The day after an arbitration award rendered in Brussels, the historical publisher of the Belgian comic strip said Wednesday to have "definitively" closed the dispute opposing him for a year to Ms. Franquin.

A version slightly nuanced by the lawyers of the latter, even if one of them told AFP "not to question the principle of the resurrection of Gaston".

At the heart of the dispute that erupted in the spring of last year: the possibility for a third party to draw a sequel to the adventures of the famous anti-hero blunderer created in 1957 by André Franquin (1924-1997).

Upon learning that Dupuis has entrusted this mission to Delaf for an album release scheduled for October 2022, and that some plates will be quickly pre-published in the Journal de Spirou, Franquin's daughter and sole beneficiary has taken legal action in Belgium.

She argues that she exercises "an inalienable moral right" stemming from her father's statements that "he did not want Gaston Lagaffe to be taken over by another cartoonist after his death". The 21 albums published to date (excluding reissues) were all signed by Franquin during his lifetime.

If a first gag by Gaston Lagaffe drawn by Delaf (real name Marc Delafontaine) appears in March 2022, the summary proceedings in Brussels have the consequence of suspending other pre-publications.

And, under pressure, Dupuis announced in May 2022 to give up the release of the new album. The time that the dispute is settled on the merits by an arbitration procedure, entrusted to a Brussels lawyer appointed by mutual agreement between the two parties.

Nine months after the pleadings before this "arbitrator", the award finally fell Tuesday night.

It authorizes the principle of a sequel to the adventures of Lagaffe, provided that Isabelle Franquin is consulted before any publication. She must be able to "exercise the moral right of her father" and "communicate any remarks based on ethical or artistic reasons," according to excerpts from the decision released to AFP.

"Unrivalled creator"

For Dupuis, who has always ensured that he benefits from Franquin's economic rights (via the acquisition of Marsu Productions), this is the door open to the release of the album already completed by Delaf.

The latter assured to "welcome" the arbitration.

"I look forward to sharing the fruit of my work (...) I hope that by closing the album, readers will feel all the love and respect I have for Gaston and his incomparable creator André Franquin, "said the Quebec cartoonist, quoted in a statement from the publisher.

The new Lagaffe should be published "soon, if possible by the end of the year," a spokeswoman for Dupuis in Belgium told AFP.

Alain Berenboom, the publisher's lawyer, considered that the limits set by the arbitration only applied to possible future albums after this first opus signed Delaf.

To say that "the edition, publication and marketing of the album +Le Retour de Lagaffe + drawn and scripted by Delaf, is lawful" (as stipulated in the decision, editor's note), "it means that this one can be put in press and sold," assured Me Berenboom.

Provided that Isabelle Franquin can see "the definitive boards" of the Quebecer, nuanced his lawyer Claude Katz, also joined by AFP.

"We do not have the will to go back into a dispute, but Ms. Franquin can only approve what she has seen," said Mr. Katz.

He explained that since December 2021 the daughter of André Franquin had only been presented with "forty boards at various stages of their finishing".

© 2023 AFP