on this day: october 23rd

67 years ago - 1958, The First Smurf Published

Did you know the Smurfs spoke French? Created by the Belgian comic artist Pierre Culliford, aka. Peyo, the first Smurf appeared in his comic strip Johan and Peewit. The long running strip was a comical rendition of a knight and his squire set in a magical medieval backdrop. One of their adventures took them on a search for a magic flute wherein they happened upon a race of manlike blue-skinned creatures in white clothing called the "Schtroumpf." These creatures would eventually be known as the Smurfs! In original publications, the joke was that the Smurfs were like carbon copies of each other except for their elder: Papa Smurf. And yet they could all tell each other apart. In 1959, the Smurfs would be spun off into their own comic feature.