Le Chat

Le Chat
Publication information
Publisher	Casterman (Belgium)
First appearance	1983.
Created by	Philippe Geluck

Le Chat (French for "the cat") was a Belgian daily comic strip, published in the newspaper Le Soir' from March 22, 1983 until March 23, 2013.

During its run it quickly became one of the bestselling Franco-Belgian comics series and the mascot of Le Soir. While virtually an icon in Wallonia he's far less well known in Flanders.

Le Chat is an adult, human-sized obese, anthropomorphic cat who typically wears a suit. He always has the same physical expression. He often comes up with elaborate reasonings which lead to hilariously absurd conclusions e.g. by taking metaphors literally or by adding increasingly unlikely what-ifs to ordinary situations.

One page in length, it appeared weekly in the "Victor" supplement of Belgian newspaper Le Soir. For Le Chat's 20th anniversary in 2003, Le Soir allowed Geluck to illustrate that day's entire newspaper. An exhibition of Le Chat's history (and that of his creator), "Le Chat s'expose", was first held at the Autoworld Motor Museum in Brussels in Spring 2004, and has since toured Europe. In March–October 2006 it even appeared at Les Champs Libres in Rennes.

As part of the Brussels' Comic Book Route a wall in the Zuidlaan/Boulevard du Midi in Brussels was dedicated to "Le Chat" in August 1993.

On October 11, 2008 Le Chat received his own market place in Hotton in the Belgian province Luxembourg. A statue of him, sculpted by François Deboucq, was placed in the center, depicting him holding an umbrella which rains water down from inside.

On July 3, 2015 it was announced that "Le Chat" would receive his own museum.

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