Parts why I never will work for Dupuis

The kid on me have grabbing lots of Dupuis books, back when the artform was "still" pleasant to looking on. There was no Internet at that time, neither social medias, blogs or those bastardized YouTubbers who love to criticize anything without take a look in. The four core series that I've reading were of course, Boule & Bill (Seen at left), The Smurfs, Lucky Luke and the true series of Gaston for good measures. Sometimes, another series of old went out to the park by renting these at my nearest library even if all these fun activities came from the past. 

Despite all the scandals, corporative attitude and mean-spirited trickery that have almost failed the Marcinelle book publishing of its artistic bankruptcy, 1987 was a bit of a transitional year for Dupuis, where it was been purchased by Media Productions. That was part why Roba, Peyo and Franquin among them have quit them for released their works Independently. All that went with a shift of changes for what we known today.

The newer Boule & Bill gags are nowadays, still published by Dargaud since 1988. For that time and by many recounts, the series hit its 45th book to the main series in the past year. (The 21th official one for Dargaud)

After trying his feat with Cartoon Creation, Peyo have took the opportunity to transfered a large part of his work (Minus his Poussy strips and the older Johan and Pewitt and Smurfs stories that are still owned by Dupuis) to Le Lombard. Peyo have left the world at 1992s Christmas Eve. His Smurfs property is now at the hands of his childrens who took the property with dedication and care as best as they can.

The most outward outing is André Franquin and his universe. While launched Marsu Productions in 1987, it was utilized for a continuation of a stand-alone Marsupilami series (Not the WTFs thing Disney has put to this character by ended on trial years later.) and others past Dupuis' colleagues like François Walthéry joined him. But the sheer irony of all this is all the Marsu property bring back home to Dupuis in 2013 after the editors have purchased the Franquin's old studio in a now-on grimy pattern. But don't count to me to read the newer series of Gaston from that obnoxious Les Nombrils guy! (Why not hiring one who is actually Belgian?)

But really, looks like that the conditions on Dupuis and others comics editors from Europe keep to deteriorate in many ways since the begin of the 21th century. But Dupuis have hit hard to me in this point. This kind of trust were been broken on the mid-00s where bland, trite and dismal pieces of work could be owned a status at the time where we already predicted the demise of this artform, by be a little too left-winging and by not prepared enough our children to the real world of adulthood.

Just because you try to drawn funny-looking characters don't meant that all your audience will laugh at it. And there goes where these cartoonists do lecture you by given us the bad model.

In the 00s, it's as if every executives and corporations had pull the conclusion that educational contents are boring and snoring, like in the 1990s. Except that it's a need for most generations of youths, them who have all give up to follow them by drawn things as they were just copying anything seen in TV cartoons.

I would like a lot at child to working for Dupuis especially for its legacy and rich history. Not so for their so-call heroes' factory, but for the people who worked there. The Dupuis brothers themselves, where it was a real family business before Media Productions purchased that. The 1980s were also rather murky for all the medium by convincing to trying several Indie works, such as Repérages Dupuis for youth adults, but without known that the reason why it do exists is that the adults who read them nowadays already reading at kids the likes of Asterix, Gaston or Peanuts all around.

But the overwhelmed saturation of all this since pandemic became a point of no-return that they wasting too much paper for things that would never found an audience. Each first volume indicated something not so promising. Sometimes it can work--SOMETIMES-- but often-- NOT. And when series became more shorter than before may us thinking that the people who worked there having planned a beginning, a middle and a conclusion for their whole storytelling, but it's easily related that the youths audience are no longer welcome to this medium. It's been something that would just attract the left-winging upper class and the older people, whether the age or gender it seems.

Dupuis in 2025 is rather in turmoil. Sure, newer series looked on better than they ever were in decades but factors betrayed them to keep strong in sales, mostly by the increasing popularity of Mangas, the inflation and rising costs on everything and the divergence of streamings platforms like Netflix, Amazon or Spotify. No mention that all the medium are decades late to merged their endeavors to the Digital and tame the whole Webcomics popularity instead to just hired big stars (Like Jain and her crappy City Zen that make sounds to us like an alien concept from Outer Space) or social media TikTokkers instead to let real artists doing up the heaviest lifting. Webcomics artists strive for years to gets a favorable fanbase, but seeing Dupuis and others hired random YouTubbers who have no knowledge on drawings is like hiring Hollywood stars to actual voice-artists on animated features. There's no justice for true and noble artists, even with many decades to learn their chops in hand.

This is there I have no way to work on Dupuis thesedays. They've been just... generic, Saturday Morning stand-by like the way Spirou and Fantasio are awfully redesigned like as we're in the 1950s again. Each redesign of them made it complicit since Tome and Janry has done with the duo... back in 1998. That would ended this way and anybody would ever complain.

Dupuis could dying tommorow and it's doubtful that anyone would crying to its fate. This is going to be a distant history like the way we have rid of videoclubs, Night-Clubs and Vaudeville. Why still spending our time to fantasy is a good thing when chaos occurs the reality of now?