Spirou’s “Agent 212” celebrates 50 calamitous years on the beat

By John Freeman on June 18, 2025

Largely unknown in Britain, this week, L’Agent 212, the creation of writer Raoul Cauvin and artist Daniel Kox, celebrates his 50-year career in the long running French comics magazine, Spirou.

*Spirou 4548, Agent 212 celebration issue, 11th June 2025*

Just before Agent 212’s appointment for his evaluation interview, the editor was able to check his confidential file… and shocking revelations are revealed in this issue!

Hapless police officer Agent 212, the creation of writer Raoul Cauvin, who passed in 2021, and artist Daniel Kox, debuted in Spirou magazine with the issue No. 1939, dated 12th June 1975. “L’Agent 212”, one of the longest-running Belgian gag comics still in production, has been collected in French and Dutch in over 30 albums to date, published by Dupuis in French and Dutch.

The strip was one of two ideas conceived by Cauvin and Kox, the tales of a clumsy traffic cop taking precedence over an idea set on a train. Lambiek notes incompetent policemen had been a notable source of comedy in Belgian comics before, but stupid or mean guardians of law and justice were always secondary characters, serving as comic relief or foils. In Cauvin and Kox’s story, the policeman was the protagonist.

Initially modelled after André Franquin‘s Longtarin character, the original Agent 212, real name Arthur Delfouille, was still slender, but as the episodes progressed, Kox made the character more corpulent, giving him a natural dopey and laughable look, comparable to Oliver Hardy.

In his first appearance in 1975, L'Agent 212 was less chubby. Years later, Lambiek notes Kox redrew a selection of his earlier stories to fit with his hero's current body mass — *In his first appearance in 1975, L’Agent 212 was less chubby. Years later, Lambiek notes Kox redrew a selection of his earlier stories to fit with his hero’s current body mass*

Today, the bad tempered incompetent policeman is considered one of the magazine’s most popular characters, both in France and, perhaps bizarrely, Indonesia, where the chaotic constable is known as “Agen Polisi 212”. But his success was hard earned. Initially, both the authors and the Spirou editors saw “L’Agent 212” as a filler comic, with no chance for longevity. But the readers enjoyed it, and the feature kept running, both in Spirou and its Dutch-language edition Robbedoes (as ‘Agent 212’), but it was only when ‘L’Agent 212’ ended as the sixth most popular series in Spirou’s 1981 reader’s poll that Dupuis finally greenlit an album release.

Even though he continued to be credited as a scriptwriter, Raoul Cauvin gradually left the writing duties to Kox himself. Since 2000, some “L’Agent 212” strips have been scripted by Marylène Bruno.

A meticulous and notoriously slow worker, Lambiek notes Kox was assisted on the artwork in the 1990s by Thierry Capezzone and Péral. Others who have worked on the strip are include Malik, Louis-Michel Carpentier, Laudec, Bédu and Marc Hardy.

Congratulations to the character and publisher on this landmark occasion. And a big thank you to his creators!

• You can order a copy of this special celebratory issue of Spirou here on the magazine’s official website

Head downthetubes for…

L’Agent 212, art by Daniel Kox — *Commissioner Raoul Lebrun is once again utterly frustrated with his subordinate…*

• Dupuis guide to Agent 212 – in French

• L’Agent 212 – French Collections (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)

• Lambiek Profile: Raoul Cauvin

• Lambiek Profile: Daniel Kox – this profile includes fascinating back history of “L’Agent 212”

• Lambiek’s History of Spirou

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.