The Smurfs (Dutch: De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic series, created by cartoonist Peyo (pen name of Pierre Culliford). The titular creatures were introduced as supporting characters in an already established series, Johan and Peewit in 1958, and starred in their own series from 1959. More than forty Smurf comic albums have been created, 16 of them by Peyo. Originally, the Smurf stories appeared in Spirou magazine with reprints in many different magazines, but after Peyo left the publisher Dupuis, many comics were first published in dedicated Smurf magazines, which existed in French, Dutch and German. A number of short stories and one page gags have been collected in comic books next to the regular series. By 2008, Smurf comics have been translated into 25 languages, and some 25 million albums have been sold.

History

In 1952, Peyo created a series in Spirou magazine titled Johan et Pirlouit (Johan and Peewit), set in Europe during the (probably) Middle Ages. Johan serves as a brave young page to the king, and Pirlouit (pronounced Peer-loo-ee) functions as his faithful, if boastful and cheating, midget sidekick. On 23 October 1958, Peyo introduced a new set of characters to the Johan et Pirlouit story "La Flûte à six trous" (tr. "The Flute with Six Holes"). This alone caused no great excitement, as the brave duo constantly encountered strange new people and places. This time, they had the mission of recovering a magic flute, which required some sorcery by the wizard Homnibus. And in this manner, they met a tiny, blue-skinned humanoid creature in white clothing called a "Schtroumpf," followed by his numerous peers who looked just like him, with an elderly leader who wore red clothing and had a white beard called Grand Schtroumpf" (Papa Smurf). Although intended to be secondary characters who were only to appear in the single episode, the characters proved to be a huge success, and the first independent spin-off Smurf stories appeared in Spirou in 1959, together with the first merchandising. The short Smurf stories were published as mini books, where the story was printed on a large page and had to be folded and cut by the reader into a small book. A few years later, the first adventures were redrawn with a graphic design that made the characters more graceful. The stories became longer and were republished in full in a hardback version.

Volumes

This is the list of the original French-language comic issues. Some of them are anthologies of several stories. A number of them were translated into English by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge, and published by Hodder & Stoughton (Random House in the USA). The late comic artist Pascal Garray contributed to seventeen editions of The Smurf comics between 1990 and 2017. Garray's last comic, Les Schtroumpfs et les haricots Mauves, was released in September 2017.

Johan and Peewit appearances

<ol> La flûte à six schtroumpfs (originally titled as La flûte à six trous)</li> La guerre des sept fontaines</li> Le pays maudit</li> Le sortilège de Maltrochu</li> La horde du corbeau</li> La nuit des sorciers</li> </ol>

Original series

Albums made after the death of Peyo, with help from his son Thierry Culliford (born 1956):

<li> [Le Schtroumpfeur de Bijoux](https://bliptext.com/articles/le-schtroumpfeur-de-bijoux) (The Jewel Smurfer), Le Lombard, 01/01/1994, ISBN 2-8036-1098-1</li> <li> [Docteur Schtroumpf](https://bliptext.com/articles/docteur-schtroumpf) (Doctor Smurf), Le Lombard, 01/01/1996, ISBN 2-8036-1216-X</li> <li> [Le Schtroumpf Sauvage](https://bliptext.com/articles/le-schtroumpf-sauvage) (The Wild Smurf), Le Lombard, 11/01/1998, ISBN 2-8036-1351-4</li> <li> [La Menace Schtroumpf](https://bliptext.com/articles/la-menace-schtroumpf) (Attack of the Grey Smurfs), Le Lombard, 11/01/2000, ISBN 2-8036-1516-9</li> <li> [On ne Schtroumpfe pas le Progrès](https://bliptext.com/articles/on-ne-schtroumpfe-pas-le-progr-s) (You Don't Smurf Progress), Le Lombard, 11/01/2002, ISBN 2-8036-1773-0</li> <li> [Le Schtroumpf Reporter](https://bliptext.com/articles/le-schtroumpf-reporter) (The Reporter Smurf), Le Lombard, 11/01/2003, ISBN 2-8036-1900-8</li> <li> [Les Schtroumpfs Joueurs](https://bliptext.com/articles/les-schtroumpfs-joueurs) (The Gambler Smurfs), Le Lombard, 01/01/2005, ISBN 2-8036-2005-7</li> <li> [Salade de Schtroumpfs](https://bliptext.com/articles/salade-de-schtroumpfs) (Salad Smurfs), Le Lombard, 01/13/2006, ISBN 2-8036-2154-1</li> <li> [Un Enfant chez les Schtroumpfs](https://bliptext.com/articles/un-enfant-chez-les-schtroumpfs) (A Child among the Smurfs), Le Lombard, 01/12/2007, ISBN 978-2-8036-2242-9</li> <li> [Les Schtroumpfs et le livre qui dit tout](https://bliptext.com/articles/les-schtroumpfs-et-le-livre-qui-dit-tout) (The Smurfs and the Book that Tells Everything), Le Lombard, 01/18/2008, ISBN 978-2-8036-2382-2</li> <li> [Schtroumpfs les bains](https://bliptext.com/articles/schtroumpfs-les-bains) (Smurfs in Paradise), Le Lombard, 04/3/2009, ISBN 978-2-8036-2521-5</li> <li> [La Grande Schtroumpfette](https://bliptext.com/articles/la-grande-schtroumpfette) (The Grand Smurfette), Le Lombard, 04/16/2010, ISBN 978-2-8036-2648-9</li> <li> [Les Schtroumpfs et l'Arbre d'Or](https://bliptext.com/articles/les-schtroumpfs-et-l-arbre-d-or) (The Smurfs and the Golden Tree), Le Lombard, 04/08/2011, ISBN 978-2-8036-2807-0</li> <li> [Les Schtroumpfs de L'Ordre](https://bliptext.com/articles/les-schtroumpfs-de-l-ordre) (The Law and Order of The Smurfs), Le Lombard, 03/23/2012, ISBN 978-2-8036-3052-3</li> <li> [Les Schtroumpfs à Pilulit](https://bliptext.com/articles/les-schtroumpfs-pilulit) (Chicken-Fried Smurfs), Le Lombard, 04/19/2013, ISBN 9782803632558</li> <li> [Les Schtroumpfs et L'Amour Sorcier](https://bliptext.com/articles/les-schtroumpfs-et-l-amour-sorcier) (The Smurfs and the Sorcerer's Love), Le Lombard, 04/04/2014, ISBN 9782803634156</li> <li> [Schtroupf Le Héros](https://bliptext.com/articles/schtroupf-le-h-ros) (Smurf Heroes), Le Lombard, 03/13/2015, ISBN 9782803635436</li> <li> [Les Schtroumpfs Et Le Demi-Genie](https://bliptext.com/articles/les-schtroumpfs-et-le-demi-genie) (The Smurfs and the Half-Genie), Le Lombard, 04/01/2016, ISBN 9782803636907</li> <li> [Les Schtroumpfs Et Les Haricots Mauves](https://bliptext.com/articles/les-schtroumpfs-et-les-haricots-mauves) (The Smurfs and the Purple Beans), Le Lombard, 08/18/2017, ISBN 9782803671144</li> <li> [Les Schtroumpfs Et Le Dragon Du Lac](https://bliptext.com/articles/les-schtroumpfs-et-le-dragon-du-lac) (The Smurfs and the Dragon of the Lake), Le Lombard, 03/02/2018, ISBN 9782803672844</li> <li> [Les Schtroumpfs Et La Machine à Rêver](https://bliptext.com/articles/les-schtroumpfs-et-la-machine-r-ver) (The Smurfs and the Dream Machine), Le Lombard, 04/05/2019, ISBN 9782803673131</li> <li> [Les Schtroumpfs Et Le Vol Des Cigognes](https://bliptext.com/articles/les-schtroumpfs-et-le-vol-des-cigognes) (The Smurfs and the Flight of the Storks), Le Lombard, 2020. <li> [Les Schtroumpfs et la tempête blanche](https://bliptext.com/articles/les-schtroumpfs-et-la-temp-te-blanche), Le Lombard, 10/08/2021. <li> [Les Schtroumpfs et les Enfants perdus](https://bliptext.com/articles/les-schtroumpfs-et-les-enfants-perdus), Le Lombard, 2022. <li> [Gargamel, l'Ami des Schtroumpfs](https://bliptext.com/articles/gargamel-l-ami-des-schtroumpfs), Le Lombard, 10/13/2023. <li> [Les Schtroumpfs et la cape magique](https://bliptext.com/articles/les-schtroumpfs-et-la-cape-magique), Le Lombard, 2024. </ol>

Les Schtroumpfs et le Village des Filles (The Smurfs and the Village of Girls)

Albums featuring the Smurfy Grove Smurfs from Smurfs: The Lost Village.

Look-In magazine strips

In the 1970s and '80s, the British children's magazine Look-In ran an original series of one-page comic-strip tales called "Meet the Smurfs."

Marvel Comics

In 1982 Marvel Comics released a Three issue mini series featuring full length stories and one page gags featuring The Smurfs. Marvel Comics also published a large format comic book as well as six mini comic books with a full length story in each comic book.

Papercutz graphic novels

Since August 2010, Papercutz has been issuing Smurfs comics, translated by Joe Johnson. Following a special preview comic in July 2010 that contained the story "The Smurfnapper," the following graphic novels have been issued to date: Other special books: Papercutz published "The Smurf Submarine" in Geronimo Stilton & Smurfs for Free Comic Book Day on May 7, 2011.

In popular culture

In the Belgian Comic Strip Center in Brussels the permanent exhibition brings homage to the pioneers of Belgian comics, among them Peyo. In the room dedicated to his work various objects, comic book pages, sketches,... from "The Smurfs" comics can be seen. The Smurfs are among the many Belgian comics characters to jokingly have a Brussels street named after them. The Rue des Sables/ Zandstraat has a commemorative plaque with the name Rue Schtroumpfs/ Smurfstraat placed under the actual street sign. Close to the Smurfs studios in Genval (a province of Brabant), a bronze statue of the Smurfs is sited in a traffic circle. In 2003 a statue of a Smurf building a statue of Smurfette was unveiled in Middelkerke. It was sculpted by Monique Mol. At the Grasmarkt in Brussels a 5 m statue of a Smurf on a toadstool can be seen. It was sculpted by Maryline Garbe and unveiled on June 25, 2012.