The character of Lupin was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazine Je sais tout, starting in No. 6, dated 15 July 1905. He was originally called Arsène Lopin, until a local politician of the same name protested, resulting in the name change.
Lupin was featured in 17 novels and 39 novellas by Leblanc, with the novellas or short stories collected into book form for a total of 24 books. The first story, "The Arrest of Arsène Lupin", was published in the magazine Je sais tout on 15 July 1905.
The character has also appeared in a number of books from other writers as well as numerous film, television, stage play, and comic book adaptations.
Aside from the Arsène Lupin stories written by Maurice Leblanc (1864–1941) himself, five authorized sequels were written in the 1970s by the celebrated mystery writing team of Boileau-Narcejac.
Origins
Arsène Lupin is a literary descendant of Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail's Rocambole. Like him, he is often a force for good, while operating on the wrong side of the law. Those whom Lupin defeats, always with his characteristic Gallic style and panache, are worse villains than he. Lupin shares distinct similarities with E. W. Hornung's archetypal gentleman thief A. J. Raffles who first appeared in The Amateur Cracksman in 1899, but both creations can be said to anticipate and have inspired later characters such as Louis Joseph Vance's The Lone Wolf and Leslie Charteris's The Saint.
The character of Arsène Lupin might also have been based by Leblanc on French anarchist Marius Jacob, whose trial made headlines in March 1905, but Leblanc had also read Octave Mirbeau's Les 21 jours d'un neurasthénique (1901), which features a gentleman thief named Arthur Lebeau, and had seen Mirbeau's comedy Scrupules (1902), whose main character is a gentleman thief.
Fantasy elements
Several Arsène Lupin novels contain some interesting fantasy elements: a radioactive 'god-stone' that cures people and causes mutations is the object of an epic battle in L’Île aux trente cercueils; the secret of the Fountain of Youth, a mineral water source hidden beneath a lake in the Auvergne, is the goal sought by the protagonists in La Demoiselle aux yeux verts; finally, in La Comtesse de Cagliostro, Lupin's arch-enemy and lover is none other than Joséphine Balsamo, the alleged granddaughter of Cagliostro himself.
Arsène Lupin and Sherlock Holmes
Leblanc introduced Sherlock Holmes to Lupin in the short story "Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late" in Je sais tout No. 17, 15 June 1906. In it, an aged Holmes meets a young Lupin for the first time. After legal objections from Conan Doyle, the name was changed to "Herlock Sholmes" when the story was collected in book form in Volume 1.
Sholmes returned in two more stories collected in Volume 2, "Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmes", and then in a guest-starring role in the battle for the secret of the Hollow Needle in L'Aiguille creuse. Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmes was published in the United States in 1910 under the title "The Blonde Lady" which used the name "Holmlock Shears" for Sherlock Holmes, and "Wilson" for Watson.
In 813, Lupin manages to solve a riddle that Herlock Sholmes was unable to figure out.
Sherlock Holmes, this time with his real name and accompanied by familiar characters such as Watson and Lestrade (all copyright protection having long expired), also confronted Arsène Lupin in the 2008 PC 3D adventure game Sherlock Holmes versus Arsène Lupin. In this game Holmes (and occasionally others) are attempting to stop Lupin from stealing five valuable British items. Lupin wants to steal the items in order to humiliate Britain, but he also admires Holmes and thus challenges him to try to stop him.
In a novella "The Prisoner of the Tower, or A Short But Beautiful Journey of Three Wise Men" by Boris Akunin published in 2008 in Russia as the conclusion of "Jade Rosary Beads" book, Sherlock Holmes and Erast Fandorin oppose Arsène Lupin on December 31, 1899.
The exploits of Arsène Lupin inspired an entire Phantom thief (Kaitō) subgenre of Japanese media.
Arsène Lupin is referred to as the grandfather of Lupin III in the Japanese manga series of the same name created by Monkey Punch. Arsène himself appears in chapter 37 of the series.
Soul Eater episode 3, the introduction of Death The Kid and the Thompson Sisters initially depicts them chasing the demonic form of Arsène Lupin so that the sisters could claim and devour his soul. When Death The Kid begins panicking about the lack of symmetry with the sisters and their appearances, Lupin escapes down a manhole and is not seen for the rest of the episode.
Hidan no Aria episode 4, Riko Mine reveals that she is the great-granddaughter of Arsène Lupin after she hijacked the airplane that Aria took. She also reveals Aria's identity as the descendant of Sherlock Holmes.
Kaito Kid from Gosho Aoyama's manga series Magic Kaito and Detective Conan is often compared to Arsene Lupin. Lupin is also highlighted in volume 4 of "Gosho Aoyama's Mystery Library", a section of the Detective Conan graphic novels where the author introduces a different detective (or in this case, a villain/detective) from literature.
Meimi Haneoka, who "transforms" into Kaitō Saint Tail heavily inspired by Arsene Lupin, a thief with acrobatic and magician skills, from Saint Tail by Megumi Tachikawa.
Chizuko Mikamo, from the manga Nijū Mensō no Musume.
In the Adventure of The Doraemons, the robot cat The Mysterious Thief Dorapent resembles Lupin.
A funny animal pastiche of Arsène Lupin is Arpin Lusène, of the Scrooge McDuck Universe.
Případ Grendwal (A Grendwal Case), a play by Pavel Dostál, Czech playwright and Minister of Culture
Tuxedo Mask from the manga series Sailor Moon, also resembles Arsène Lupin.
Arsène Lupin et le mystère d'Arsonval by Michel Zink
Qui fait peur à Virginia Woolf ? (... Élémentaire mon cher Lupin !) by Gabriel Thoveron
Crimes parfaits by Christian Poslaniec
La Dent de Jane by Daniel Salmon (2001)
Les Lupins de Vincent by Caroline Cayol et Didier Cayol (2006)
The Prisoner of the Tower, or A Short But Beautiful Journey of Three Wise Men (Узница башни, или Краткий, но прекрасный путь трёх мудрых) by Boris Akunin in a selection of stories The Jade Beads (Нефритовые чётки) (2006, in Russian). Arsène Lupin appears in this novella with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and Akunin's own characters Erast Fandorin and Masa, the Japanese. The story is dedicated to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Maurice Leblanc.
L'Église creuse by Patrick Genevaux (2009) (short story)
The Many Faces of Arsène Lupin collection of short stories edited by Jean-Marc Lofficier & Randy Lofficier (Black Coat Press, 2012)
In Kamen Rider Drive's portion of Drive & Gaim: Movie War Full Throttle, Drive is involved in a case with a phantom thief named Zoruku Tojo who also calls himself Ultimate Lupin. Tojo used to be a famous phantom thief but was forced to quit when he became old. Six months after the Global Freeze, he uncovered Cyberiod ZZZ and transferred his consciousness into it and is able to assume many disguises including his younger appearance. Tojo copies Mashin Chaser's Break Gunner to create the Lupin Gunner to transform into Kamen Rider Lupin and defeats both Mashin Chaser and Drive, taking the Kamen Rider title from the latter. Tojo impersonates Kiriko Shijima until he is found out by Shinnosuke Tomari. The two fight one last time with Drive defeating Lupin, with the latter accepting defeat and relinquishes the Kamen Rider title back to Drive. Tojo's consciousness inhabits a Bat Viral Core and promises Shinnosuke that they will meet again.
The 1915 film Filibus features a female air pirate strongly redolent of Lupin, whose adventures were likely an influence on the film's screenplay.
Films
The Gentleman Burglar (B&W., US, 1908) with William Ranows (Lupin).
Arsène Lupin (B&W., France, 1914) with Georges Tréville (Lupin).
The Gentleman Burglar (B&W., US, 1915) with William Stowell (Lupin).
Arsène Lupin (B&W., UK, 1916) with Gerald Ames (Lupin).
Arsène Lupin (B&W., US, 1917) with Earle Williams (Lupin).
Arsène Lupin (col., France, 2004) with Romain Duris (Lupin).
Lupin no Kiganjo (col., Japan, 2011) with Kōichi Yamadera (Lupin).
Television
Arsène Lupin, 26 60-minute episodes (1971, 1973–1974) with Georges Descrières (Lupin), Arsène Lupin at the Internet Movie Database.
L'Île aux trente cercueils, six 60-minute episodes (1979) (the character of Lupin, who only appears at the end of the novel, was removed entirely).
Arsène Lupin joue et perd, six 52-minute episodes (1980) loosely based on 813 with Jean-Claude Brialy (Lupin).
Le Retour d'Arsène Lupin, twelve 90-minute episodes (1989–1990) and Les Nouveaux Exploits d'Arsène Lupin, eight 90-minute episodes (1995–1996) with François Dunoyer (Lupin).
Les Exploits d'Arsène Lupin a.k.a. Night Hood, produced by Cinar & France-Animation, 26 episodes for 24 min. in (1996)
Lupin (Philippine TV series), Philippines (2007) with Richard Gutierrez (Lupin).
Stage
Arsène Lupin by Francis de Croisset and Maurice Leblanc. Four-act play first performed on October 28, 1908, at the Athenée in Paris.
Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès by Victor Darlay & Henri de Gorsse. Four-act play first performed on October 10, 1910, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. (American edition ISBN 1-932983-16-3)
Le Retour d'Arsène Lupin by Francis de Croisset and Maurice Leblanc. One-act play first performed on September 16, 1911, at the Théâtre de la Cigale in Paris.
A/L The Youth of Phantom Thief Lupin by Yoshimasa Saitou . Takarazuka Revue performance, 2007, starring Yūga Yamato and Hana Hizuki.
Rupan －ARSÈNE LUPIN－ by Haruhiko Masatsuka . Takarazuka Revue performance, 2013, starring Masaki Ryū and Reika Manaki (after Le Dernier Amour d'Arsène Lupin)
Comics
Arsène Lupin, written by Georges Cheylard, art by Bourdin. Daily strip published in France-Soir in 1948-49.
Arsène Lupin, written & drawn by Jacques Blondeau. 575 daily strips published in Le Parisien Libéré from 1956-58.
Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès: La Dame blonde, written by Joëlle Gilles, art by Gilles & B. Cado, published by the authors, 1983.
Arsène Lupin, written by André-Paul Duchateau, artist Géron, published by C. Lefrancq.
Le Bouchon de cristal (1989)
813 — La Double Vie d'Arsène Lupin (1990)
813 — Les Trois crimes d'Arsène Lupin (1991)
La Demoiselle aux yeux verts (1992)
L'Aiguille creuse (1994)
Arpin Lusène is featured as a character in the Donald Duck & Co stories The Black Knight (1997), Attaaaaaack! (2000) and The Black Knight GLORPS again! (2004) by Don Rosa.
There is an ongoing manga adaptation of Arsène Lupin first published in 2011, from Gundam artist Takashi Morita.
Video games
Sherlock Holmes versus Arsène Lupin (known in North America and some parts of England as Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis) is an adventure game for Windows-compatible computers. It was developed by the game development studio Frogwares, and released in October, 2007. The game follows Holmes and Watson as Holmes is challenged by the legendary gentleman thief Arsène Lupin, who threatens to steal England's most prized treasures.
Arsène Lupin was an inspiration for a character in the upcoming Persona 5.
Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~, an otome game for the PlayStation Vita, features several fictional characters as potential romantic interests for the player character. The main male character is a gentleman thief named Arsène Lupin.
