The Beast by Zidrou and Frank Pé is a worldwide hit, and now for the first time the graphic novel version will make its way to English from Oni Press and Magnetic Press, and we’ve got an exclusive look inside.
“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,” says Magnetic Press’ Director of Publishing, Mike Kennedy, via a press release provided to Comic Book Club. “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 first volume is in stores now, with the second volume due on June 24 — the final work from Pé, who sadly passed away this past November.
The Beast Preview
Check out five pages and the cover from the May 13, 2026 publishing graphic novel here! Click the thumbnails for a larger version:
The Beast Official 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.
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