Magnetic Press and Oni Press have announced the full English language release of writer Zidrou and artist Frank Pé’s The Beast for summer 2026. Coming in two hardcover volumes, the story transforms classic Belgian humour character the Marsupilami to produce a tale akin to Lilo & Stitch, ET, and Abominable. Volume 1 will release May 12, with the conclusion coming June 2 – both retailing for $24.99.
The story of The Beast follows a wild creature captured and trafficked to post-war Europe, only to escape and find safety with a young boy – whose family are dealing with the fallout of that conflict. While the inspiration is a cartoonish character from the early 1950s, this story is tonally different and continuity free.
The story synopsis:
“Captured in the heart of Palombia by Chahuta Indians and sold to exotic animal traffickers, a marsupilami lands in the port of Antwerp in the 1950s. Managing to escape, he arrives in the suburbs of Brussels and is taken in by François, a young boy who is a fan of animals and whose daily life is far from easy. François is picked on by the local kids, particularly because his father had been a German soldier, an unforgivable crime in those postwar years; a fact he and his mother cannot escape. Both are ostracized for their connection to past events.”
Magnetic Press’ director of publishing Mike Kennedy said:
“This sometimes dark but always hopeful adventure by renowned author Zidrou and celebrated gallery artist Frank Pé portrays a beautiful friendship between a boy and his beast. The authors pay a superb tribute to the fabulous animal created by Franquin in the series Spirou et Fantasio while denouncing the mistreatment and trafficking of exotic animals. A magnificent adventure whose heart is the extraordinary friendship that can unite a child with an animal.”
The Beast (La Bête) was first released on the French market in 2020 by publisher Dupuis. It was met with much acclaim – not least because of Frank Pé’s gorgeous art. It was part of a wave of reimaginings and authorial takes on classic characters, (relatively) free of editorial mandate. Similar work has been done for Spirou himself, Blake & Mortimer, Thorgal, Lucky Luke, and more. Digital-exclusive publisher Europe Comics had translated volume one of The Beast in 2021, but the story was never completed.
The Marsupilami is one of the most beloved characters in Franco-Belgian comics. First introduced in headline comic strip Spirou & Fantasio in Belgium’s Spirou magazine in 1951, during André Franquin’s definitive two-decade run on a strip that debuted in 1938 (Franquin took over in 1947). A mischievous creature with yellow fur, black spots, and an extremely long tail, a Marsupalami was at first a pet of leads Spirou and Fantasio but it proved so popular that a spinoff series (featuring a family of such creatures) emerged in 1987. The spinoff (and Spirou) are still running today – with Marsupilami well past thirty volumes – Cinebook have released nine in English so far.
Marsupilami is iconic in Europe, particularly in the French and Belgian market, with the character available in a variety of merchandise, animated series, movies, and videogames. In fact, the latest attempt at a live action movie featuring the character just released in France. While we cannot speak on the quality of the movie, the Ocellus Studio-developed videogame Marsupilami: Hoobadventure (2021) is a pretty fun sidescrolling platformer.
Frank Pé was a Belgian artist widely admired. He developed a cartooning style that revealed the inner humanity of his characters, human and animal. Although he produced over twenty works in French, only his reimagining of Windsor McCay’s Little Nemo in Slumberland (Magnetic Press, 2021) has been made available thus far. He died in November 2025. Zidrou is the pen name of Belgian comics writer Benoît Drousie. Prolific in the Franco-Belgian industry since the 1990s, he has had four works previously released in English: The Adoption, with Arno Monin (Magnetic Press, 2020); Glorious Summers, with Jordi Lafebre (Europe Comics, 2018); Emma G. Wildford, with Edith (Titan Comics, 2018); and Blossoms in Autumn, with Aimée de Jongh (SelfMadeHero, 2019).
