The Dictator and the Mushroom

Spirou and Fantasio flight against a military dictatorship After the Marsupilami causes a series of disasters, Spirou and Fantasio finally resolve to bring the strange animal back to its birth place, Palombia. Unfortunately, it's a nation in turmoil they find upon their arrival. The military is all-powerful, rumours of impending war are growing and a ruthless tyrant has seized power. To counter the dictator's plans, the two adventurers' only weapon is the Count of Champignac's latest outrageous invention: a mushroom extract that makes metals go soft...

A Belgian cartoonist from the Golden Age of comics, André Franquin was as important and influential throughout his career as Hergé, moulding and training dozens of artists through his long years at Spirou magazine. In his 20 years at the helm of "Spirou and Fantasio," creator of their fantastical friend the Marsupilami, he was also the father of one of the most beloved anti-heroes of European comics, Gaston Lagaffe, as well as the delightfully dark and sarcastic "Idées Noires." As a sign of his popularity, he received the very first Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulčme in 1974.