By Goscinny and Tabary, translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-84918-181-5
For the greater part of his far-too-short lifetime (1926-1977), René Goscinny was one of the most prolific and widely-read writers of comic strips in history. He still is.
Amongst his most popular and enduring comic collaborations are Lucky Luke, Le Petit Nicolas, Signor Spaghetti and, of course, Asterix the Gaul, but there were so many others, such as the despicably dark deeds of a dastardly usurper whose dreams of diabolical skulduggery perpetually proved to be ultimately no more than castles in the sand…
In the wake of the Suez crisis, the French returned Рby way of comics, at least Рto the hotly contested deserts when Goscinny teamed with hugely gifted Swedish ̩migr̩ Jean Tabary (1930-2011) Рwho numbered Richard et Charlie, Grabadu et Gabaliouchtou, Totoche, Corinne et Jeannot and Valentin le Vagabond amongst his other hit strips Рto detail the innocuous history of imbecilic Arabian (im)potentate Haroun el-Poussah.
However, as is so often the case, it was the strip’s villainous foil, power-hungry vizier Iznogoud, who stole the show… possibly the conniving little blackguard’s only successful insurrection.
Les Aventures du Calife Haroun el Poussah was created for Record; the first episode appearing in the January 15th issue of 1962. A petite hit, the feature subsequently jumped ship to Pilote – a new comics magazine created and edited by Goscinny – where it was artfully refashioned into a starring vehicle for the devious little Tuareg toe-rag who had increasingly been hogging all the laughs and limelight.
Insidious Iznogoud is Grand Vizier to affable, easy-going Caliph of Ancient Baghdad Haroun Al Plassid, but the sneaky little second-in-command has loftier ambitions, or as he is always declaiming “I want to be Caliph instead of the Caliph!â€â€¦
The retooled rapscallion resurfaced in Pilote in 1968, quickly becoming a massive European hit, resulting in 29 albums to date, his own solo comic, a computer game, animated film, TV cartoon show and even a live-action movie.
Like all great storytelling, Iznogoud works on two levels: for youngsters it’s a comedic romp with adorably wicked baddies invariably hoisted on their own petards and coming a-cropper, whilst older, wiser heads can revel in pun-filled, witty satires and superbly surreal antics.
This same magic formula made its more famous cousin Asterix a monolithic global phenomenon and, just like the saga of the indomitable Gaul, the appallingly addictive Arabian Nit was first adapted into English by master translators Anthea Bell & Derek Hockridge who make all that foreign stuff so very palatable to picky British tastes.
Following Goscinny’s death in 1977, Tabary began scripting his own tales, switching to book-length complete adventures rather than the short, snappy vignettes which typified his collaborations. Upon his passing, Tabary’s children Stéphane, Muriel and Nicolas took over the franchise.
The deliciously malicious whimsy is always heavily dosed with manic absurdity, cleverly contemporary cultural critiques and brilliantly delivered creative anachronisms which serve to keep the assorted escapades bizarrely fresh and hilariously inventive.
Iznogoud l’acharné was originally released in 1974, the tenth outrageously exotic album compilation, offering another quintet of trend-setting tales with our ambitious autocrat scheming to seize power from his good but gullible Lord and Master, and following the traditional introductory page introducing our tawdry star and other regulars, the devious deceptions resume with ‘The Malefic Hopscotch Grid’.
The origins of that venerable children’s pastime is traced back to beleaguered Baghdad where ignoble Iznogoud has hired a sorcerer to turn the Caliph into a child, thereby making the Vizier the only choice for Regent. All the target has to do is skip the number-squares in the right order to be rejuvenated right out of office…
Sadly as everybody knows the urge to jump on the devilish design is irresistible and almost all of Baghdad tries the game before unlucky Iznogoud can get the Caliph to give it a go. Moreover all those pesky kids milling about make the Vile Vizier hopping mad…
It’s Haroun Al Plassid’s birthday and his legendarily miserly servant Iznogoud is scouring the bazaar in search of the cheapest piece of tat he can find for a present when he meets a strange merchant selling the oddest items. Of course the vizier plays his usual unfair haggling tricks so the vendor magically despatches him to ‘Souvenir Island’: a peculiar place packed with the absurdest absurdist trash of all the ages…
When a new charmer from India sets up in Baghdad, Iznogoud dashes straight over to see what the magician has in the way of obstacle-removers. Mumbaijumbo is ‘The Merchant of Forgetfulness’ and eventually remembers to flog the villainous vizier a perfume which causes instant amnesia, but of course getting the Caliph to sniff the sinister smelly-stuff is fraught with calamity and peril…
A far better weapon to advance Iznogoud’s evil ambition is ‘The Doggy Flute’ used by a Chinese mage to turn rude people, bullies and obnoxious boors into cute canines. Sadly Iznogoud, after fooling the wizard into parting with the flute and teaching him the tricky tune needed to operate it, loses the refrain and his frantic practising causes all manner of animal magic to run wild before justice catches up with him…
The sandy silliness reaches the summit of time-bending barmyness when another Indian magic-man arrives bearing ‘The Magic Catalogue’.
Uatsdhada (Mage) leaves the venal vizier his copy of the incredible grimoire Seers of Bombay from which the owner can summon items from all of time and space. There are drawbacks of course: only three items can be ordered and, although there are pictures and descriptions, a client’s basic knowledge limits what he can even recognise…
Thus instead of guns or bombs the nasty nabob summons such wicked-looking instruments of torture as exercise bikes to deal with imperial impediment Haroun Al Plassid, all the while blithely unaware that there is an actual plot against the Caliph by traitors who actually know what they’re doing and might get the job done as long as nobody gets in their way…
Such convoluted witty, fast-paced hi-jinks and craftily crafted comedy set pieces have made this addictive series a household name in France where “Iznogoud†is common parlance for a certain kind of politician: over-ambitious, unscrupulous – and frequently insufficient in inches (or should that be centimetres?).
Desiring to become “Caliph in the Caliph’s place†is a popular condemnation in French, targeting those perceived as overly-ambitious, and since 1992 the Prix Iznogoud is awarded annually to “a personality who failed to take the Caliph’s placeâ€.
Nominees are chosen from prominent French figures who have endured spectacular failures in any one year and been given to the likes of Édouard Balladur (1995) and Nicolas Sarkozy (1999). The jury panel is headed by politician André Santini, who gave himself one after failing to become president of Île-de-France in regional elections in 2004.
When first released in Britain during the late 1970s and 1980s (and again in 1996 as a periodical comicbook) these tales made little impression, but at last this wonderfully beguiling strip has deservedly found an appreciative audience among today’s more internationally aware, politically jaded comics-and-cartoon savvy connoisseurs…
Original edition © 2013 IMAV éditions by Goscinny – Tabary. All rights reserved. English translation © 2013 Cinebook Ltd.