joint pre-1990 boundary constituted the entire territory that could be claimed by a government of Germany. The reunited state is not a successor state , but an enlarged continuation of the 1949–1990 West German state. The enlarged Federal Republic of Germany retained the West German seats in the governing bodies of
15708-561: The head"), suggesting that despite the fall of the Berlin Wall , a "psychological wall" still existed between East and West Germans. Augustine argues that despite resistance to the political regime of East Germany, it still represented the history and identity of East Germans. Unification caused backlash, and the Treuhandanstalt , an agency created to carry out privatization, was blamed for creating mass unemployment and poverty in
15862-515: The laws of the Federal Republic) on 28 September 1990. In the German Democratic Republic, the constitutional law ( Verfassungsgesetz ) giving effect to the Treaty was also published on 28 September 1990. With the adoption of the Treaty as part of its Constitution, East Germany legislated its own abolition as a separate state. Under article 45 of the Treaty, it entered into force according to international law on 29 September 1990, upon
16016-455: The mainstream readership. It was pre-published in 1982 in Spirou magazine, n°2297 to n°2318, printed in two-colour, but was interrupted before it was completed. This unfinished story was first collected in an unofficial album in 1984, À la recherche de Bocongo , and then, legally, under the name of Cœurs d'acier (Champaka editor, 1990). This last edition includes the original strips, and
16170-403: The need to forge an East German identity, while "citizens' initiatives, church groups, and intellectuals of the first hour began issuing dire warnings about a possible Anschluss of the GDR by the Federal Republic". Many East German oppositionists and reformers advocated for a "third path" of an independent, democratic socialist East Germany. Stefan Heym argued that the preservation of the GDR
16324-514: The night of reunification. Tensions with Poland were high, and many internal ethnic minorities such as the Sorbs feared further displacement or assimilationist policies; the Sorbs had received legal protection in the GDR and feared that the rights granted to them in East Germany would not be included in the law of an eventual united Germany. Ultimately, no provision on the protection of ethnic minorities
16478-687: The other more recreational, with television, games, etc. In 1991 a statue of Spirou and Spip posing for a photograph by Fantasio was erected in the Avenue du Général Michel in Charleroi . Another statue of Spirou and Spip, designed by Monique Mol in 2003, can be seen in the Prosper Pouletstraat at the Zeedijk in Middelkerke . On 1–2 September 2016 Manneken Pis was dressed in Spirou's uniform. Spirou , Fantasio and Spip are portrayed on
16632-449: The pen name Jijé , was given charge of the character. In 1944 Jijé introduced a new character, Fantasio, who would become Spirou's best friend and co-adventurer. Holding many artistic commitments at Spirou magazine, Jijé sought to delegate much of his work, and in 1946 he handed the series to his understudy, the young André Franquin , in the middle of the production of the story Spirou et la maison préfabriquée . Franquin developed
16786-516: The pet squirrel Spip , and during the period of Franquin authorship, the Marsupilami . A six-year-old version of Spirou is the star of the spin-off series Le Petit Spirou , which is concerned with his tribulations at school and the anatomy of girls. This later series and its star are generally acknowledged to have little in common with the old one. In 2018 a theme park in Monteux , Parc Spirou [ fr ] , inspired by this character,
16940-470: The plan. The Americans did not share the Europeans' and Soviets' historical fears over German expansionism ; Condoleezza Rice later recalled, The United States—and President George H. W. Bush —recognized that Germany went through a long democratic transition . It was a good friend, it was a member of NATO. Any issues that existed in 1945, it seemed perfectly reasonable to lay them to rest. For us,
17094-464: The political, economic, and cultural environment of both East and West Berlin. However, the "scar" left by the Wall , which ran directly through the very heart of the city, had consequences for the urban environment that planning still needs to address. The unification of Berlin presented legal, political, and technical challenges for the urban environment. The political division and physical separation of
17248-517: The process of reunification, the act of reunification itself (with its many specific terms, conditions, and qualifications, some of which required amendments to the Basic Law itself) was achieved constitutionally by the subsequent Unification Treaty of 31 August 1990; that is, through a binding agreement between the former GDR and the Federal Republic now recognizing each another as separate sovereign states in international law . This treaty
17402-471: The public in East and West that the Eastern European communist rulers had suffered a loss of power in their own sphere, and that they were no longer in control of events: "Habsburg distributed leaflets far into Poland , in which the East German holidaymakers were invited to a picnic. When they came to the picnic, they were given gifts, food and Deutsche Marks, and then they were persuaded to come to
17556-545: The question wasn't should Germany unify? It was how and under what circumstances? We had no concern about a resurgent Germany... The United States wished to ensure, however, that Germany would stay within NATO. In December 1989, the administration of President George H. W. Bush made a united Germany's continued NATO membership a requirement for supporting reunification. Kohl agreed, although less than 20 percent of West Germans supported remaining within NATO. Kohl also wished to avoid
17710-672: The rest of us". The two leaders saw no way to prevent reunification, however, as "None of us was going to declare war on Germany". Mitterrand recognized before Thatcher that reunification was inevitable and adjusted his views accordingly; unlike her, he was hopeful that participation in a single currency and other European institutions could control a united Germany. Mitterrand still wanted Thatcher to publicly oppose unification, however, to obtain more concessions from Germany. I love Germany so much that I prefer to see two of them. Ireland 's Taoiseach , Charles Haughey , supported German reunification and he took advantage of Ireland's presidency of
17864-521: The reunification of the city, the Land Use Plan of 1988 and General Development Plan of 1980 defined the spatial planning criteria for West and East Berlin, respectively. These were replaced by the new, unified Land Use Plan in 1994. Termed "Critical Reconstruction", the new policy aimed to revive Berlin's prewar aesthetic; it was complemented by a strategic planning document for downtown Berlin, entitled "Inner City Planning Framework". Following
18018-502: The same year) from 20 June 1948 to 12 May 1949, but the USSR could not force the three Western Allies to withdraw from West Berlin as they wanted; consequently, the foundation of a new German state became impossible. The Federal Republic of Germany, or "West Germany", a liberal democracy , was established in the US , UK , and French zones on 23 May 1949. West Germany was de jure established in
18172-401: The second, Les Nouvelles Aventures de Spirou et Fantasio consisting of 39 episodes originally aired between 2006 and 2009. Two video games have also been produced, the first, Spirou , was released in 1995 by Infogrames , and the second, Spirou: The Robot Invasion , was released in 2000 by Ubisoft . In Sierra's Playtoons series, Spirou and Fantasio appeared in the stories "The Case of
18326-537: The series of comic stamps for youth philately . This was the fourth Belgian stamp showing a comic hero. On February 26, 2006, the French Post issued a set of three Spirou et Fantasio stamps, featuring art by José-Luis Munuera. To commemorate the occasion, the Musée de la Poste de Paris (Paris Mail Museum) organized an exposition from February 27 to October 7, 2006, with two halls, one showing original plates and
18480-404: The spirit of Franquin 's graphical style, while bringing its own touch of manga -inspired modernism. Morvan and Munuera's Spirou is partly remarkable in that it uses background elements and secondary characters from the whole history of the title, and not just from Franquin's period. The duo's third album, Spirou et Fantasio à Tokyo was released 20 September 2006. Spirou and Fantasio uncover
18634-414: The start of 1990 East Germany was in a state of economic and political collapse. In contrast, reunification under Article 23 could be implemented in as little as six months. Ultimately, when the treaty on monetary, economic, and social union was signed, it was decided to use the quicker process of Article 23. By this process, East Germany voted to dissolve itself and to join West Germany, and the area in which
18788-550: The story of two children with telekinetic powers (similarly to the manga Akira ) that are forced to construct an Edo and Meiji period theme park. Dupuis has also released as Spirou et Fantasio 49Z a manga story by Hiroyuki Oshima after an idea by Morvan. This story tells Spirou's adolescence as a bellhop in a five-star Tokyo hotel. Due to a significant decline in sales, Dupuis decided to cease Morvan and Munuera work in Spirou in January 2007. However, they were allowed to complete one last album, Aux sources du Z , which
18942-416: The strip from single gags and short serials into long adventures with complex plots and is usually considered the definitive author of the strip. He introduced a large gallery of recurring characters, notably the Count de Champignac , an elderly scientist and inventor; the buffoonish mad scientist Zorglub ; Fantasio's cousin and aspiring dictator Zantafio ; and the journalist Seccotine , a rare instance of
19096-551: The term Wende as it had been introduced by the SED Secretary General Egon Krenz . Some people have stated that the reunification can be classified as an annexation of the GDR by the FRG. Scholar Ned Richardson-Little from the University of Erfurt noted that the terminology of an annexation can be interpreted from backgrounds across the political spectrum. In 2015, a Russian proposal
19250-580: The term " reunification " during the runup to what Germans frequently refer to as Die Wende (roughly: "the turning point"). The 1990 treaty defines the official term as Deutsche Einheit ("German unity"); this is commonly used in Germany. After 1990, the term die Wende became more common. The term generally refers to the events (mostly in Eastern Europe) that led up to the actual reunification, and loosely translates to "the turning point". Anti-communist activists from Eastern Germany rejected
19404-637: The time as "icy". Italy's Giulio Andreotti warned against a revival of " pan-Germanism " and the Netherlands's Ruud Lubbers questioned the German right to self-determination. They shared Britain's and France's concerns over a return to German militarism and the economic power of a reunified country. The consensus opinion was that reunification, if it must occur, should not occur until at least 1995 and preferably much later. Andreotti, quoting François Mauriac , joked "I love Germany so much that I prefer to see two of them". The victors of World War II—France,
19558-509: The topic to mean that the Soviet leadership already anticipated reunification only two weeks after the Wall's collapse. This belief, and the worry that his rival Genscher might act first, encouraged Kohl on 28 November to announce a detailed "Ten Point Program for Overcoming the Division of Germany and Europe ". While his speech was very popular within West Germany, it caused concern among other European governments, with whom he had not discussed
19712-436: The two countries would never happen in the foreseeable future. The turning point in Germany, called Die Wende , was marked by the " Peaceful Revolution " leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall at the night of 9 November 1989, with East and West Germany subsequently entering into negotiations toward eliminating the division that had been imposed upon Germans more than four decades earlier. On 28 November 1989—two weeks after
19866-400: The unification as philistinist and purely materialist, calling it "the monetary fetish, by now devoid of all joy." Heiner Müller supported Grass' criticism of the unification process, warning East Germans: "We will be a nation without dreams, we will lose our memories, our past, and therefore also our ability to hope." British historian Richard J. Evans made a similar argument, criticizing
20020-513: The unification as driven solely by "consumerist appetites whetted by years of watching West German television advertisements". For decades, West Germany's allies stated their support for reunification. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir , who speculated that a country that "decided to kill millions of Jewish people " in the Holocaust "will try to do it again", was one of the few world leaders to publicly oppose it. As reunification became
20174-467: The way for both countries to be widely recognized internationally. The two Germanies joined the United Nations as two separate country members in 1973 and East Germany abandoned its goal of reunification with their compatriots in the West in a constitutional amendment the following year . The principle is written in our Constitution – that no one has the right to give up a policy whose goal
20328-492: The wild take centre stage briefly in Le nid des Marsupilamis (1957) which presents Seccotine's documentary featuring a family in their natural habitat, the jungles of the fictitious South American state Palombia . Starting with Le prisonnier du Bouddha (1959), Franquin began to work with Greg (writing) and Jidéhem (backgrounds). As in some of his later series ( Bruno Brazil , Bernard Prince ), Greg staged his stories in
20482-978: Was "Cousin Constance," the Marsupilami was "the Woggle," and the female Marsupilami was "the Wiggle." Egmont has printed and released English translations of Spirou in 2007 in India through its Indian subsidiary (Euro Books). So far, albums number 1–11 and 14 have been translated. Cinebook has started publishing the series in October 2009. Books released so far: 34. Spirou & Fantasio: Adventure Down Under ( Aventure en Australie ), 2009, ISBN 978-1-84918-011-5 39. Spirou & Fantasio in New York, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84918-054-2 40. Spirou & Fantasio: Running Scared, 2012, ISBN 978-1-84918-116-7 41. Spirou & Fantasio: Valley of
20636-568: Was a fictional "real-life" story of a boy that became the inspiration for Spirou, was repurposed and reissued as the first volume of a new spin-off series, Mademoiselle J , centered around a girl named Juliette, Ptirou's love interest from Il s'appelait Ptirou . To date, this series has two volumes. In 2024, a new series of Spirou et Fantasio albums, dubbed Les aventures de Spirou et Fantasio Classique ( The Adventures of Spirou & Fantasio Classic ), premiered with its debut album, La Baie des cochons ( The Bay of Pigs , which takes place during
20790-457: Was broken. Hungary was no longer ready to keep its borders completely closed or to oblige its border troops to use force of arms. By the end of September 1989, more than 30,000 East German citizens had escaped to the West before the GDR denied travel to Hungary, leaving Czechoslovakia as the only neighboring state to which East Germans could escape. Even then, many people within and outside Germany still believed that real reunification between
20944-486: Was divided by the Allies into occupation zones, each under the military government of one of these four countries. The agreement also modified Germany's border, with the country de facto losing its former territories east of the Oder–Neisse line to Poland and the Soviet Union (most for Poland because the eastern territories of former Poland were annexed by the USSR). Germany's border decision came under pressure from
21098-460: Was divided, with the eastern part de facto managed by East Germany. East Germany originally also wanted to gain West Berlin and make the unified Berlin its capital. The Western Allies and West Germany rejected the Soviet Union's idea of neutral reunification in 1952, resulting in the two German governments continuing to exist side-by-side. Most of the border between two Germanies , and later
21252-518: Was formed under Lothar de Maizière , leader of the East German wing of Kohl 's Christian Democratic Union , on a platform of speedy reunification. Second, East Germany's economy and infrastructure underwent a swift and near-total collapse. Although East Germany was long reckoned as having the most robust economy in the Soviet bloc, the removal of Communist hegemony revealed the ramshackle foundations of that system. The East German mark had been almost worthless outside East Germany for some time before
21406-522: Was founded in May 1949. While the Basic Law was modified, rather than replaced by a constitution as such, it still permits the adoption of a formal constitution by the German people at some time in the future. In the context of urban planning , in addition to a wealth of new opportunity and the symbolism of two former independent states being rejoined, the reunification of Berlin presented numerous challenges. The city underwent massive redevelopment , involving
21560-585: Was included in the post-unification reform of the Basic Law in 1994. While politicians called for acceptance of a new multiethnic society, many were unwilling to "give up its traditional racial definition of German nationality". Feminist groups also opposed the unification, as abortion laws were less restrictive in East Germany than in West Germany, and the progress that the GDR had made in regard to women's welfare such as legal equality , child care and financial support were "all less impressive or non-existent in
21714-426: Was introduced on June 8, 1939, in the story arc titled L'Héritage de Bill Money and liberated in the following week's issue, remaining a presence in all Spirou stories since. Adding to the difficulties of magazine publication that came with the outbreak of World War II , Velter joined the army effort, and his wife Blanche Dumoulin, using the pen name Davine, continued the work on the Spirou strip, with
21868-509: Was later developed into a spin-off series, Le Petit Spirou ("Young Spirou"), which details the antics of the character as an elementary school boy. A lot of the center of gags center around the character's interest in the opposite sex. It is generally acknowledged, however, that the Petit Spirou has little in common, psychologically speaking, with the adult character. A new villain, the unlucky Mafia boss Vito "Lucky" Cortizone, based on
22022-542: Was made that classified it as an annexation. Mikhail Gorbachev named it 'nonsense'. In 2010, Matthias Platzeck referred to the reunification as an ' anschluss '. On 5 June 1945, with the Berlin Declaration, the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II was confirmed, and the German Reich was also de jure abolished. Germany was occupied by four countries representing the victorious Allies signing
22176-433: Was necessary to achieve the ideal of democratic socialism , urging East Germans to oppose "capitalist annexation" in favour of a democratic socialist society. Writers in both East and West were concerned about the destruction of the East German or West German cultural identity respectively; in "Goodbye to the Literature of the Federal Republic", Frank Schirrmacher states that the literature of both states had been central to
22330-530: Was opened. Spirou is part of the Comic Book Route and can be found at Place Sainctelette in Brussels. This article about a comics character is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Bandes dessinées –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . German reunification German reunification (German: Deutsche Wiedervereinigung )
22484-541: Was originally an elevator (lift) operator (in French : un groom ) for the Moustique Hotel (in reference to the publisher's chief magazine, Le Moustique ), and remained dressed in his red bellhop uniform for a long time after the occupation was dropped. Spirou (the name means 'squirrel' (lit.) and 'mischievous' (fig.) in Walloon ) has a pet squirrel called Spip , the series' first supporting character, who
22638-413: Was preceded by the influence of higher foreign occupiers; however this only really rose to become official with the birth of the two countries of Germany in the context of the period of international tension during the Cold War . The capital of West Germany was Bonn ; however it was only considered provisional due to the West German aspiration to establish Berlin as its capital, although at the time Berlin
22792-421: Was released 5 November 2008, with the help of scenarist Yann. In January 2009, it was announced in Spirou magazine #3694 that Morvan and Munuera would be succeeded by Fabien Vehlmann and Yoann , who had together created the first volume of Une aventure de Spirou et Fantasio par.... Their first album in the regular series was announced for October 2009, but was later pushed back to September 3, 2010, and
22946-478: Was released to critical acclaim, being awarded at the Angoulême festival . The fifth, Le groom vert-de-gris by Yann and Olivier Schwartz , is based on one of Yann's old scripts from the 1980s originally intended to have been drawn by Chaland, while the editor rejected it. Yann picked up the artist Schwartz, working in a similar style, to complete the story. The story takes place among the resistance movement in
23100-399: Was still closely guarded, but the Pan-European Picnic and the indecisive reaction of the rulers of the Eastern Bloc set in motion an irreversible movement. It allowed an exodus of thousands of East Germans fleeing to West Germany via Hungary . The Peaceful Revolution , part of the international revolutions of 1989 including a series of protests by East German citizens, led to the fall of
23254-420: Was the largest escape movement from East Germany since the Berlin Wall had been built in 1961. After the picnic, which was based on an idea of Karl's father Otto von Habsburg to test the reaction of the USSR and Mikhail Gorbachev to an opening of the border, tens of thousands of media-informed East Germans set off for Hungary. The media reaction of Erich Honecker in the "Daily Mirror" of 19 August 1989 showed
23408-522: Was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state , which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic and the integration of its re-established constituent federated states into the Federal Republic of Germany to form present-day Germany . This date was chosen as the customary German Unity Day , and has thereafter been celebrated each year as
23562-522: Was then voted into effect by both the Volkskammer and the Bundestag by the constitutionally required two-thirds majorities, effecting on the one hand, the extinction of the GDR, and on the other, the agreed amendments to the Basic Law of the Federal Republic. Hence, although the GDR declared its accession to the Federal Republic under Article 23 of the Basic Law, this did not imply its acceptance of
23716-404: Was translated into English , by Fantasy Flight Publishing in 1995. This edition is out of print. Book 16 was partially translated but never published. In 1960, Le nid des Marsupilamis was printed in the weekly British boys' magazine Knockout , under the title Dickie and Birdbath Watch the Woggle . In that early localization, Spirou was called "Dickie," Fantasio was "Birdbath," Seccotine
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