Gaston Lagaffe Gaston was hired - somewhat mysteriously - as an office junior at the offices of the
Journal de Spirou (the real-life publication in which the strip appeared), having wandered in cluelessly. The strip usually focuses on his efforts to avoid doing any work, and indulge instead in hobbies or naps while all around him panic over deadlines, lost mail and contracts. Initially, Gaston was an irritating
simpleton, but he developed a genial personality and a sense of humour. Common sense however always eludes him, and he has an almost supernatural ability to cause disasters ("gaffes") to which he reacts with his catchphrase: "M'enfin?!" ("What the...?"). His job involves chiefly dealing with readers' mail. The ever-growing piles of unanswered letters ("courrier en retard") and the attempts of Fantasio and Léon Prunelle to make him deal with it or to retrieve documentation are recurring themes of the comic. Gaston's age is a mystery – Franquin himself confessed that he neither knew nor indeed wanted to know it. Although Gaston has a job, a car and his own place, he often acts like a young teenager. In the publication of
Dossier Franquin Franquin had said that Gaston is a boy in his late teens but certainly not in his twenties. He is invariably dressed in a tight polo-necked green jumper and blue-jeans, and worn-out
espadrilles. It is said that his appearance was originally based on that of
Yvan Delporte, editor of the
Journal de Spirou at that time. Also, in his first gags, Gaston was an avid cigarette smoker, but his habit was slowly phased out. Gaston alternates between phases of extreme laziness, when it is near impossible to wake him up, and hyper-activity, when he creates various machines or plays with office furniture. Over the years, he has experimented with cooking, rocket science, music, electronics, decorating, telecommunication, chemistry and many other hobbies, all with uniformly catastrophic results. His
Peter Pan-like refusal to grow up and care about his work makes him very endearing, while his antics account for half the stress experienced by his unfortunate co-workers. Gaston's disregard for authority or even public safety are not confined to his office — they occasionally threaten the entire city. He is not above covering
road signs with advertising posters or even snowmen, reasoning that it is the only decent use that they have — being oblivious to the chaos and accidents that covering the road signs cause.
Gaston's pets Gaston is very fond of animals (as was Franquin of drawing them) and keeps several pets. The main ones are a depressed, aggressive
seagull and a hyperactive cat. Like Franquin's most famous animal creation, the
Marsupilami, those two never acquired a name and are just referred to as the cat and the seagull. Gaston also sometimes keeps a mouse (Cheese), and a goldfish (Bubulle). The animals are sometimes Gaston's partners in crime, sometimes the victims of his clumsiness and sometimes the perpetrators of nefarious schemes. They are depicted more realistically than the pets in
Spirou, in that we are not privy to their inner thoughts. The cat and seagull in particular can be fairly vicious, to the extent of forcing all employees and an unwilling De Mesmaeker to wear helmets, but never to Gaston himself. They often team up to obtain food. For example, in volume 14, the seagull distracts the
fishmonger while the cat steals a fish, which they later eat together.
The office co-workers Fantasio, a character originally hailing from the
Spirou et Fantasio series, is the first main supporting character and irritable
straight man to Gaston in the early part of the series. Franquin acknowledged with regret that he had totally destroyed the original clown-like personality of the character by using him in this role, which required him to be formal and businesslike and behave as an
authority figure. In
Gaston, instead of having adventures and doing some reporting, Fantasio has an editorial role in the magazine and, as such, is burdened with the impossible task of trying to make Gaston actually do some work. He is the main character's hierarchical superior, often seen trying to sign contracts with
Monsieur De Mesmaeker. His job in this series could be described as that of an office manager. In opposition to his role in
Spirou, in
Gaston, Fantasio was a comically serious character, a regular victim of Gaston's goofy antics who thus became to Fantasio what Fantasio is to Spirou. His seriousness and stress plays the opposite of Gaston's carefree and relaxed attitude towards life and work. Although he appears to be mostly on friendly terms with Gaston, his underling's chaotic behaviour often makes him lose his temper. On occasion, he becomes aggressive and tries to get even by pranking and hazing Gaston. By the time the album
Bravo les Brothers came out (which, while nominally a
Spirou et Fantasio story, was effectively hijacked by Gaston), it was decided that it was time for Fantasio to leave. When Fournier took over the
Spirou et Fantasio series in 1970, Fantasio was essentially removed from
Gaston. At first, he made the occasional guest appearance, even once returning to the office itself, his absence explained as being away in Champignac. Otherwise, from 1970 onwards, he gradually disappears from the series as Franquin abandoned
Spirou et Fantasio to devote himself solely to
Gaston, appearing for the last time in gag n ° 551 (and with a cameo in gag 662 as a prehistoric hunter). His role as the office's authority figure is completely taken over by
Léon Prunelle.
Spirou of
Spirou et Fantasio was a fairly major supporting character in the comic's very early days, though his role was quickly reduced to occasional appearances. He was on generally friendly terms with Gaston, sometimes trying to mediate between him and Fantasio, usually without much success. Like Fantasio, he vanished entirely from the comic when Franquin stopped drawing
Spirou et Fantasio.
Léon Prunelle, an editor at the
Journal de Spirou. He has black hair, a short beard and wears glasses. Originally a background character without much detail and a relatively calm demeanor, Prunelle eventually takes up the role of office supervisor when Fantasio is removed as a regular character. He is then revealed to be even more short-tempered than his predecessor from whom he has inherited not only the mammoth task of making Gaston work, but also the job of
signing contracts with important businessman Aimé De Mesmaeker (see below). Initially
optimistic about this, Prunelle slowly realizes that he cannot win. However he refuses to give up and sometimes resorts to drastic measures, such as locking up Gaston in the cellar or even a cupboard. Prunelle comes across as a tortured person who will end up having a
nervous breakdown from taking everything too seriously . Perpetually at the end of his tether, he is constantly running around barking angry orders, turns a nasty reddish purple when disaster strikes and regularly utters his trademark outburst
"Rogntudju!" (a mangled version of "Nom de Dieu", roughly the equivalent of "bloody hell", which was unacceptable in a children's comic when the strip was originally published). Often a victim of Gaston's inventions and projects, his efforts to counter his subordinate's laziness and carefree attitude leave him at the brink of exhaustion and violent rage attacks. A large portion of Prunelle's time is spent chasing Gaston around and to remind him that he has to deal with late mail, prevent him from taking unnecessary naps or breaks and to stop him from using office hours for cooking, tinkering, inventing and, of course, goofing around. In short, Prunelle's role is that of the comically ineffective authority figure, constantly frustrated by Gaston's shenanigans. Occasionally, he manages to turn the tables on Gaston, preventing him from causing chaos or actually pranking him and showing that he is not without a sense of humor.
Yves Lebrac, (first presented with the name
Yvon Lebrac), an in-house cartoonist, is comparatively laid-back. He is fond of puns and we see him woo (and eventually win) one of the attractive secretary girls over the course of the series. Although mostly on good terms with Gaston (unlike Prunelle), he occasionally loses his temper when deadlines loom and Gaston's interference becomes too much. When not a victim of "gaffes", he is a lenient comrade of Gaston, and the character with which Franquin himself most identified.
Joseph Boulier, a surly accountant for
Éditions Dupuis, the publishers of the magazine. He states that he will not rest until he has tracked down every useless expense in the company, and in particular those of Gaston. However, his attempts to cause Gaston grief backfire in spectacular ways. He represents the more serious side of the comics publishing business.
Mademoiselle Jeanne ("M'oiselle Jeanne" to Gaston), one of the magazine's secretaries, is Gaston's love interest. A short redhead with freckles, glasses, a conservative dress style and very long hair, she was first depicted as comically unattractive in a gag where Gaston needs a partner for the back end of his pantomime horse costume and chooses Jeanne because of her ponytail. However, in the following appearances, she increasingly becomes prettier and more attractive, if never really a conventional beauty queen: her body changes from pear-shaped to curvaceous, she pays more attention to her makeup and her long hair, her dress style gradually switches to modern (and often revealing) outfits and she becomes more confident in her interactions with Gaston and other characters. Jeanne is a perfect match for Gaston. She wholeheartedly admires his talent, courage and inventiveness and is utterly oblivious to his lack of common sense — of which she herself has fairly little. However their courtship seems perpetually stuck at the very first step. They address each other with the formal
vous and as "Mister" and "Miss" and see each other mainly at the office — though they have the occasional outing together. This
platonic relationship, in a way, is in keeping with Gaston's refusal or inability to grow up. It is revealed in the album
En direct de la gaffe that Jeanne is
color blind: she can't tell green from red. She also still lives with her mother and, although it is assumed that she is well beyond her teens, is shown
grounded after a row. As the comic strip progresses, Gaston's love for Jeanne becomes more obvious. During his office naps, his daydreams about her become increasingly explicit and erotically charged. In one of the series' final stories, Gaston and Jeanne are actually seen holding hands in public, hinting at a more intimate and serious relationship. To the dismay of critics, Franquin only sporadically actually drew them naked, with Gaston in a state of arousal, on several unpublished sketches and commercially unavailable greeting cards.
Monsieur Dupuis (the real-life publisher Jean Dupuis) himself has made two appearances - both times we only see his legs. Spirou is also staffed by the
Van Schrijfboek brothers: the mustached translator
Bertje and the red-haired editor
Jef, cleaning lady
Mélanie Molaire (who always fumes at the mess left by Gaston and which she has to clean up), concierge
Jules Soutier, and a string of attractive secretaries named
Sonia (who is constantly handing in her notice),
Yvonne and
Suzanne. Occasionally, real-life figures from the Journal de Spirou (such as editor
Yvan Delporte or writer
Raoul Cauvin) have cameos.
Friends Jules-de-chez-Smith-en-face (Jules-from-Smith's-across-the-street) is one of Gaston's friends. He "works" (much in the same way as Gaston "works") in the office just across the street from the
Journal de Spirou, prompting countless attempts at cross-street communication via
walkie-talkie, flash card, carrier seagull, etc. Jules shares Gaston's childish enthusiasm, and is his
sidekick in many ventures. Although they are close, Jules addresses Gaston as "Lagaffe".
Bertrand Labévue is another of Gaston's friends/sidekicks, and (in translated editions) also his cousin. As his name indicates (
bévue means "blunder"), he shares Gaston's tendency to goof up. Bertrand suffers from acute depression, mirroring Franquin's own problems with the illness, and Gaston and Jules do their best to cheer him up with food, country drives and other things (all of which backfire comically).
Manu is another friend, who regularly turns up in different jobs (like Bert in
Mary Poppins):
chimney sweep, sewer worker, installer of street signage... He also partakes in Gaston's schemes to irritate
Longtarin, the policeman.
Foes Aimé De Mesmaeker is a rich businessman; we know that he owns a private jet (until Gaston destroys it) and that his oldest daughter drives an
Alfa Romeo. His precise line of business is unknown, but he is repeatedly lured into the offices of
Spirou by Fantasio or Prunelle in order to
sign some lucrative contracts. De Mesmaeker has developed a deep loathing for Gaston and by extension his colleagues. His frequent visits allow Franquin to satirise business rituals, as Dupuis's employees shower him with attention, complimentary drinks and cigars, but De Mesmaeker almost inevitably ends up storming out of the offices, swearing never to set foot in them again, passed out on the floor or even in hospital due to Gaston's catastrophic blunders. De Mesmaeker is named after Jean De Mesmaeker (known as
Jidéhem from the French pronunciation of his initials J.D.M.), Franquin's collaborator on the series; he remarked that the character looked like his own father. The real-life Mr De Mesmaeker Sr — actually a salesman — soon found that, as Gaston's strip became increasingly popular, concluding a deal would result in the client asking, "Where are the contracts?" (a recurring catchphrase in the comics).
Joseph Longtarin ("long nose") is a
policeman working in the neighbourhood where the offices of
Spirou are located. One of his particular responsibilities is to handle traffic and illegal parking. An exceptionally petty and vengeful man, he is the closest thing the series has to a villain. He is one of Gaston's favorite "victims" as well as his nemesis. The two clash continually over Gaston's car and parking habits. Gaston retaliates for Longtarin's repeated attempts to ticket him by wreaking havoc on the neighbourhood's
parking meters (not just a bugbear of Gaston, but of André Franquin too). He pulls off other pranks, such as putting a small effigy of Longtarin on the front of his car, in a parody of the Rolls-Royce
Spirit of Ecstasy.
Ducran & Lapoigne (“Courage & Stronghold”) is an engineering firm (specializing in steel bridges) whose offices neighbour those of Dupuis. This company is also a frequent victim of Lagaffe's mishaps and Fantasio or Prunelle often bear the brunt of Ducran and Lapoigne's anger—both of them being big muscular men, as their names suggest.
Freddy-les-doigts-de-fée ("fairy-fingered Freddy") is a burglar. His occasional break-ins at
Spirou are always foiled accidentally by Gaston, who tends to inadvertently leave dangerous objects, devices or pets around the office. Workers at
Spirou see Freddy as a fellow victim of Gaston, and, instead of turning him in to the police, offer him comfort and freebies when they find him in the morning. == Props, inventions and other running gags ==