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{{Short description|Belgian comic book series}}
{{for|media based on the comic book|Largo Winch (TV series) {{!}} ''Largo Winch'' (TV series)|Largo Winch (film) {{!}} ''Largo Winch'' (film)}}
{{Infobox comics meta series
|image               = Largo Winch - 3 O.P.A.jpg
|imagesize           = 
|caption             = Cover of the third album (translated to ''Takeover Bid'')
|graphicnovel        = y
|titles              = ''L'Héritier''<br />''Le Groupe W''<br />''O.P.A.''<br />''Business Blues''<br />''H''<br />''Dutch Connection''<br />''La Forteresse De Makiling''<br />''L'heure Du Tigre''<br />''Voir Venise...''<br />''...Et mourir''<br />''Golden Gate''<br />''Shadow''<br />''Le Prix De L'argent''<br />''La Loi du dollar''<br />''Les trois yeux des gardiens du Tao''<br />''La Voie et la vertu''
|lang                = fr
|relang              = da
|relang1             = nl
|relang2             = en
|relang3             = de
|relang4             = pl
|relang5             = pt
|relang6             = es
|relang7             = sr
|Adventure           = y
|publisher           = [[Dupuis]] (French) <br /> [[Cinebook]] (English)
|date                = 
|issues              = 
|main_char_team      = Largo Winch<br />Nerio Winch<br />John D. Sullivan<br />Dwight E. Cochrane<br />Simon Ovronnaz
|writers             = 
|artists             = 
|pencillers          = 
|inkers              = 
|letterers           = 
|colorists           = 
|editors             = 
|creative_team_month = 
|creative_team_year  = 
|creators            = [[Philippe Francq]]<br />[[Jean Van Hamme]]
|nonUS               = y
|reprint             = 
|TPB                 = 
|ISBN                = 
|subcat              = Dupuis
|charcat             = nul
|nocharcat           = y
|sort                = Largo Winch
|charsort            = Winch, Largo
}}
'''''Largo Winch''''' is a Belgian comic book series by [[Philippe Francq]] and [[Jean Van Hamme]], published by [[Dupuis]]. It started as a series of novels by Van Hamme in the late 1970s, but stopped due to a lack of success and the huge amount of work Van Hamme had in the meantime with his comic books (such as ''[[Thorgal]]''). When artist Philippe Francq wanted to start a series with Van Hamme, he revived his old hero, and reworked the novels into the first albums of the comic book series. Later, more stories followed.

== Synopsis ==
[[File:Largo Winch-100x100.png|thumb|The main character, Largo Winch]]
The main character is Largo Winch; birth name Largo Winczlav, who was born in [[Yugoslavia]].<ref>{{cite comic | title= Largo Winch| story= L'Héritier| issue= 1 |year= 1990| artist= [[Philippe Francq|Francq, Philippe]]| writer= [[Jean Van Hamme|Van Hamme, Jean]]| publisher= [[Dupuis]]|| language= fr}}</ref> Other important characters include Nerio Winch (his adoptive father, though they share a great-grandparent), senior Group W executives John D. Sullivan and Dwight E. Cochrane, and his friend Simon Ovronnaz. In the first two volumes of the series, ''L'héritier'' and ''Le Groupe W'', Largo, a young and handsome orphan, is propelled to the head of a business empire, ''Group W'' (of no relation to the real-life [[Westinghouse Broadcasting|broadcasting division]] of American conglomerate [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation]]), after his adoptive father Nerio is murdered, and goes through a lot of troubles to preserve his inheritance and avenge Nerio. The following albums are more or less based on the same basic plot: someone is trying to harm Largo's company or to take control of it from him, and he has to fight that someone to ensure the survival of his holdings. Almost every story arc involves corrupt authority figures of a type which Nerio easily manipulated, but Largo confronts from the viewpoint of an "everyman".

All the stories of the series are published in two volumes, the first one being the one putting Largo in an impossible situation, and the second one letting him get out of it. In addition, both volumes share the same background color on the cover. The stories appear originally in French, and have been translated into various languages, including Croatian, Danish, Dutch, English, German, Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Italian and Tamil. The series is among the most popular comics series in French, with annual sales of nearly 500,000 copies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://acbd.fr/bilan-2008.html |title=Bilan 2008 |accessdate=2009-03-19 |year=2009 |publisher=[[Association des Critiques et des journalistes de Bande Dessinée|ACBD]] |language=French |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216193301/http://www.acbd.fr//bilan-2008.html |archivedate=2009-02-16 }}</ref>

==History==
[[Image:Belgique - Louvain-la-Neuve - Place des Sciences - Largo Winch - 02.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Largo Winch mural on the Place des Sciences in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium).]]
The birth of the character came in 1973, while Van Hamme was having lunch in [[New York City]] with [[Greg (cartoonist)|Greg]], chief editor of ''[[Tintin (magazine)|Tintin]]''. The magazine sought to expand to the American market and Van Hamme was tasked with creating the comic character and genre interesting for an American audience. He thus opted for a business-thriller idea about a young mysterious billionaire, which would allow him to demonstrate his knowledge of economics. [[John Prentice (cartoonist)|John Prentice]], noted for his work on ''[[Rip Kirby]]'', was chosen as the artist, and he drew a couple of boards before withdrawing from the project that was soon abandoned. Van Hamme first revived the character in form of an [[airport novel]] in 1978, encouraged by the huge popularity of [[Gérard de Villiers|Gérard de Villiers']] [[SAS (novel series)|SAS novels]]. The series lasted through 1985 when it came to a halt again. Finally, in 1990, being approached by Francq, Van Hamme used the character yet again in comic form, and it had instant success.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://milady-le-blog.fantasyblog.fr/2008/10/10/jean-van-hamme-raconte-largo-winch/|title=Jean van Hamme raconte Largo Winch |work= le Blog de Milady |publisher= |access-date=2016-07-04|archive-date=2020-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103190345/http://milady-le-blog.fantasyblog.fr/2008/10/10/jean-van-hamme-raconte-largo-winch/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Issues==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
# "L'Héritier" (1990)
# "Le Groupe W" (1991)
# "O.P.A." (1992)
# "Business Blues" (1993)
# "H" (1994)
# "Dutch Connection" (1995)
# "La Forteresse De Makiling" (1996)
# "L'Heure du Tigre" (1997)
# "Voir Venise..." (1998)
# "...Et mourir" (1999)
# "Golden Gate" (2000)
# "Shadow" (2002)
# "Le Prix de l'Argent" (2004)
# "La Loi du Dollar" (2005)
# "Les Trois Yeux des Gardiens du Tao" (2007)
# "La Voie et la Vertu" (2008)
# "Mer Noire" (2010)
# "Colère Rouge" (2012)
# "Chassé-Croisé" (2014)
# "20 Secondes" (2015)
# "L'Étoile du Matin" (2017)
# "Les Voiles Écarlates" (2019)
# "La Frontière de la Nuit" (2021)
# "Le Centile d’Or" (2023)
# "Si les dieux t'abandonnent..." (2025)
{{div col end}}

===In English===
The series have been translated into English and published by [[Cinebook]]<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.cinebook.co.uk/index.php?cPath=170| title= Largo Winch| website= cinebook.co.uk | publisher= | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110929171707/http://www.cinebook.co.uk/index.php?cPath=170 |archivedate=2011-09-29| access-date= }} </ref> in a censored form. The following issues have been released:
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
# "The Heir" (includes "The W Group")
# "Takeover Bid" (includes "Business Blues")
# "Dutch Connection" (includes "H")
# "The Hour of the Tiger" (includes "Fort Makiling")
# "See Venice..."
# "...And Die"
# "Golden Gate"
# "Shadow"
# "The Price of Money"
# "The Law of the Dollar"
# "The Three Eyes of the Tao Guardians"
# "The Way and the Virtue"
# "Cold Black Sea"
# "Red Hot Wrath"
# "Crossing Paths"
# "20 Seconds"
# "Morning Star"
# "Scarlet Sail"
# "The Edge of Night"
# "The Golden Percentile"
{{div col end}}

===Spinoff: ''La Fortune des Winczlav''===
# "Vanko 1848" (2021)
# "Tom and Liza 1910" (2022)
# "Danitza 1965" (2023)

==In other media==

===TV===
{{main|Largo Winch (TV series)}}

An English-language TV series loosely based on the comics was launched in 2001 and lasted two seasons, starring [[Paolo Seganti]] as Largo Winch and Diego Walraff as Simon Ovronnaz. It aired in France on [[M6 (TV channel)|M6]] and in Canada on [[Showcase (Canadian TV channel)|Showcase Television]] as ''Largo''. The complete series is available on [[DVD]] in France, with the episodes however only in dubbed French.

===Video games===
{{Infobox video game
| title = Largo Winch: Empire Under Threat
| image = Largo Winch - Empire Under Threat(PC video game) boxart.jpg
| caption = 
| developer = [[Dupuis]]
| publisher = [[Ubi Soft]]
| series = ''Largo Winch''
| released = '''PS2, Windows'''<br />{{vgrelease|PAL|September 6, 2002}}'''Xbox'''<br />{{vgrelease|PAL|September 19, 2002}}'''GameCube'''<br />{{vgrelease|PAL|October 1, 2002}}
| genre = [[Action-adventure game|Action-adventure]]
| modes = [[Single-player]]
| platforms = [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]], [[PlayStation 2]], [[GameCube]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]
}}

'''''Largo Winch: Empire Under Threat''''' is an [[action-adventure game]] released in 2002 by [[Dupuis]] only in Europe. It is a puzzle-based third-person game with Largo himself as the playable character. The plot of the game follows the usual scenario of ''Largo Winch'' stories, with his business empire under threat as he fights to save it, in locations such as [[New York City|New York]]; [[Veracruz (city)|Veracruz]], [[Mexico]]; [[Russia]]; [[Siberia]]; [[Sardinia]]; and Nerio's Island Sarjevane in the [[Adriatic Sea]]. It received mixed reviews from critics.<ref>{{Cite web| url= https://www.mobygames.com/game/largo-winch-empire-under-threat |title = Largo Winch: Empire Under Threat (2002)| website= mobygames.com| publisher= Moby Games| date= | access-date= }}</ref>

'''''Largo Winch .// Commando SAR''''' is an action-adventure game released in 2002 by [[Rebellion Developments]] for [[PlayStation 1]]. It's a third-person [[Stealth game|stealth]] game. The plot follows Largo Winch as he dismantles a cabal of commandos conspiring against Winch's financial empire. Unlike '''''Empire Under Threat''''', this game got a US release.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/24215/largo-winch-commando-sar/releases/ |title=Largo Winch .// Commando SAR Releases | website= mobygames.com| publisher= Moby Games| date= | access-date= }}</ref>

===Film===
{{main|Largo Winch (film)|Largo Winch II|The Price of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure}}

A [[Largo Winch (film)|first film]], written and directed by [[Jérôme Salle]] and starring [[Tomer Sisley]] as Largo Winch,<ref name= SCMP-TS>{{cite web| title= Tomer Sisley| url= https://www.scmp.com/article/685862/tomer-sisley| first= Tomer |last= Sisley| interviewer= Daniel Jeffreys| website= scmp.com| publisher=| date= 2009-07-05 | access-date= 2025-11-24}}</ref> was released in France on December 17, 2008, loosely adapting the first two issues with elements of the next two.

A [[Largo Winch II|sequel]], also by Salle, was released in 2011. Not adapting a particular storyline, it drew inspiration from the events of the fifth and six issues to create a new story. A third film is in the works, based on issues 13 and 14, without the involvement of Salle and Sisley but with a screenplay by series creator Jean Van Hamme himself, who'd been critical of the past films, and of Salle in particular.

''Largo'', a documentary film directed by Yves Legrain-Crist with Jean Van Hamme and Philippe Francq, was released in France in Autumn 2007. This film shows two authors are searching for the answer to the question, "How is a comic book created?" It has been available directly from the producers through video-on-demand,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://exemple.pumit.com/KanariFilms/indexEN.html |title=Kanari Films features Largo, the documentary |website= exemple.pumit.com |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080828024424/http://exemple.pumit.com/KanariFilms/indexEN.html |archive-date=28 August 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://largowinch-ledoc.com |title=Largo le documentaire |publisher= Kanari Films| website= largowinch-ledoc.com| year= 2009 | language= fr |accessdate= 2010-10-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20100808201854/http://www.largowinch-ledoc.com/ |archivedate=2010-08-08}}</ref> with English subtitles.

A third instalment, ''[[The Price of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure]]'' (2024), also known as ''Largo Winch 3'', was directed by Olivier Masset-Depasse and written by Giordano Gederlini and Domenico La Porta. It was released by O'Brother Distribution and Pan Distribution on July 31, 2024, in France; August 7, 2024, in Belgium; and August 28, 2024, in Russia and Kuwait. The film had a budget of $17 million but only grossed $3.6 million worldwide.

== Plot ==
Largo Winch is devastated after his son is kidnapped. He acknowledges the possibility of seeing his son again if he manages to track down the people who caused his bankruptcy.

== Cast ==
{{castlist|
* [[Tomer Sisley]] as Largo Winch<ref name= SCMP-TS />
* [[James Franco]] as Ezio Burntwood<ref name= penned>{{Cite web |last=Goldbart |first=Max |date=2023-10-16 |title=James Franco Starring In Middle Eastern Crime Drama Series Penned By 'Shades Of Blue' Creator Adi Hasak – Mipcom Cannes |url=https://deadline.com/2023/10/james-franco-adi-hasak-karantina-1235561565/ |access-date=2023-10-29 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-10-29 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231029035532/https://deadline.com/2023/10/james-franco-adi-hasak-karantina-1235561565/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Koen De Bouw]] as Rudy Gessner
* Narayan David Hecter as Noom <ref name= returns>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-02 |title=With 3 million admissions at the box office, this French action saga returns to cinemas in 2024 | website= iGamesNews.com |url=https://igamesnews.com/news/with-3-million-admissions-at-the-box-office-this-french-action-saga-returns-to-cinemas-in-2024/ |access-date=2023-10-29 |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029041036/https://igamesnews.com/news/with-3-million-admissions-at-the-box-office-this-french-action-saga-returns-to-cinemas-in-2024/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[Denis O'Hare]] as Dwight Cochrane 
* [[Sonia Vachon]]
* Liliya Atanasova as a cheering woman 
* [[Clotilde Hesme]] as Chloé Riva<ref name= returns />
* Élise Tilloloy as Bonnie<ref name= returns />
* Supachai Girdsuwan as Chief Arun
* Banyong Phoonsap as Kao Shen
* Jonathan Sawdon as Olsen
}}

==See also==
*''[[Agnyaathavaasi]]'' (2018) and ''[[Saaho]]'' (2019), Indian film adaptations

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|http://www.largowinch.com}} {{in lang|fr}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101120234617/http://www.cinebook.co.uk/catalogue~cat~A-008-019B.asp Largo Winch] at Cinebook Ltd, its publisher in English
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110118080604/http://www.largowinch2.com/ ''Largo Winch 2''] official fansite {{in lang|fr|en}} 

{{Portal bar|Comics}}

[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1978|Winch, Largo]]
[[Category:Belgian comic strips]]
[[Category:1990 comics debuts]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1990|Winch, Largo]]
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[[Category:Belgian comics characters|Winch, Largo]]
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