Jerry Spring

Jerry Spring is a Franco-Belgian Western comics series created by the Belgian artist Jijé. It made its debut in Spirou magazine on March 4, 1954.

The character aimed to replace the American-made Red Ryder as Belgian publisher Dupuis, which had long paid for the series' license, was growing increasingly dissatisfied with its declining quality. Jijé was Dupuis' jack-of-all-trades, and had already authored a few custom-made pages for Red Ryder during World War II, when the political climate disrupted the availability of the American originals. According to the artist's son, however, his love of the Western genre was sincere and, among his diverse output, Jerry Spring was most representative of his personal affinities. The replacement of Red Ryder by Jerry Spring marked the end of American comics in Spirou, which from now on would be fully based on homegrown material.