Preview — ‘A Spirou And Fantasio Adventure #20: The Dark Side Of The Z’

Spirou & Fantasio, beloved mainstays of Euro comics since 1938, reporters and adventurers, are off to the moon in this latest great Cinebook translation bringing the best of Euro comics to English language readers.

Yes, the bellhop and the reporter are back in action in the latest of Cinebook’s reprinting of the Spirou and Fantasio series – and they’re headed to the moon, although it’s definitely not their choice.

The Dark Side of the Z begins with one page showing the clean-up by Spirou, Fantasio, and the Count of Champignac after the last somewhat ridiculous plans of Zorglub went predictably so wrong in Attack of the Zordolts.

But then this happens…

Yes, they’re on the moon. All thanks to Zorglub. But of course.

And from that moment onwards, we’re off on another of Vehlmann and Yoann’s excellent tales, full of comedy, full of ridiculousness, full of madcap action – and all of it on the moon, as the scale of Zorglub’s plan becomes plain. But with this ‘somewhat-reformed’ evil mastermind, all the plans tend to take a sharp left towards chaos at some point. And that’s just what happens. Of course it does, that’s half the fun of this, the seeing it all go wrong yet again.

No matter what period of Spirou and Fantasio you dip into, whether it’s the classic and perhaps definitive version by Franquin or the more recent adventures by Tome and Janry or Vehlmann and Yoann, there’s always a guarantee of a laugh and a damn fine read. And so it is here, with the action and the laughs coming thick and fast all the way through.

Spirou and Fantasio Book 20 – The Dark Side of the Z

Written by Fabien Vehlmann,

Art by Yoann

Designs by Fred Blanchard

Colours by Hubert

Translated by Jerome Saincantin.

out now from Cinebook (originally published by Dupuis, 2011)