Abraham Tuizentfloot, in full ''Oscar Abraham Tuizentfloot'', is a Flemish comic book character from the Belgian comic book series ''
The Adventures of Nero
''The Adventures of Nero'' or ''Nero'' was a Belgian comic strip drawn by Marc Sleen and the name of its main character. The original title ranged from ''De Avonturen van Detectief Van Zwam'' in 1947 to ''De Avonturen van Nero en zijn Hoed' ...
'' by
Marc Sleen
Marcel Honoree Nestor ( ridder) Neels (30 December 1922 – 6 November 2016), known as Marc Sleen, was a Belgian cartoonist. He was mostly known for his comic '' The Adventures of Nero and Co.'', but also created gag comics like '' Piet Fluwijn ...
. He is a crazy little man who dresses up as a pirate and has a tendency to attack people. In the series he is one of
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...
's personal friends.
Tuizentfloot is one of the most popular and recognizable Flemish comic book characters. He has his own statue in
Wuustwezel. The character is also very popular in the Netherlands, according to creator
Marc Sleen
Marcel Honoree Nestor ( ridder) Neels (30 December 1922 – 6 November 2016), known as Marc Sleen, was a Belgian cartoonist. He was mostly known for his comic '' The Adventures of Nero and Co.'', but also created gag comics like '' Piet Fluwijn ...
.
[Jan Smet en Fernand Auwera, "Marc Sleen", Standaard Uitgeverij, 1985.]
Origins
Tuizentfloot made his debut in the 28th Nero story ''De Granaatslikker'' ("The Grenade Swallower") (1957) when he rings at
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...
's door and invites him to go on adventure together. Nero, however, is tired and tells Tuizentfloot ''"to go to
Geel
Geel () is a city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp, which acquired city status in the 1980s. It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns: Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum. Further on around the ce ...
"'' In the course of the story Nero desperately tries to get rid of this crazy man, but he travels along as a stowaway to Antarctica. From that moment on he is part of Nero's circle of friends.
Character
Tuizentfloot is an insane little man who thinks he is a pirate and an admiral. He uses naval expressions, especially when insulting and berating others. Tuizentfloot often brags about all the battles he supposedly won, including the
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...
, the
Battle of Abukir and those of
Zwijnaarde
Zwijnaarde () is a village in the municipality of Ghent, Belgium. It is known for its fair and its ''Zwijntjes'' beer. A cluster of biotech companies is located at the Zwijnaarde science park, with biotech companies such as Innogenetics, and De ...
,
Santa Cruz and
Wuustwezel. He also claims to have discovered
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
,
Port Salut
Port Salut is a semi-soft pasteurised cow's milk cheese from Pays de la Loire, France, with a distinctive orange rind and a mild flavour. The cheese is produced in wheels approximately 23 cm (9 inches) in diameter, weighing approxi ...
and ''"Port Dada"'' and considers himself to be the ''"biggest pirate of all time!"'' Tuizentfloot acts the part too. He is always dressed like an 18th-century
buccaneer
Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 until about 168 ...
, complete with black
Jolly Roger
Jolly Roger is the traditional English name for the flags flown to identify a pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the later part of the Golden Age of Piracy).
The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly ...
bicorne
The bicorne or bicorn (two-cornered) is a historical form of hat widely adopted in the 1790s as an item of uniform by European and American army and naval officers. Most generals and staff officers of the Napoleonic period wore bicornes, whic ...
and a
sabre
A sabre ( French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...
. In some stories we see him pulling a miniature
cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
behind him and in one story, ''"De Dolle Vloot" ("The Crazy Fleet") (1976)'' he owns a 16th-century
caravel
The caravel (Portuguese: , ) is a small maneuverable sailing ship used in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave it speed and the capacity for sailing win ...
. Only in a few albums he wears different outfits, namely ''"De Driedubbelgestreepte" ("The Three Double Striped One") (1963)'', in which he calls himself ''"Otto... aha... Mobil"'' and walks around with a piece of
carrossery around his body. In ''"De Neroberg" ("The Nero Mountain") (1986)'' he wears a traditional Indian outfit and calls himself ''"Kalimpong Singh".''
Despite all this there is never any real evidence that Tuizentfloot is an actual pirate? He is hardly ever seen at sea and only in ''"De Dolle Vloot"'' do we see his own ship. Tuizentfloot can't even swim. Seeing that he is certified insane and spent a lot of time in
mental institution
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
s it can be assumed that it's part of his personal illusions. In ''"De Zwarte Piraat" ("The Black Pirate") (1990–1991)'' he meets another eccentric man, Pol van den Hoven tot Pee (aka ''"Pottepee"''), who also dresses up like a pirate and makes many of the same ludicrous claims Tuizentloot does.
Tuizentfloot has a verbal tic that makes him use the word ''"aha"'' in almost every sentence he says or shouts. He is also paranoid and frequently attacks people whom he considers to be ''"the enemy"''. Usually he swings at them with his
sabre
A sabre ( French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...
, stinging and cutting them in the process while he yells his catchphrase: ''"Ten... aha... aanval!" ("Let's... aha... attack!").'' Much like
Captain Haddock
Captain Archibald Haddock (french: Capitaine Archibald Haddock, link=no, ) is a fictional character in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. He is one of Tintin's best friends, a seafaring pipe-smoking ...
Tuizentfloot doesn't shy away from using inspired vulgarities to insult his opponents, many inspired by naval terms. Even Nero and his friends aren't safe from Tuizentfloot's aggression and anger. He frequently fights
Meneer Pheip
Meneer Pheip is a Flemish comic book character from the Belgian comic strip ''The Adventures of Nero'' by Marc Sleen. In the series he is part of Nero's personal circle of friends, despite often being up in arms with him. He is the husband of M ...
and his son Clo-Clo and destroys their clothing and homes. In some stories Tuizentfloot even sides with
Villain
A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...
s. From his first appearance on, in ''"De Granaatslikker" ("The Grenade Swallower") (1957)'', Tuizentfloot starts a
mutiny against Captain Oliepul on Nero's ship and does this again in ''"De Nerovingers" ("The Nerovingers") (1960).'' In ''"Het Knalgele Koffertje" ("The Little Bright Yellow Trunk") (1958–1959)'' Tuizentfloot helps a group of thieves to steal a precious trunk from Nero's uncle and bring it to
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
. In "De Nerovingers" (1960) Tuizentfloot helps the
mad scientist
The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or " insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly a ...
Marcus Liberius in his crazy plan to split the Earth in two. In ''"De Bibberballon" (1990) ("The Shiver Balloon")'' and ''"De Zwarte Piraat" ("The Black Pirate") (1990)'' Tuizentfloot wants to join the
First Gulf War to fight
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
. Several of his insane friends are either a nuisance to Nero and co, or even a dangerous threat.
All in all Nero and his friends do consider Tuizentfloot to be one of their closest relatives. In ''"Nerorock" (1990)'' Nero starts a rock band and Tuizentfloot is hired as their drummer, seeing that he is ''"crazier than
Animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
"''. When Tuizentfloot is shot by
Ricardo
Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname.
People Given name
*Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...
in ''"Het Spook van Zoetendaal" ("The Ghost of Zoetendaal") (1979)'' Nero is even honestly angry and upset. He tells his wounded friend that without him the Nero stories are like ''"beer without foam"''. Tuizentfloot has also saved Nero many times against criminals who dared to attack him.
Family
In ''"De Adhemar Bonbons" ("The Adhemar Pralines") (1989)'' Tuizentfloot is transformed into a baby, so we get an idea what he looked like at that age. In ''"Daris Doet Het" ("Daris Does It") (1978)'' it is revealed that his mother hailed from
IJmuiden and his father from Springintveld (a non-existing place which is a pun on the Dutch term ''"spring-in-'t-veld"'', used for enthusiastic people.) This would make Tuizentfloot partially of Dutch descent. He also has a sister, Dina, who is a radical
feminist and also wears a pirate hat on her head. Two of his uncles were apparently rich and left him their fortune twice
Tuizentfloot fell in love with Prinses Lovely in ''"De Mosterd van Abraham" ("The Mustard of Abraham") (1973)'', but, despite wanting to marry him at first, she eventually rejects him ''"because his moustache is too long and his socks too short."'' In ''"De Gladde Figaro" ("The Slippery Figaro") (1991–1992)'' he wants to marry
Madam Pheip
Madam Pheip is a character from the Flemish comic strip ''The Adventures of Nero'' by Marc Sleen. In the series she is one of Nero 's personal friends and married to Meneer Pheip, with whom she has one child, Clo-Clo. Madam Pheip also adopted two ...
, but she too rejects him.
Friendships with animals
Tuizentfloot usually gets on well with animals. In ''"De Granaatslikker" ("The Grenade Swallower") (1957), "Het Wonderwolkje" ("The Magic Cloud") (1960)'' and ''"Kouwe Kwibus" (1967) ("Cold Weirdo")'' he respectively uses a pig, a
pelican and a giant
mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
as his personal
mount. Still he can attack and kill them too, like the snake and tiger in ''"De Kat van Katmandu" ("The Cat of Catmandu") (1978)''. In ''"De Hond van Pavlov" ("Pavlov's dog") (1994)'' Tuizentfloot's nose is bit off by a small dog.
Tuizentfloot is changed into an animal himself twice. In ''"De Kat van Katmandu" ("The Cat of Catmandu" (1978))'' he is changed into a
cockatoo
A cockatoo is any of the 21 parrot species belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the orde ...
and in ''"Allemaal Beestjes" ("All Animals") (1981)'' in a
wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. ...
.
In popular culture
Over the decades Abraham Tuizentfloot has enjoyed immense popularity with ''"Nero"'' readers.
Marc Sleen
Marcel Honoree Nestor ( ridder) Neels (30 December 1922 – 6 November 2016), known as Marc Sleen, was a Belgian cartoonist. He was mostly known for his comic '' The Adventures of Nero and Co.'', but also created gag comics like '' Piet Fluwijn ...
claimed he was his most popular character in the Netherlands and in 1973 Tuizentfloot was elected as ''"Comic Book Character of the Year"'' by the magazine ''Stripschrift''.
In
Damme, West-Flanders, a comic book store was named ''AHA! Tussen boek en strip'' (''"AHA! Between book and comic"''), after Tuizentfloot's catch phrase.
Tuizentfloot is included along with other Nero characters on a bas-relief in
Sint-Niklaas
Sint-Niklaas (; french: Saint-Nicolas, ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and .
Sint-Nikl ...
, made by sculptor Paul Dekker in 1988 to commemorate
Marc Sleen
Marcel Honoree Nestor ( ridder) Neels (30 December 1922 – 6 November 2016), known as Marc Sleen, was a Belgian cartoonist. He was mostly known for his comic '' The Adventures of Nero and Co.'', but also created gag comics like '' Piet Fluwijn ...
's induction as an honor citizen of the city. In 1995 a special wall near the
Saint-Géry Island
Saint-Géry Island (french: île Saint-Géry) or Sint-Goriks Island ( Dutch: ) was the largest island in the river Senne in Brussels, Belgium. It was named after Saint Gaugericus, nl, Sint-Goriks, link=no of Cambrai, who according to legend, b ...
in Brussels celebrating Nero characters, also included him.
In 2000 Tuizentfloot also received his own statue in
Wuustwezel in front of the local library in de Dorpsstraat. The location was chosen because Tuizentfloot frequently refers to the town in the ''Nero'' albums, claiming to have won the (non-existent) ''"Battle of Wuustwezel"''. It was designed in bronze by artist Gilbert Uitdenhouwen. In 2009 the statue was subject of vandalism and had to be repaired.
Despite Tuizentfloot's popularity with readers Sleen was often asked by other readers to remove the character from the series. Especially his bosses from his newspaper ''
De Standaard'' didn't like Tuizentfloot's aggressiveness and constant swearing. Sleen responded to this by having the character not appear in some stories, but by popular demand he was always forced to bring him back again. In ''"De Mosterd van Abraham" (1973)'' Tuizentfloot visits
Marc Sleen
Marcel Honoree Nestor ( ridder) Neels (30 December 1922 – 6 November 2016), known as Marc Sleen, was a Belgian cartoonist. He was mostly known for his comic '' The Adventures of Nero and Co.'', but also created gag comics like '' Piet Fluwijn ...
at the start of the story to complain about his small roles in his latest albums.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuizentfloot, Abraham
Belgian comics characters
Fictional pirates
Fictional swordfighters in comics
Fictional characters with mental disorders
Fictional characters with dwarfism
Fictional characters from Flanders
Comics characters introduced in 1957
The Adventures of Nero
Male characters in comics