This series of articles arose from a thorough affection for the comic strip Franka of Henk Kuijpers. When you like something very much, then you look at it more precisely. And then sometimes a peculiarity strikes you. In this issue:
In album 5 Circus Santekraam we find as an extra a 5 page short-story titled Pets' Day. This is really a touching and wonderful drawn story in which Franka stands up for the neglected animals of a petshop keeper who is addicted to the bottle.
When Franka visits his shop the day before Pets' Day in order to buy something for Bars, all she sees is a bunch of washed out and terrified animals. Even the high-spirited parrot winces in fear when the now already drunken shopkeeper stumbles in, shouting "Shut up, animal" and snarling at Franka : "…Well sis ... Come on … Speak up! W-what doyouwan!" Furious Franka walks out of the shop. In the street she hears from a neighbour that it's always like this when he's in one of his drinking periods. (see also 3.1.2 en 3).
At night when the miscreant
is completely drunk, Franka breaks in into his house and scares
him to death with a couple of inflatable animals that she still
has kept from the adventure with the Noorderzon (5.2.2).
But … look with us at 43.4.3 of The Revenge of the Freighter. There she has still two capsules left.
On 44.2.3 the first one goes off.
On 44.3.2 she complains angrily: "… The only thing that I've got from this miserable adventure is (…) Here! In my pocket … only one stupid inflatable doll … The only tangible result! Big deal!"
Well, and that one goes off just a little later, so … ?!?
Franka has not one inflatable animal left to terrify the drunken shopkeeper!
© Martin Hooymans / Henk Kuijpers
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