Cubitus is a Franco-Belgian comics series, and the basis for the Wowsercartoon series appearing in the United States. Cubitus was created by the Belgian cartoonistDupa, and features Cubitus, a large anthropomorphic dog, who lives with his owner Semaphore. Cubitus is known as Dommel in Flanders and the Netherlands, Muppelo or Pom Pom in Finland, Teodoro in Italy and Доммель in Russia. His name derives from the old anatomical name of the ulna bone, supposedly derived from the Greek kybiton.
Synopsis
The series tells the story of Cubitus, a good-natured large, white dog endowed with speech. He lives in a house in the suburbs with his master, Sémaphore, a retired sailor, next door to Sénéchal, the black and white cat who is Cubitus' nemesis. A vast majority of the album publications collect single page gags, but a few gather collections of shorter stories or, in rare cases, one long story throughout the entire album. Some of the single gag albums or short story compilations are thematic, with for instance in "Cubitus illustre ses ancêtres" revisiting history of humankind, "L'ami ne fait pas le moine" being pastiches of fellow authors from Tintin magazine or Les enquêtes de l'inspecteur Cubitus where he is a fictional police inspector.
Characters
Cubitus: Hero of the series, he is a white dog with a large belly, a black snout and yellow tail. Initially a dog with hair covering the eyes, Cubitus ended up becoming still more anthropomorphic. Nearly entirely human in behaviour, he walks on two legs, has hands instead of paws, and is able to perform any human action, although he retains his canine love of bones.
Sémaphore: A retired sailor who is the "Master" of Cubitus, even if sometimes the relationship of master and dog can be reversed. In the series, Semaphore's role is mainly to create inventions that are intended to be functional and aid his friends, but in the end lead to trouble.
Sénéchal: A black and white cat, close neighbour and Cubitus' worst natural enemy. In longer stories he may be Cubitus' ally.
Ventenpoupe: an old friend of Semaphore, and a swindler.
Every now and them appears:
Manuel de Cotalos Y Mucho Gusto, the ghost of Semaphore's improbable Sidecar outfit' pannier.
Publication history
Cubitus first appeared in the Franco-Belgian comics magazineTintin on April 16, 1968. The series gained immediate popularity, and began album publication in 1972. After several years of gags and album publications, it became the title strip for a magazine of its own. The first publication of Cubitus was published by Le Lombard in December 1989, though it proved short-lived, lasting only six issues. In 2005, the series was relaunched by Pierre Aucaigne, and Michel Rodrigue under the title Les nouvelles aventures de Cubitus.
In 1988, the strip was adapted into a Japanese cartoon series named Don Don Domeru to Ron, which was re-titled as Wowser for US audiences. Dubbed by Saban Entertainment, it is the only part of Cubitus that has been translated into English.
Impact
Cubitus and Sénéchal appear on ten self-adhesive stamps launched by the French Poste in September 2006.
A statue of Cubitus, by Yves Cauwenberghs, was erected on 3 October 2002 at Limal, where Dupa spent the last 30 years of his life.
