Boule & Bill
Boule und Bill (original title: Boule et Bill ; also known as Schnieff und Schnuff in German-speaking countries ) is a series of comics by the Belgian comic artist Jean Roba (1930-2006), which was created in 1959 in collaboration with Maurice Rosy and has been by Roba's former since 2003 Assistant Laurent Verron will continue. In 2016 Christophe Cazenove (scenario) and Jean Bastide (drawings) took over the series, as Verron wants to concentrate on other series for the time being. In 2013 a movie was produced under the title Boule & Bill - Zwei Freunde Schnief and Schnuff . Boule is a young boy and Bill is his dog.
history
Boule et Bill first appeared in the Belgian comic magazine Spirou on December 24, 1959 in a four-page compilation as a “mini-comic”. Roba had supported several authors (including André Franquin ) as illustrators in the Spirou magazine and began to develop her own series of comics. A few months after the initial publication, another four pages appeared, resulting in a weekly one-page publication.
Over the next 25 years, Boule et Bill became one of the magazine's most popular comic book series, appearing frequently on the back cover. By 1985, the Belgian comic publisher Dupuis had published 21 volumes containing a long story and 800 short stories. Then Roba changed the publisher. In Dargaud published another ten volumes as well as the new version of the old volumes.
In 2006 Jean Roba died. Before his death, he had thought about the continuation of the comic book series and asked Verron to do it.
Publications in German-speaking countries
The series was first published in German-speaking countries by Kauka under the title Schnieff und Schnuff in the comic edition " Lupo 2/1964" and was then published in numerous Fix and Foxi editions. They appeared there regularly on the back and received two special editions in 1976 and 1977. In 1979 and 1980 two "Schnieff und Schnuff" albums were published by TODOS-Verlag. In 1984 the license rights of Kauka were transferred to the Ehapa-Verlag , which published the series from 1987 to 1996 under the original title Boule & Bill in two album series, with a brief attempt to rename the heroes in Pico & Bello . The albums have been published in Germany by Salleck Publications since 2003, and occasionally a few one-page publications in Zack magazine.
content
Boule et Bill is about the experiences of a seven year old boy named Boule and his dog Bill. Often, boules parents and friends take part in the stories. The family also has another pet, the turtle Caroline (also known as Miss Klara).
All stories take place around a normal family in a normal city. The majority of the adventures come from the everyday life of the family in the house and from the immediate vicinity. However, the family also goes on vacation at regular intervals (mostly to the coast).
Central figures
- Boule is a seven-year-old boy and Bill's owner, whom he looks after very well and with whom he experiences a lot together. He has red hair and almost always wears a yellow shirt and blue dungarees .
- Bill is an English Cocker Spaniel . He is anthropomorphized in the stories , but perceived by his environment as a normal dog and treated as such. He is primarily driven by his fondness for bones, food and the hunt for cats and has a great aversion to being bathed, which usually requires the entire family to do so. He often expresses surprise at the behavior of people. He can't talk to people, but he understands other animals, including his best friend Caroline, a turtle.
- Boules mother is a typical housewife and mother and mainly embodies the mistress of the house, who often has to repair the damage caused by Boule and Bill, but also by her husband.
- Boule's father represents the archetype of the father. He is both father and friend of Boule and tries to raise his son by taking every opportunity to show him something new. He finds himself in difficult situations again and again, which he owes to his somewhat self-confident and proud behavior. He works as a copywriter, his supervisor is a Mr. Coupon-Dubois. He drives a red Citroën 2CV .
- Caroline (also Fräulein Klara in the German translation ) is the family's turtle and lives in the garden. The fact that she might dig up Bill's bones there worried him at first. However, when he realized that she only eats salad, they became best friends. The subject of their conversations is often a (slight) criticism of people or amazement about their behavior. Caroline is also disturbed by sleep and very active. She loves sledding, swings and other games.
- Pouf (also called Pit in the German translation ) is boule's best friend, but he often clashes with Bill. The slight competition for boules friendship often leads to funny duels between him and Bill, which usually end in favor of the dog. He wears a cap and has long hair that covers much of his face, so you never see his eyes.
- Madame Stick is the widow of a colonel and the strict neighbor of the family. She owns a Siamese cat named "Caporal" (German corporal ), who is Bill's archenemy.
- Gérard is a rich, snooty, boastful boy who owns a dog that is very similar in character. From time to time, Boule and Bill meet with the two of them. But Gérard and his dog are always subject to the ruse of Boule and Bill and are exposed.
List of published volumes
Dupuis publishing house
- 0: Trésors des minis récits: Boule contre les minis requins , 1985
- 1: 60 gags de Boule et Bill , 1962
- 2: 60 gags de Boule et Bill
- 3: 60 gags de Boule et Bill
- 4: 60 gags de Boule et Bill
- 5: 60 gags de Boule et Bill
- 6: 60 gags de Boule et Bill , 1969
- 7: Des gags de Boule et Bill , 1970
- 8: Papa, maman, Boule et ... moi , 1972
- 9: Une vie de chien , 1973
- 10: Attention chien marrant! , 1974
- 11: Jeux de Bill , 1975
- 12: Ce coquin de cocker , 1976
- 13: Carnet de Bill , October 1976
- 14: Ras le Bill! , June 1977
- 15: Bill, nom d'un chien , 1978
- 16: Souvenirs de famille , 1979
- 17: Tu te rappelles Bill? , 1980
- 18: Bill est maboul! , 1980
- 19: Globe-trotters , 1982
- 20: Strip Cocker 90 , 1984
- 21: Billets de Bill 1987
In 1999 the collection was reissued. The volumes originally comprised 64, 56 or 48 pages. Dupuis limited the volumes of the new edition to 48 pages and thus increased the number of volumes from 21 to 24.
Dargaud publishing house
- 22: Vl'à Boule et Bill 1988
- 23: Faut rigoler! 1991
- 24: Bwouf allo Bill? 1995
In 1999 the volumes were reissued but received a different numbering.
- 25: Les v'la! (originally V'la Boule et Bill ) 1999
- 26: Faut rigoler! 1999
- 27: Bwouf allo Bill? 1999
- 28: Les quatre seasons 2001
- 29: Quel Cirque! (VERRON) 2003
- 30: La bande à Bill (VERRON) 2005
- 31: Graine de cocker (VERRON) 2007
Best of
- Plumes poils et compagnie 2003
Special editions
- L'album de famille de Boule & Bill 1987
- Boule & Bill en famille 1997
- Boule & Bill font la fête (for the 40th anniversary) 1999
Une extraordinaire aventure de Boule & Bill (German: An extraordinary adventure by Boule & Bill )
- Bill a disparu! 1990 (German: Bill is gone!, 1991)
Advertising spending
- Boule & Bill créent une entreprise
- L'entreprise de Boule et Bill
- L'entreprise de Boule et Bill en Europe
Atlas publishing house
- 32 gags hilarants de Boule et Bill - A l'école ... vite! 1999
Movie
In 2013 Boule and Bill produced a film entitled Boule & Bill - Zwei Freunde Schnief und Schnuff (French: Boule et Bill - un film de wouf ), which was also released in German on March 12, 2015. The main role was played by Charles Crombez .
A second part is currently being worked on.
Web links
- Official website (French)
- List of Boule et Bill publications in Spirou magazine (French)
- List of German-language publications by Boule et Bill
Remarks
- ↑ Information and table of contents on the editions of Spirou in 1959