Sunday, 14 June 2026

1968, Belgian Comics: Prudence Petitpas, Fusils pour Macao

In 1968 Le Lombard released Fusils pour Macao, the fourth album in the Prudence Pepitas comic series. The volume contains both the title story and the short story Stanislas a disparu. The series was created in 1957 by Maurice Maréchal and was first serialised in the youth magazine Tintin / Kuifje. The scripts were written by several writers, including René Goscinny, Greg and Mittéï. In 1968, Maréchal brought the series to an end because he could no longer combine his comics work with his position as a French and Spanish teacher at the Royal Atheneum of Verviers. Shortly before his retirement, he met Charles Dupuis, the publisher of the magazine Spirou / Robbedoes. Their meeting inspired Maréchal to return to the character, and between 1984 and 1987 a further five Prudence Pepitas stories were published in the magazine.

Dutch Cover: Tante Zenobie, Wapens voor Macao

Prudence Petitpas is an elderly lady who lives in the small market town of Moucheron, a fictional village inspired by the real-life setting of Sauveterre-de-Rouergue, located between Albi and Rodez. It was a place where Maurice Maréchal spent a month of his summer holidays every year. There, the heroine devotes most of her time to solving a wide variety of mysterious crimes and baffling cases, using her keen powers of observation and deduction to unravel even the most perplexing enigmas.

The principal characters featured in this album are Prudence Petitpas, her cat Stanislas, a group of gangsters, a pilot, the gang leader, Marie, Verwater, Count Bonestaak, and Caesar, the village constable.

Prudence Petitpas and her cat Stanislas
The gangsters

Fusils pour Macao
- full colour
- publisher: Le Lombard
- Dutch title: Tante Zenobie, Wapens voor Macao (Le Lombard, 1968)
- pre-published in Titin / Kuifje (1966-1967)
- never published in English
- drawings by Maurice Maréchal
- stories by Mittéï (Jean Mariette)

The pilot
The gang leader

Synopsis Fusils pour Macao
While setting off for a weekend camping trip, Prudence Petitpas is involved in an accident when her vintage Citroën Torpedo is struck by a reckless delivery van...

Marie
Verwater and Prudence Petitpas

Synopsis Stanislas a disparu
After Stanislas mysteriously disappears, Prudence Petitpas sets out to find him, only to discover that several other animals have also vanished from the village. Determined to uncover the truth, she begins an investigation into the puzzling series of disappearances...

Count Bonestaak
Caesar and Prudence Petitpas

Vehicles

  • Citroën H Van
  • Citroën 5HP Torpedo
  • Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer
  • 1908 De Dion-Bouton Double Phaeton
Citroën H Van and Citroën 5HP Torpedo
1908 De Dion-Bouton Double Phaeton
Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer

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