Pauvre Lampil et la « décadence » de la BD belge : la souffrance de l’artiste de nos jours racontée sous forme de gags

Abstract

Poor Lampil could have been one of the most emblematic Belgian series when it comes to the humour and the smooth self-irony of the duo Cauvin — Lambil, if only it would have been as internationally known as The Blue Tunics. How can we explain the fact that Poor Lampil, which is often described as simple and minimalist with short episodes and easily comprehensible final gags, is almost unknown beyond Belgian borders? This article will be devoted to the analysis of the plot which, despite its a priori humorous character, successfully unveils real conditions on the French-language comic book market. Thanks to the fact that the series ran for almost forty years, the adventures of Lampil describe not only the crisis of Belgian ninth art in the 1970s, partly caused by growing popularity of French comic books and magazines, but also the problematic 1980s when even the French hegemon found itself in trouble.

Keywords

• comics
• belgian comics
• raoul cauvin
• willy lambil