Modeste et Pompon

Modeste and Pompon (Modeste et Pompon) is a Belgian comic series consisting mainly of humorous one-page short stories about a temperamental young man and his girlfriend. Created by André Franquin, it was first published in Tintin magazine on 19 October 1955.^[1]

Publication history

In 1955 comic-book artist André Franquin got into a dispute with Dupuis, the publishers of Spirou magazine, over financial arrangements concerning his characters. Since Franquin was unable to find the written confirmation of their agreement, he left to join the staff of the rival Tintin magazine, where he introduced the series Modeste et Pompon. Writers who contributed to the series included René Goscinny (the writer of Asterix), Peyo (creator of the Smurfs), Greg (another leading writer and artist) and even Franquin's mother-in-law.

Franquin later found the written confirmation and the matter was settled with Dupuis. However, he was on a five-year contract with Tintin and was thus obliged to provide to both magazines, an unusual arrangement in the comic industry. He thus contributed a weekly page to Tintin and a weekly page-and-a-half to Spirou.

In 1959 the publishers of Tintin bought the rights to the characters. Franquin's obligation to Tintin ended and he stuck to Spirou and Gaston Lagaffe. Modeste et Pompon continued until 1988, handled by other writers and artists.

Characters

Pompon is Modeste's girlfriend. Her main occupation is to appeal to him to stay calm.
Modeste is a short-tempered young suburbanite who is easily angered when things go wrong. Among those causing him to lose his cool are:
Félix, a friend and a cousin but also a pesky salesman whose products invariably lead to disaster;
A group of boys who are Félix's and Modeste's nephews, but who hang around Modeste most of the time;
Mister Dubruit, a neighbour with a noisy family (Du bruit is the French for "noise"), only featured by Goscinny;
Mister Ducrin, another neighbour with whom Modeste is always feuding, only featured by Greg;
Uncle Symphorien who sometimes stays with Modeste, bringing along his pet rooster Jules, whose crowing proves very trying to Modeste's nerves.

Trivia

Franquin's period on the strip is seen as a good reflection of the fashions of the 1950s, from Pompon's dress to Modeste's modern furniture (which, along with his temper, rather belies his name). The items Felix tries to sell to Modeste include a TV remote control and a battery-powered drill which, though common enough today, were rather new at the time. The artists who succeeded Franquin updated the fashions to their own time periods and even removed Pompon's namesakes from her hair.

When the group of boys were first introduced, they were Félix's five cousins. Later they became his nephews and numbered four before settling on just three. Franquin only named one of them: Dédé. Later writers varied the names. The boys appear to be identical and wear different-coloured shirts.

At one stage Modeste was asked to look after a relative's baby and faced the dilemmas of feeding, changing and sleepless nights. This set of stories coincided with the early months of the life of Franquin's daughter Isabelle (who was to lend her name to another popular comic series in which her father was involved).

Timeline

1955-1959: Franquin (stories by Franquin, Goscinny and mostly Greg)
1959-1968: Dino Attanasio
1968-1975: Mitteï
1975: Griffo
1976-1984: Dupont
1980-1988: Walli
1981: Eric

Sources

Modeste et Pompon publications in Belgian Tintin, French Tintin BDoubliées (in French)

Footnotes

^ BDoubliées. "Tintin année 1955" (in French).

External links

Franquin est Modeste (in French)

[TintinB-1955-1] BDoubliées. "Tintin année 1955" (in French).

[1]

v t e André Franquin
Series	Spirou et Fantasio Gaston Lagaffe Marsupilami Idées noires Le Petit Noël Modeste et Pompon Isabelle
Spirou et Fantasio characters	Fantasio Gaston Lagaffe Marsupilami Le Petit Noël Seccotine Spip Spirou Zantafio Zorglub
Spirou and Fantasio albums	Spirou et Fantasio Quatre aventures de Spirou et Fantasio Il y a un sorcier à Champignac Les chapeaux noirs Spirou et les héritiers Les voleurs du Marsupilami La corne de rhinocéros Le dictateur et le champignon La mauvaise tête Le repaire de la murène Les pirates du silence Le gorille a bonne mine Le nid des Marsupilamis Le voyageur du Mésozoïque Le prisonnier du Bouddha Z comme Zorglub L'ombre du Z Spirou et les hommes-bulles QRN sur Bretzelburg Panade à Champignac Tembo Tabou
Gaston Lagaffe albums	Gaffes et gadgets Gala de gaffes à gogo Le bureau des gaffes en gros Gare aux gaffes du gars gonflé En direct de la gaffe Le lourd passé de Lagaffe Des gaffes et des dégâts Un gaffeur sachant gaffer Lagaffe nous gâte Le cas Lagaffe Le géant de la gaffe Gaffes, bévues et boulettes Le gang des gaffeurs Lagaffe mérite des baffes La saga des gaffes Gaffe à Lagaffe ! Gaston 19
Marsupilami albums	Capturez un Marsupilami La Queue du Marsupilami
Other albums	Idées noires
Collaborators	Delporte Jidéhem Greg Goscinny Roba
Publishing houses	Dupuis Marsu Productions
Magazines	Spirou Tintin
Other	Champignac