| Character Name: | Le Chat |
| Publisher: | Casterman (Belgium) |
| Debut: | Le Soir (March 22, 1983) |
| Creators: | Philippe Geluck |
| Converted: | y |
Le Chat (Le Cat in English-language editions[1]) is a Belgian comic strip, created by Philippe Geluck. Foremost published daily in the newspaper Le Soir from March 22, 1983, until March 23, 2013,[2] it is since issued directly as complete albums.
Right from the start, it quickly became one of the bestselling Franco-Belgian comics series and the mascot of Le Soir. While virtually an icon in Francophone Belgium, he is far less well known in Flanders.[3]
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 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"[4] 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.[5]
In 2015, "Le Chat" received his own museum.[6]