Among the many obstacles to Spirou Magazine 's productivity, two of the most formidable are Gomer's little protégés: a very playful cat and an evil-tempered black-headed gull. Between the bird's dive-bombing attacks and the feline's recurrent bouts of madness, Prunelle and the others don't have it easy. And yet, none of that compares to the results of Aunt Hortense's overgrown cactus being brought to the office by a clueless Gomer! A Belgian cartoonist from the Golden Age of comics, André Franquin was as important and influential throughout his career as Hergé, moulding and training dozens of artists through his long years at Spirou magazine. In his 20 years at the helm of Spirou and Fantasio , creator of their fantastical friend the Marsupilami, he was also the father of one of the most beloved anti-heroes of European comics, Gaston Lagaffe, as well as the delightfully dark and sarcastic Idées Noires . As a sign of his popularity, he received the very first Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême in 1974.