About true friendship – review of the comic book “Ptyś i Bill. Bill’s games “vol. 8

The friendship theme is often used by comic book makers. The relationship between humans and animals is especially popular. The picture story Ptyś and Bill is one of such songs – the friendship between a boy and a merry spaniel is priceless!

Self-presentation

Jean Roba, Belgian screenwriter and illustrator (including Sprycjan and Fantazjusz , La Ribambelle ), is responsible for comics about little Puff (or Boule ) and his charming spaniel Bill. The notebooks were published between 1959 and 2001 and ensured the author international fame. In 2003, Laurent Verron took over the work on the series, creating stories based on multi-author scripts, and then Christophe Cazenove and Jean Bastide took care of the comic. It should not be concealed that the comic is inspired by the Peanutshowever, the writer’s experience is also significant. Importantly, we could also get to know the adventures of the heroes in animated series (from 1975, 2005, 2015), as well as feature films (from 2013 and 2017) and computer games (2004-2008). Since 2018, the Egmont publishing house has been involved in publishing collective volumes that make up one- and several-sheet stories.

Meanwhile abroad

It is not easy to gain recognition from Francophone comic book readers … So many fantastic series have been created over the years (you can even mention Asterix , Tintin or Lucky Luke ). In the latest comic, published by Egmont in 2021, three original volumes were collected: Dog Life , Attention, Happy Dog! and Bill’s Play. The title characters spend a lot of time together – playing pranks together with adults, watching football matches, looking for four-leaf clovers and flying kites. The gags that appear in the comic are related to everyday situations in Ptysie and Bill’s lives, which makes them universal and entertaining us all the time! However, there is a chance that you will not enjoy all of the stories equally, but I think this is a minor drawback of the series!

Sentimental

The comic book about Puff and Bill has been honored twice at the International Comic Book Festival in Angoulême: in 1978 as the best foreign comic, and in 1981 as the best comic for children. Indeed, the Francophone picture story about the adventures of a spaniel and its owner is unique in many ways. First of all, it is published regularly, so readers – both small and large – can regularly read about the new adventures of their favorite heroes. It is also worth paying attention to the lightness and freedom in creating stories – the lives of Ptysio and Bill are filled with funny situations, and the dynamics of these stories do not allow the reader to get bored. The graphics are also captivating with their cartoon character, and the colors harmonize with the screenwriter’s concept.