Creator Controversy- From Tintin to Sonic

In an interview published by the Belgian edition of Paris Match magazine, Fanny Rodwell, the widow of Hergé-the creator of Tintin-, declared herself against the publication of a new album featuring the character.

 According to her, it’s necessary to respect the author’s wishes, that he didn’t want other new albums to be released after his death. Hergé passed away in 1983.

The declaration is controversial, because it contradicts the message of her current husband, Nick Rodwell, the administrator of Moulinsart, the company that cares for the work of Hergé. He defends the necessity of protecting the author’s rights ti the work, so that it wouldn’t fall into public domain so early.

Tentatively, a new album is planned for the faraway year of 2052. Before this, Moulinsart and Casterman intend to rerelease unfinished stories of the hero and versions of old books accompanied with new theoretical material.

Fanny Rodwell was born in 1934, in Brussels, Belgium. Her maiden name was Fanny Vlamynck. She was the colorist at Hergé’s studio and married the artist in 1977, when he divorced from his first wife, Germaine Kieckens. In 1993, she remarried to an Englishman, Nick Rodwell.

Rodwell is a controversial figure in France and Belgium, often criticized by the fans and company. He was the first to open a store dedicated to Tintin, in England.

(Original article: Viúva de Hergé é contra álbum inédito dopersonagem, written by Sérgio Codespoti on May 14, 2014. Republished and translated with permission by UniversoHQ)

Estate battles against publishers are nothing new. Jack Kirby, Bill Finger, Joe Shuster,  Jerry Siegel, and even Stan Lee's estate have had public, drawn out legal battles with their former employers who continue to utilize what the creators created, many years ago. Recently, the living Ken Penders sued Sega and Archie Comics for creator rights for the characters he created in the comic based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video games. His characters are now absent from the long running series as he attempts to reuse them in other mediums. 

May is international comic book month!

May is international comic book month!

The 20th Annual FestComix will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil from May 1st-4th.

Thursday will have panels about Marvel and DC, held by their foreign distributor, Panini Comics. Jheremy Raapack will talk about his work on Injustice for DC Digital. Translated manga and independent comics will also be discussed.

Friday : Joshua Dysart (Harbinger) will talk about reintroducing the Valiant Universe together with Brazilian distributor HQM. Shawn Martinbrough will talk about his work on Thief of Thieves. Cartoonists and editors will discuss the zombie invasion in comics. There will be a special panel preparing Brazilian national comics for international markets.

Saturday: Cartoonists talk about their favorite childhood heroes, Panini announces more Manga titles, and artists and writers talk about their work on Disney Comics. Jim Krueger ( Justice, Project Superheroes, Buffy)  will chat about his acclaimed work with Marvel, DC, and Dynamite.

Sunday, the festival will close with a celebration of Batman and Superman’s 75th, a round table talk with Will Conrad, Joe Bennet, Daniel HDR, and Marcelo Mailo about producing good artwork. Editor Sidney Gusman will talk about Graphics MSP with its creators Vitor Cagaggi, Danio Beyruth, and Gustavo Duarte. Jim Kreuger returns to talk about the Golden Age in the super hero world.

Also this weekend, in the United States, is the twelfth annual Free Comic Book Day. With involvement by practically all the major comic book companies in the business, each provides comic book stores across America with a free sample comic (often new stories). Some libraries also participate in FCBD, encouraging young readers. The program is all about outreach. It is aimed to introduce new readers; they even have a comic book explanation guide for those new to the comic book world. FCBD also strives to invite back readers who may have stopped collecting comics for one reason or another. It is also a thank you to current comic books readers.

The day also coincides with major motion picture releases based on comics. The first Free Comic Book Day followed the release of the first Spider-Man back in 2002. X2, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, Iron Man, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Iron Man 2, Thor, The Avengers, and Iron Man 3 all invited excited moviegoers to check out their local comic store on opening weekend to experience a piece of the magic that inspired these larger than life films. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens May 2nd.

Click here to see the 57 free comics offered this year. Many shops have limits on the amount of comics you can take. Most shops also have great sales and special offers to commemorate the important weekend. DC Comics made a map to track where their creators will be appearing on Saturday. Don’t know where your nearest comic shop is? Check out Comic Shop Locator.

Not to be left in the dust, France is celebrating their Bande dessinée this month. Why just one day? France is trying out 48 hours (2 days) of the BD. The website have yet divulge what comics will be available but will be offering 100,000 BD. The event will take place May 16 and 17. French publishers Casterman, Dargaud, Dupuis, Fluide Glacial, Wide Angle, Jungle, The Lombard and Urban Comics are all involved. 

Asterix the Ambassador for Another French Comic Festival

Brazilians Ricardo Manhães and Gian Danton will be participating in a tribute to the character Asterix, by invitation of the Belgian journalist Lionel Flips, owner of the website Le Bourlingueur du net.

Asterix will be the theme of the Concile à Bulles (Bubble Council-referring to the speech bubbles in comics), a comic book festival that will take place in Brussels, Belgium, this April 5 and 6. The event will take place in MOOF- Museum of Original Figurines, just a few feet from the central plaza(Grand Place) of the Belgian capital.

The festival will feature an exposition o original art from Asterix and the Picts, by Albert Uderzo, Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad.

A special album with invited artists and writers will be distributed at the event. Among the authors will be: Ricardo Manhães, Gian Danton, Michel Rodrigue, Marc Hardy, Olivier Pâques, Thierry Capezzone, Stuf, Louis Michel Carpentier, Wasterlain, Christian Darasse, Dan Verlinden, Demarck, Magda, Jean Pol, Tim Bolssens, Didier Conrad, Stedo, Gilson, Malik, Walthery and Dany. The book will be printed in soft and hard cover for the festival. The originals will be sold and the money raised will go to charities. Some of the participating artists of the 1st Bubble Council are: Batem, Janry, Carrere, Rodrigue, Pâques, Malik, Capezzone, Dan, Stuf, Coppée, Carpentier, Wasterlain, Tibo, Carette, Demarck, Gilson and the team of Atelier 24, among others.

In the comic by Danton and Manhães, Asterix will encounter the Turma da Tribo(The Tribe Gang), characters from a series created by the two authors, that was made to educate children about topics regarding the Amazon Rainforest.


(Original article: Ricardo Manhães e Gian Danton participam de homenagem a Asterix, written by Sérgio Codespoti on March 14, 2014. Reprinted and translated with permission from UniversoHQ.)



Tribute issues are nothing new. This week All New X-Men 25 comes out with art by many industry greats. Culture of Comics detailed the Stan Sakai benefit Dark Horse is arranging. To celebrate Monica’s 50th anniversary, an art book was published with tributes by Italian Hugo Pratt(Corto Maltese), Garfield’s Jim Davis, Beetle Bailey’s Mort Walker, Joe Kubert, and Will Eisner himself, among the 150 artists including many,many notable Brazilian creators like previously mentioned Manhães. Projects like these bring the international comic book community together to show the global reach comics, and characters, can have.

Meanwhile, Asterix's MO has always been about traveling. In his Albums he has visited Spain, Rome, Egypt, Britain, Belgium, and Switzerland. The newest release celebrated by the festival brings Asterix and his big partner Obelix to Scotland. This is his first book without involvement by the creators René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo who created the character in 1959.

Special Editions of Tintin Are On The Way!

The French publisher Casteman and Éditions Moulinsart(Hergé Foundation) will release a special edition of Tintin on March 12.

The Curse of Rascar Capac- The 7 Crystal Balls- Volume 1(La Malédiction de Rascar Capac – Les 7 Boules de Cristal – Volume 1) is a 136 page publication in the Italian horizontal format(9inches(22.6cm) by 12 inches(30.7 cm) with a case. The book is an annotated edition of Tintin and the Seven Crystal Balls(1948).

The pages on the left, reproduce copies of the 150 strips of the original version of Tintin and the Seven Crystal Balls, which were published in Le Soir newspapers, from Belgium, between 1943 and 1944, during the World War II. The pages on the right include commentaries, sketches and diverse information about the creation of the comic, including the participation of Edgar Pierre Jacobs in the production of the work.

Different from Les Mystères des 7 Boules de Cristal (9 inches(22.6 cm) by 7 inches(17.5 cm) and 112 pages), published in 2012, the new book ties in the art from the work with the image archive of Hergé and his production team.

Philippe Goddin is the author of the new text in the two books.

The second volume of this series, The Temple of the Sun, will be published in September 2014. 

(Original article: Casterman lança La Malédiction de Rascar Capac,written by Sérgio Codespoti on March 10, 2014. Reprinted and translated with permission by UniversoHQ.)

Hergé's Tintin spawned six feature films, two television series, five video games, and, of course, twenty four comic albums created by Hergé himself. In 2009, the Hergé Museum opened in Belgium to honor the creator of one of the most famous comic book characters in the world. The character turned an astounding 85 this past January. 

To honor Hergé's wishes, Casteman and Moulinsart will only release new Tintin stories, by other creators, in 2052. In the meantime, expect more Absolute Editions and all the behind the scenes information the publishers can muster to sell more books (see DC's handling of Watchman for an American example)! 

Google France Pays Homage to Gaston Lagaffe

Gaston Lagaffe is on the front page of Google France.

The character was created by the Belgian cartoonist André Franquin, in issue #985 of Spirou magazine, on February 28, 1957. Gaston Lagaffe is the star of dozens of albums published in France and Belgium and a film released in 1981.

Despite this, he is virtually unknown in the US and Brazil.

(Original article: Google celebra 57 anos de Gaston Lagaffe, written by Sérgio Codespoti on February 28, 2014. Reprinted and translated with permission by UniversoHQ)

Lagaffe means “the blunder” in French. He was introduced as an office worker to show behind the scenes of the magazine. He “worked” in the Spirou offices alongside front runners Spirou and Fantasio until creators were changed. Stories often focused on his inventions and antics in the office. His crush, M’oiselle Jeanne, was another gag for the stories which originally started as one page vignettes to help the page count of the magazine. He went on to star in his own albums. Gaston appeared in a Fantagraphics Books publication under the name Gomer Goof.


Spirou the magazine launched in 1938 as one of the leading comic magazines for Franco-Belgian talent,rival only to Tintin magazine, named after Hergé’s character. Spirou has been a breeding ground for many classic comic characters including The Smurfs, Johan and Peewit, Young Spirou, Lucky Luke, Marsupilami, and, of course, Spirou and Fantasio. 

Voulez-vous aller au Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême?

The 41st Angoulême International Comics Festival kicked off today, lasting til Sunday the 2nd. Starting in 1974 in France- this annual event gets over 200,000 visitors qualifying it for the second largest comic convention in the world after Tokyo’s biannual Comiket. Much like the Olympic Villiage, the convention is spread out all over the city of Angoulême. 

Last year, 31 countries participated in the 400 meetings, workshops, panels, shows and presentations. Seven THOUSAND professionals were present (along with 1600 artists and 260 exhibitors). This is a large event. This year boast’s Argentine Mafalda’s 50th birthday with a special appearance by her creator Quino, 80 years of Mickey (Mouse) Journal , youth talent searches and career guidance/training, a focus on digitization of comics, and a “drawing concert” .

Every year they reward prizes (trophies). More lively than the Grammys, the Grand Jury decides the Heritage Award, Best Series Award, Best Newcomer Award and Best Comic Book Award. The public pick the Culture People’s Choice Award and 8-12 year olds pick their own Young Readers’ Award. They also have a Discovery Awards ceremony aimed towards young up and coming talent and schools-in France there are schools dedicated just to comics. All the winners are posted here as they are announced(check back Sunday.

Among the nominated comics are Joseph Lambert’s Anne Sullivan & Helen Keller, Marvel’s Hawkeye by Matt Fraction and illustrated by the innovative David Aja, Brian K Vaughan(Y the Last Man, Dues Ex Machina, Runaways) and Fiona Staple’s sci-fi soap opera Saga and many other international selections. 

Le Fauve, Angoulême's mascot created by Lewis Trondheim

The Grand Prix is rewarded to a living creator for their spectacular achievement in comics. Past winners are Will Eisner(1975, creator of The Spirit), Underground Comix master Robert Crumb(1999),  and Maus creator/ The New Yorker cartoonist Art Spiegelman(2011).This year's contenders are Bill Watterson(Calvin and Hobbs), Katsuhiro Ottomo(Akira) and Alan Moore(V for Vendetta, Watchmen, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). The winner “gets” to Grand Marshall next year’s event and take part in the planning. Publishers Weekly details controversy and gossip among the awards quite eloquently.


Here is the 38 page English press kit. Keep an eye on the event’s Instagram or polish off your French on the official webpage.