Small size

A “small size” is a booklet of Cartoon sold at a cheap rate and published in a format of Poche (in general 13 X 18 cm), generally in Noir and white.

History

Origins

The first “small size” was published in April 1949 by the editions Vaillant , it was entitled 34 because it counted 34 pages. Thereafter, its name became 34 Camera , then Camera . Although Valiant barrel the precursor of this type of reviews, it did not exploit the “seam”, quite to the contrary. 34 remained the only small size of the editor.

At that time, the magazines were either with the format newspaper with stories to follow ( Journal of Mickey , Spirou , My Newspaper etc), or with the smaller format with the Frenchwoman with complete accounts . So much so that this term became their generic name. The principal editors of the time had theirs: Fantax at Chott, Diavolo , Brik or Yak at Adventures & Voyages , Rodeo or Plutos at Lug, Future World or Sidereal at Artima etc

It is Impéria which decided to be engulfed in the breach with Superboy (which has nothing to do with young Superman). At the beginning, like 34 , the cartoon was not majority there and the editorial one had the good share there, but the success of the formula made followers among competition. Lug, Adventures & Voyages, Impéria pass all their production to this more practical format for the young people. Especially that the time dedicated the magazines with the gémonies and that they generally had to be read in hiding-place.

The “golden age”

The Fifties transfer the transition from the Complete Accounts to the Small sizes. Those knew their apogee during the two following decades. The " term; Small Format" was not used at the time: one spoke then about magazines. Today, his acronym is frequently used: PF.

The kiosks of the time abounded in these reviews to the all the more multi-coloured covers as the contents were in black and white: one found there more than fifty different booklets. The children devoured these magazines in spite of the reprobation (even prohibition) of the adults. Certain high-speed motorboats evoke even these a little ashamed readings, like Eddy Mitchell or the humorist Jamel with the turning of an interview. In Hero of paper , the writer Guy Darol tells the influence of the small sizes in his literary formation. Today still, some names remain in the unconscious collective, like Akim, Zembla, Blek, Capt' Ain Swing, Tartine or Pépito.

Pullings were exceptional and would make dream any current editor. Akim or Capt' Ain Swing drew with more than 200.000 specimens each month, Rodéo, Blek or Zembla was not far either. If one cumulates over one year with the number of sold booklets, that represented tens of million sold cartoons.

The editors initially made work of the French authors before turning quickly to the labor Italian or Spanish less expensive or worms of the imports of foreign bands. There still, Italy and Spain cut the lions share, but England held a good place to with it also.

In spite of this success, or perhaps because of him, this kind of cartoon was always scorned by the critics and specialists in the cartoon. Gerard Thomassian was one of the first studied the kind seriously and with much of meticulousness. Henri Filipini systematically integrated the PF within his various dictionaries or encyclopedias of cartoon. These two people have nevertheless the appearance of an exception.

End?

The Eighties marked the long decline of this type of cartoon. Jeunesse and Vacances stopped in 1981 while Impéria published almost nothing any more but republications and that Lug was directed towards the supermen of Marvel. The other editors removed the least profitable reviews regularly and the kiosks transfer to disappear these cartoon from pocket. On 1991, Adventures & Journeys firm shop. It does not remain any more whereas Semic which took again the activity of Lug, but only for some reviews: Rodeo, Special Rodeo, Kiwi and Special Zembla.

In 1994, My Newspaper Multimedia revival Akim and Capt' Ain Swing by republishing its old booklets. In 2000, there will be even a transitory attempt to start again Ivanhoé which will last only the time of 10 numbers.

At Sémic also, a new generation nourished with the PF (and the comics) was tested there without success. Thierry Mornet and his band started again Fantask , then Yuma in vain. In December 2003, the nonrenewal of the rights of publication of the characters Bonelli (Tex, Zagor, Martin Mystery etc) definitively sealed the fate of the pockets of the editor. In March 2004, it is new Akim which ceases its publication after 120 numbers.

Today, only Capt' Ain Swing at My republishing Newspaper of old adventures of the character remains. For how long?

When the origin of this disaffection is asked for, the main arguments are the omnipresence of television and the video games, but also the obsolete format and the black and white which the young readers do not like any more.

Paradoxically, the style of cartoon who has the wheel in motion is the Manga which appears in pocket format and black and white. These two characteristics being even presented like assets by the specialists in the mangas.

Contents

So in the beginning, the PF contained primarily French creation, the situation quickly evolved to a massive importation of foreign bands coming from Italy, of Spain, the USA or England (mainly).

Italy and the Fumetti

Fumetti is the name given in Italy to the cartoons. Fumetti means smoked in reference to the aspect of the bubbles being used to make speak the characters. Italy was incontestably the largest provider of the reviews small size. So in Italy, the format pocket exists ( Alan Ford or Diabolik for example), the majority of the reviews initially left in the years 1950 and 1960 with the format have strisce more known under the name of format with Italian the with only one band of drawing than it was necessary to go up to constitute more traditional pages. There also exists, of the 1958, a format called Bonelli of the name of the editor who imposed it. Larger than a traditional PF, it is of 16x21 cm. Majority of the editors deciding to reproduce the boards by reducing them slightly. If Italy seems to also undergo a crisis, the cartoon of kiosks is still flourishing there, with the detriment of the market of the albums which is still embryonic there.

The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom was different the large market of importation for the PF. And this, through the two large editors of the country: Fleetway and cd. Thomson . There low also, the pocket format exists, but it minority, is reserved for reviews of war in particular as War which one will find mainly at Impéria in France. The remainder of the production is done with the format newspaper with a paper with the endorsement. One finds there the principal reviews providers of the PF: Valiant , Lion , Tiger , Eagle , Battle , Buster etc

Their passage to the small size then required a complete reassembly of the boards and to sometimes even redraw part of the reassembled boxes. It is besides for this reason that Lug did not use a material British in its reviews.

Spain: Tebeos

In this country, the popular cartoon takes the name of Tebeo which is drawn from the first great review of local cartoon: TBO . Spain will be large producing of cartoon in years 50-60 with multiple reviews which one will find in PF. Their intermediate format (24 X 19 cm) being rather easily adaptable.

The end of the Franquisme will mark a rather clear rupture with the contribution of cartoons external and more freedom in creation, which will mark the end of the majority of Tebeo to the profit of a more inventive and diversified cartoon. The large Iberian characters are Capitan Trueno , El Jabato , El guerreiro del Antifaz in the realistic kind and Mortadelo there Filemon into humorous. These four bands being published at Adventures & Voyages.

Others

the USA also exported many bands in France, but the commission of censure was not very accessible what limited the range of it. It was necessary to wait end of the year 60, but especially years 70-80 to see the massive arrival of the Comics (name of the cartoon in the United States) in our country with Lug , but also Arédit-Artima .

The other countries had only crumbs. The Germany sent to us some bandage like Tibor Hans-Rudi Wäscher or Perry fantastic the , but that remains marginal. The Netherlands also, even if one retains the version of archie the robot signed Bert Bus or some characters like Tom Pouce of Marten Toonder.

Censure

The commission of Censure and the Loi of 1949 concerning the publications for youth are indissociable History of the PF. Many reviews ceased their publications because of them ( Fantax, Strange, Fantask as well as multiple booklets Elvifrance etc) and the whole of the production car-censured in a drastic way to avoid any problem with this famous commission.

Many amateurs of comic strip have more or less aberrant examples of censure at the head as that which decided death of Fantask under the pretext (fallacious?) colors too sharp for the eyes of the young children. It should be known that the decisions of this commission was not only dictated by the wellbeing of our expensive blond . There were also more political considerations tending to censure the publications of origin foreign and more particularly those coming from the USA. Protectionism or anti-Americanism? The answer is not easy, but the result was that many stories were charcutées to pass between the meshs of the net of the Censure. At Lug, a complete studio retouchers worked there full-time. It is also thanks to that Jean-Yves Mitton and Ciro Tota started their careers.

Editors

The “golden age” of this mode of diffusion and popular expression is between the years 1950 and 1980. During this period, many editors published this type of publication, among which:

NB: The list above is not exhaustive…

Collectors

Who are the collectors small sizes? In general, they are old men from 30 to 70 years. The large of the troop ranging between 40 and 60 years. Nostalgic of another time, the PF are an excellent point of anchoring with their positive heroes and the values proposed morals. Attention, it is not a question to generalize because each collector is single, but to release from the broad outlines of convergence.

  • does the reader of PF read another thing? Generally, yes. Indeed, for the majority of them, the reading and the collection of the PF are a return on their childhood as well as the abandonment of these booklets had been lived like a passage at the adulthood. Meanwhile, this reader will have forged other tastes and centers of interests. Bédéphile in the heart, the Franco-Belgian cartoon will often form part of its luggage. The thirty yearones will have lived the arrival of Strange and will read (or will have read) youngest comics the U.S. of them will go even grapiller at the mangas.

  • Which especially the pocketophile collects? Greatest successes of sale of course among are snuffed: Capt' Ain Swing, Blek /Kiwi, Rodeo for Tex, Pépito etc Then, one finds also the aficionado of a particular author in search of an improbable integral. In this register, Magnus has a certain dimension, more especially as it was published in small size in a string of different reviews. Others will seek works of Alfonso Font, Jack Kirby, Jean Cézard or of Kurt Caesar. In short, one can affirm that almost all is collected, even if certain editors are snuffed (Lug, My Newspaper, Arédit-Artima, Elvifrance…)

  • Pourquoi there is if few women? Because the pocketophiles are dreadful mysogines? A priori, not more than in the remainder of the population, but it would seem that the collectionnite touches more the men than the women. If it is added that the majority of the PF were rather intended to the boys, it seems logical that the effect Madeleine de Proust plays more on the male race. Moreover, the reviews for girls among are collected.

  • I am young and I want to read some, it is possible? Yes, but for this reason, you would belong to the exceptions. Perhaps is your father itself an enthusiastic collector?

Dimensions

Following the example other cartoons, the Small sizes are collected and their periodic nature founds the original edition as the quasi-absolute rule. Put besides some numbers very rare like Zembla N°1, Rodeo N°43 or Strange N°1, there are no republications.

BDM

This work remains in spite of criticisms like the reference book of all the merchants and collectors of cartoon. For this reason, these dimensions appear at the very least impossible to circumvent, but its section Small sizes is confined with the adequate portion and one even speaks to remove it. With about fifteen pages which are reserved for them, impossible to list the thousands of different booklets and even less to dimension them. The PF sides with the BDM thus remain the exception.

50 years of Small sizes

This work in two volumes of Pierre Caillens details the unit (or almost) PF by giving for each one a dimension. Useful, but the work is old (1993) and the dimensions were not reactualized. The author specifies moreover in his preamble that it is about the last edition of the work…

The Site of bidding on Internet

Ebay , Aucland and consors makes it possible to have instantaneous value of a cartoon, but they present also the risk to show an image distorted by a handle of fortunate collectors involving the dimension towards tops not having more anything to see with reality.

The dimensions amateures

Certain sites like Comicsvf , Universe Comics or others present a personal dimension. These dimensions are interesting, but they relate to mainly the comics , therefore the PF concerned are especially those having published this kind of cartoons. There is thus a lack to fill as regards dimensions of PF. Remain that, this kind of dimensions has the defect to be little or not recognized professionals.

A definition?

It could appear incongruous to raise the question because the answer seems obvious, but each definition brings its batch of exceptions or counterexamples. As it is specified in preamble, a small size, it is a cartoon of pocket (format 13x18 cm) in black and white.

Let us take the last point for example. If the vast majority of the PF is declined in black and white, there exist many examples making exception. Thus the review Blek takes again it colors the adventures of the hero titles appeared into monochromic in Kiwi . Pépito , Slice of bread and well of others also left colors without it coming to mind from whoever to remove the statute of PF to them. Therefore, even if the black and white are largely majority, the color does not remove the qualifier of PF.

On the first point (format 13x18 cm), the situation is contrasted. Indeed, there exists quantity of reviews smaller than this format like Andar or Banko with the editions of the Rampart, My Newspaper reduced to 12x17 cm the format of these reviews space the one year, however, there too, no doubt about the category including these cartoons. The situation becomes complicated when one evokes the pocket the Valiant one. Conk Pocket , Placid and Muzo pocket with the square format near to are Banko PF?

If one refers to their size, no doubt, the answer is yes. However, the collectors of these reviews are not those buying of the PF, then?

Although the name of these cartoons is explicitly attached to their (small) size, the format would not be the only criterion. Thus Akim Color , slightly larger, but containing the adventures of Akim would not be PF? Super Swing also whereas it tells the adventures of Capt' Ain of the same name?

Some do not hesitate to transfer the reviews exceeding a certain size in the category Moyen Format or Large size . If that appears numerically logical, that has the annoying disadvantage of partitioning bands rigorously collected by the same people. That is also the wrong to divide the cartoons of kiosks in multiple completely unknown categories of the general public. However, that a classification is worth if it is taken again by nobody?

Let us study for example some reference books to have their opinions.

  • First of them, BDM (argus of the cartoon) separates the cartoon in 4 principal categories: hard-bound albums, Complete newspapers, Accounts and Small sizes. In this last category, one finds also Strange , Titans and other reviews exceeding traditional the 13x18 cm. Often criticized, the BDM remains despite everything a reference as regards cartoon.
  • 50 years of small sizes of Pierre Caillens separates the small sizes from the Modern Complete Récits (which gather all that exceeds ), but considers Akim Color or Super Swing among the PF in spite of their higher format. This approach is interesting, but I nowhere did not find elsewhere a trace of the concept of Modern Récits Complete , which is annoying.
  • the majority of the dictionaries or encyclopedias of the cartoon is unaware of the PF or the mixture with the remainder of the cartoon without distingo. They thus do not bring anything interesting to the debate.
  • Lastly, it there with the database of the Wolf which fixes (arbitrarily?) a limit of size to the PF (14x20 cm) and creates de facto a category Large size as regards larger, which hardly has equivalents elsewhere.

In short, which appeared simple with the beginning finally appeared of an inextricable complexity. One can also mention the Small sizes containing of the Comic S. the comics being often regarded as a category with whole share in the cartoon. Hulk in the collection is Pocket Flash (format 13x18 cm in black and white) a PF or comics?

To conclude, I would say by paraphrasing a definition of Science-Fiction: " A Small size , it is what the readers of Small size regard as Small size ".

Some figures

  • the number of PF rises with approximately 48.200 + 900 special and 8.200 collections (according to Database of the Wolf).
  • the PF having had the most numbers is Akim with 756.
  • the PF having had the longest existence is Rodéo with 47 years and 9 months, followed by Kiwi 47 years and 3 months.
  • the oldest PF is the 34 N°1 at Vaillant (April 1949).

Other figures will come later on to supplement this statistical panorama.

Other Supports

Cinema

Relatively little characters of small sizes was adapted on big screen. Here a rapid tower of horizon:
  • 1966: Kriminal of Umberto Lenzi .
  • 1968: Danger Diabolik of Mario Dribbled with John Philip Law, Marisa Mell and Michel Piccoli.
  • 1968: It marchio di Kriminal of Fernando Cerchio
  • 1972: Karzan it favoloso uomo beyond giungla of Demofilo Fidani transposes on big screen the adventures of the erotic version of Tarzan.
  • 1983: Yor the Hunter of the Future of Antonio Margheriti.
  • 1985: Tex and the most famous lord of the abysses adapting of the Italian cowboys.
  • 2003: Gran ventured Mortadelo there Filemon of Javier Fesser .

They were not received by criticism. Let us announce all the same Beyond dead Dell' amore (1994) which adapts very freely the series Dylan Dog .

A new adaptation of Diabolik was evoked, but it is still made wait…

There exists many other films inspired of the PF, but they are especially Turkish productions pirate adapting Zagor (3 films), Capt' Ain Swing (1), Kébir (8), Zorro (4), Kinowa (1) etc They are very required by the collectors, but more because of their scarcity that for their qualities.

Television

They are essentially cartoons. Diabolik has the appearance of a precursor with a series very edulcorated compared to the original Fumetti neri (Diabolik not being there more one criminal without pity). More recently, there was also an adaptation of Martin Mystère carried out by Marathon . There too, extremely far away from the character of cartoon. Of course, in the opposite direction (series TV adapted as a cartoon), is much more frequent and the multiple examples. One can thus quote Zorro which is appeared in PF during long year, Ivanhoé , Bayard and well of others. The palm being allocated obviously to the small editor OZ who had of it a speciality with his collection TV-Series publishing adaptations of the British series in particular Destination Danger or In the name of the law …

More original, an animated project adapting Romano , the English cartoon speaking about a gipsy footballer would be in project.

NB: It is extremely possible which adapted works all are not quoted.

Novels

So in Italy, it is frequent of a hero of fumetti is adapted in novels, this case is much rarer on our premises. One can quote as example Diabolik which had the honor of 10 novels published in the Seventies.

If not, it is much more frequent than a hero of novels is adapted in PF. In 1965, the Presses of the City having repurchased the editor Artima, it were made even a speciality of it. One saw thus OSI 117 , Sam & Sally , Mrs Atomos and others transposed as a cartoon. Certain reviews as Hallucinations transfer each one of their numbers devoted to the adaptation of a novel. Then, there were the many traditional ones adapted in small size: Ivanhoé , Lancelot , Rocambole , Rouletabille and well of others.

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