On 23rd January 1930, a child from Brussels called Quick appeared in the pages of Le Petit Vingtième. Every Thursday, he promised himself on the cover, “I'll be here to tell you what happened to me during the week”. Le Petit Vingtième was the weekly children's supplement published since 1928 by the daily newspaper Le XXe Siècle. Tintin, who had been a fixture for just over a year now, will no longer be the only comic strip artist in this publication. The exploits of Quick and Flupke continued on an almost weekly basis until 1935, and then on a less regular basis until 1940
The gags in this ironic and gently disrespectful series are usually spread over a double page, with a specific humour that contrasts with the more realistic fantasy of Tintin. Quick and Flupke soon find themselves pitted against one or other of the local constables, helmeted in white and wearing a large dark cape, as befits the representatives of Brussels law and order. One is hit by a jet of water manipulated by Quick, another by a crazy car set in motion by the same rascal. A third suffers the gust of wind created by Flupke using bellows...
One of the policemen our Brussels kids come up against is a big, strapping officer with a moustache like a conqueror, and a smug look on his face. He will be the designated victim, the favourite whipping boy of the two rascals. This partner of choice will be fleetingly identified by his real name (Agent Vertommen) before passing into posterity as Agent 15... once Hergé has taken the trouble to legibly inscribe his serial number on the collar of his cape
Some 310 Quick and Flupke gags appeared in Le Petit Vingtième. Hergé would go on to create several more, both in Le Soir during the war and in the weekly Tintin magazine in the 1950’s.
Five black-and-white books were published before the war, the first two by Editions du Petit Vingtième, the others by Casterman. Eleven small-format books in colour were published by Casterman between 1949 and 1969. All are highly sought-after by collectors today. More recently, all this graphic material has been adapted to the same format as the Tintin books, so that there are currently twelve books available.
The 11 books of The Exploits of Quick and Flupke
It should also be noted that in 1984, The Exploits of Quick and Flupke were adapted into cartoons for television. Some two hundred and sixty one-minute stand-alone films were made. They have since been broadcast in around twenty countries..
Quick & Flupke cartoon and video
