More than twenty-six years after the death of its creator, Franquin, Gaston Lagaffe still does not know if he will one day find the boards of a new comic strip. His fate is blocked by a dispute between Dupuis editions and the designer’s daughter, who have requested private arbitration.
“The principle of a resurrection of Gaston is lawful, but [the editions] Dupuis and Dargaud-Lombard did not respect the contractual process of approval and Isabelle Franquin always has the right to put forward her observations”, explained, Tuesday, May 30 in the evening, Ms. Franquin’s lawyers announcing the decision.
In March 2022, at the Angoulême Festival, Dupuis created an event in the world of Franco-Belgian comics by announcing the forthcoming release of a new album of the adventures of Lagaffe, entitled Le Retour de Lagaffe, under the pencil of the Canadian cartoonist Marc Delafontaine (alias Delaf).
But that was without taking into account the pugnacity of Isabelle Franquin, daughter and sole beneficiary of the cartoonist André Franquin, who died in 1997. Refusing to allow her father’s star character to live again in the guise of another cartoonist, the latter seized the justice in Belgium. She first obtained, in the context of an interim action a year ago, the suspension of the publication of the Return, initially scheduled for October 2022.
Dupuis then undertook not to publish a new album until the dispute was settled on the merits by private arbitration, in this case a Brussels lawyer chosen by the two parties.
“Inalienable Moral Right”
Dupuis editions believe that they own the economic rights to Franquin’s characters, through the acquisition in 2013 of the company Marsu Productions with which the creator of Lagaffe had concluded a transfer agreement in 1992. For her part, Isabelle Franquin argued that his father himself “in no way wanted Gaston Lagaffe to be taken over by another cartoonist after his death”. It is “an inalienable moral right” that she can exercise, her lawyer Martine Berwette insisted in May 2022.
Ultimately, the arbitration, a procedure that is not subject to appeal, concludes that Lagaffe can be reborn “provided that Isabelle Franquin’s prior approval is sought in the forms provided for in a contract concluded between the parties in 2016” .
“Gaston’s project by Delaf was not approved by Isabelle Franquin” and “the moral right” exercised by the latter “spring intact”, is it stipulated. “His agreement is essential for any new creation, including the choice of the author”, insists the arbitrator according to the press release, which specifies that “any refusal on his part must be justified by ethical or artistic reasons. “.
