The Bad Head

This day started quite normally, but if Spirou had known what drama it would bring, he would surely have noticed many alarming details. In the morning, Fantasio met him in a terrible state of agitation – he had lost six passport photos. Then, on the forest road behind the tennis court of the neighboring house, where a new tenant had recently moved in, Spirou found one of Fantasio's missing photos. In the evening, Spirou saw Fantasio in the company of the new neighbor, but upon noticing Spirou, they, for some reason, hurried to dissolve into the crowd. Soon, Spirou heard a scream for help coming from the jewelry store. He rushed in and found himself at the crime scene. Following the police, Fantasio arrived there, and the shop owner identified him as the robber who had attacked him. To the police commissioner, Fantasio said he was at home when his friend Spirou called him to inform about the robbery, suggesting to make a report on the hot trail. But Spirou hadn't called anyone... And in the evening news, Spirou horrifiedly saw Fantasio stealing the golden mask of the Egyptian queen in the Historical Museum live on air! It was no surprise that after all this, Fantasio found himself in the dock. He faced prison, and only Spirou could prove that his friend was innocent…

The lively boy Spirou in a bright red groom's costume, who first appeared on the cover of the eponymous magazine in 1938, is a true legend of the Franco-Belgian comic. For 85 years, together with his friend, tireless journalist Fantasio, and his faithful companion, a clever squirrel named Spip, he has been traveling the world, investigating mysterious events, rescuing those in trouble, restoring justice, and punishing villains, while making thousands of amazing discoveries along the way. The series about his adventures counts over 50 volumes, and the opportunity to draw at least one story about Spirou is an honor for the best comic artists in Europe.

The most important event in Spirou's fate is the meeting with André Franquin (1924–1997). The talented artist worked on the series for almost a quarter of a century and elevated it to the masterpiece level of the 9th art. For the first time, eight of Franquin's best albums are being released in Russian, including “Spirou and the Heirs,” “The Marsupilami Thieves,” “The Bad Head,” “The Moray Eel's Lair,” “The Marsupilami's Nest.”