Review by Karl Verhoven

Because almost every Spirou and Fantasio album translated by Cinebook is over 35 years old at the very least, there’s an impression of the characters inhabiting a deliberately nostalgic cosy neverland. It’s underlined by Spirou himself so often still wearing his 1930s bellboy uniform. The fantasy setting of Fabien Vehlmann’s earlier Attack of the Zordolts served to disguise his modern approach. In the Clutches of the Viper therefore comes as a surprise by being resolutely contemporary, which of course was always the case over the years.

The Viper is the name used by a rapacious financial investor, so rich he owns his own private island, and who maintains his position by aggressive legal action against anyone who disagrees with him. Like most middle-aged men, though, he has a longing for the comforts of childhood, and buying Spirou comic isn’t enough to scratch a particular itch, so he buys Spirou himself. This is via dubious means, but as stated, holding up people in court for years is a speciality.

Vehlmann writes an utterly odious Viper. “Your own name is nothing more than one of Viper’s many brands now”, he informs Spirou, “and any public appearance by you will have to be approved by our board of directors”. The Viper is greed unrestrained in world where only he matters, but Yoann’s visual representation doesn’t bring any of the obvious real world suspects to mind, and their profile was lower in 2013 when the overseas version was issued, so he’s a representation of a type. However, Vehlmann is rather messing with timelines as the Viper remembers Spirou from his youth, yet Spirou remains youthful. It’s further emphasised by the appearance of a now old former detective whose exploits the younger Spirou once read about. The feeling is of Vehlmann and Yoann extrapolating the future for a character known to Belgian and French readers, and they certainly run with that theme for a guy in a bat costume.

Once the nefarious plot has been laid out, Spirou needs to escape, but the contact he’s signed forbids it, so there’s a chase around France showcasing familiar venues all beautifully rendered by the talented Yoann. Fantasio’s presence is minimal, but Vehlmann likes the character of Cellophine, who’s as resourceful as Spirou himself, and there’s an ever larger role for Spip the squirrel, now commenting on matters.

There’s real malevolence here, not just the Viper, and betrayal also features, so this isn’t quite the amiable Spirou and Fantasio of the past, but it’s a cracking adventure with an appropriate resolution.