Review by Frank Plowright

Although first published as a collection in 1960, ‘The Visitor From the Mesozoic’ was serialised in Spirou during 1956. Either way, then the idea of a dinosaur rampaging through the present day was a lot more original than it might seem after the Jurassic Park films. However, given the nature of Spirou and Fantasio stories as knockabout comedy, André Franquin’s approach differs greatly from the tension of the films. His version of the dangers is every bit as farcical as the goofy looking dinosaur with coloured spots he draws.

The way the story unfolds indicates the original serialised form of a couple of pages a week, each needing to end on a cliffhanger or be the culmination of a joke. It opens with a search party in the Arctic looking for the Count de Champignac, whose radio broadcasts during an exploration have ceased, and Franquin conceiving yet another nutty invention put to practical use. Champignac returns with a frozen dinosaur egg, and along with Spirou and Fantasio he contacts assorted other scientific boffins to witness the hatching. They’re a ridiculously abstracted bunch, beautifully characterised as considering only science, not possibilities, exemplified on the sample page where they mourn the passing of atomic scientist Sprtschk only for the loss of his terrible work. The gag is heightened by his solving the final problem just before he’s eaten.

When the dinosaur hatches, Franquin ensures it grows rapidly for maximum comic potential, has fun providing an incompetent army, has a good part for the Marsupilami, and builds to a sentimental ending. The result is a series of masterfully staged comedy set pieces in preference to an in-depth plot, but Franquin’s cartooning is amazing, maximising the potential of his choreographed jokes.

His art is every bit as accomplished on a shorter second story, also crediting Jidéhem for backgrounds. His real name is Jean De Mesmaeker, which may be recognised by Gomer Goof fans. ‘Fear on the Line’ is written by Greg (Michel Regnier), who would become a Franco-Belgian comics legend, but who was then just starting out. It concerns Champignac drinking one of his potions by mistake and going nuts. While it captures the slapstick mood of the strips, it lacks Franquin’s comedy finesse, so isn’t as satisfying overall.

All this, however, is analysing for adults, whereas it’s likely the kids of today will enjoy The Visitor From the Mesozoic every bit as much as their 1950s counterparts.