PORTLAND, OR (February 5th, 2026) – THE BEAST THAT INSPIRED AN ANIMATED SERIES, A FEATURE FILM, AND A VIDEO GAME IS MAKING HIS COMIC DEBUT IN AMERICA! Oni Press and Magnetic Press – the Eisner Award-winning publisher celebrating prestige graphic novels from around the globe since 2013 – are proud to release the first-ever English edition of THE BEAST by internationally celebrated creators Zidrou (The Adoption) and Frank Pé (Zoo). Featuring the creators’ heartfelt spin on André Franquin’s iconic creature, the Marsupilami, this touching graphic novel explores post-WWII Brussels through the eyes of a lonely young boy and his unlikely friend. The one-of-a-kind adventure begins when THE BEAST VOL. 1 debuts on May 12th.
The Marsupilami first appeared in Franquin’s 1952 Spirou as Spirou’s lovable pet. From there, the fictional feline and other members of the marsupilami species won the hearts of Franco-Belgian readers before evolving into a multimedia empire featuring an animated series, a feature film, and even a Sega Genesis video game. Now, Zidrou and Pé are throwing the adorable, playful creature into the harsh world of animal trafficking and post-war Europe.
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.
“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. “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.”
Throughout his prolific career, writer Zidrou has written everything from humorous children’s series like L’élève Ducobu to emotionally rich, challenging graphic novels such as The Adoption. THE BEAST highlights the esteemed scribe’s dynamic range and shines a light on artist Frank Pé’s playful, expressive art that has earned him critical acclaim around the globe as a cartoonist and fine artist. Pé passed away in November 2025, leaving a highly respected body of work, including Zoo and his personal tribute to Windsor McCay’s Little Nemo. This graphic novel is the culmination of a lifetime of gorgeous art. Readers can see two masters at work when THE BEAST: VOL. 1 arrives in bookstores and comic shops on May 12th, with THE BEAST: VOL. 2 due out in June.
THE BEAST VOL. 1 HC
WRITTEN BY ZIDROU
ART BY FRANK PÉ
COVER BY FRANK PÉ
ON SALE MAY 12, 2026 | $24.99 | 156 PGS. | HC
THE BEAST VOL. 2 HC
WRITTEN BY ZIDROU
ART BY FRANK PÉ
COVER BY FRANK PÉ
ON SALE JUNE 2, 2026 | $24.99 | 204 PGS. | HC
About the Creators
Zidrou is the pen name of Belgian writer Benoît Drousie, born in 1962 in Anderlecht. Originally a schoolteacher, he transitioned into writing in the 1990s and quickly became a prolific figure in European comics. Known for his versatility, Zidrou has penned everything from humorous children’s series like L’élève Ducobu to emotionally rich graphic novels such as The Adoption. His collaboration with artist Frank Pé on The Beast reimagines the iconic French comic character Marsupilami in a poignant, postwar Belgian setting. The story blends social realism with mythic undertones, showcasing Zidrou’s talent for crafting narratives that are both tender and unflinching.
Frank Pé is a Belgian comic artist born in 1956 in Ixelles, Brussels. Renowned for his poetic and animal-centric storytelling, he studied sculpture at the Institut Saint-Luc before launching his career in Spirou magazine, where he created the introspective character Broussaille. His work often blends philosophical themes with lush, expressive artwork, drawing inspiration from nature, art nouveau, and artists like André Franquin and Egon Schiele. Over the decades, Pé has crafted acclaimed series such as Zoo and Broussaille, and contributed to animated films and illustration projects. In 2021, he released a volume of artwork and strips reimagining the character Little Nemo in Slumberland, originally created by Windsor McCay in 1905, from a nostalgic, grown-up perspective. His collaboration with Zidrou on The Beast similarly reimagines the character Marsupilami in a haunting postwar setting, showcasing his signature blend of realism, emotion, and mythic atmosphere.
About Magnetic Press
MAGNETIC PRESS is a subsidiary of Polarity that publishes graphic novels, art books, and periodicals curated with a focus on internationally recognized content and talent, presented with premium quality design and production value. The Magnetic brand was founded by writer and video game veteran Mike Kennedy in 2013 as the independent publishing company Magnetic Press, Inc, featuring creators both new and established from around the world, sharing their stories with an English-language audience often for the first time. Their award-winning library includes such celebrated titles as the Love series of wordless wildlife graphic novels, as well as Eisner-nominated books Mister Invincible, The Monkey King, Aster of Pan, Pistouvi, Irena, Stay, A Sea of Love, Watersnakes, Herakles, Doomboy, A Glance Backward, Little Tails, The Ghost of Gaudi, and Dave Dorman’s Wasted Lands Omnibus. Magnetic has earned a total of 31 Eisner Award nominations in their first ten years of eligibility, winning its first trophy in 2024 for Best Production Design of Dracula/Frankenstein Boxed Set. Magnetic also won the Gold Medal of Excellence in the graphic novel category of the 2015 Independent Publisher Awards for Love: The Fox.
In 2021, Magnetic launched Magnetic Press Play, an imprint dedicated to gaming and new media endeavors. Their releases to date include CARBON GREY, based on the Image Comics series by Hoang Nguyen, and THE OFFICIAL PLANET OF THE APES RPG developed in cooperation with Disney and 20th Century Studios. Other as-yet-announced licenses and projects are forthcoming.
About Oni Press:
Founded in 1997, Oni Press has a 25-year history as one of the industry’s most respected and acclaimed publishers of award-winning comic books and graphic novels with titles including Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim, K. O’Neill’s Tea Dragon Society, Cullen Bunn & Brian Hurtt’s The Sixth Gun, Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer, Ezra Claytan Daniels’ Upgrade Soul, Brenna Thummler’s Sheets trilogy, and many hundreds more.
In 2019, Oni Press merged with Lion Forge Comics – the Eisner Award-winning independent comic book publisher founded by Academy Award-winning producer and entrepreneur David Steward II – to create one of the largest, independent libraries of comics content anywhere in media. The Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group now exists as a publishing subsidiary of Steward’s diversified global media company, Polarity.
The Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group publishes more than 60 original and licensed graphic novels annually, in addition to an extensive list of periodical comics.
