''Iznogoud'' (pronounced "he's/is no good" with a French accent) is a French comics series featuring an

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

character, created by the comics writer

René Goscinny René Goscinny (, ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Raised largely in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended French schoo ...

and

comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary a ...

Jean Tabary Jean Tabary (5 March 1930 – 18 August 2011) was a French comics artist. Biography Tabary was born in Stockholm and made his comics debut with ''Richard et Charlie'' published in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Vaillant'' on 5 November ...

. The comic series chronicles the life and times of Iznogoud, the Grand Vizier of the

Caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

of Baghdad at an undefined period in the past. His greatest desire is to replace the Caliph, leading him to repeatedly utter the phrase "I want to be Caliph instead of the Caliph" (dethrone him), a phrase that has been adopted in French and some other European languages to characterize overly ambitious people. Iznogoud is supported by his dimwitted yet faithful servant, Wa'at Alahf (pronounced "what a laugh"). After the death of Goscinny in 1977 Tabary continued with writing the character. The stories have been translated into several languages, including English, and the title has been adapted to animated and live-action film. So far 30 graphic novels featuring Iznogoud have been published in French, with at least 26 of those published in English and a number of other languages. Iznogoud was also adapted into a cartoon series produced by

Saban Entertainment Saban Entertainment, Inc. (along with Saban International; currently operating under the legal name is BVS Entertainment, Inc.) was a worldwide-served independent American-Israeli television production company formed in 1980 by Haim Saban and ...

, with 52 episodes to its name, again with most of them having been translated to other languages as well.

Publication history

The series made its debut in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''Record'' on 15 January 1962 under the title, ''Les aventures du Calife Haroun el Poussah''. It was eventually recognised that the wicked supporting character ought to be the focus of the strip, and it was renamed ''Iznogoud''. In 1968, it resumed serial publication in Goscinny's ''

Pilote Cover of the first ''Pilote'' issue #0 ''Pilote'' () was a French comic magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as ''Astérix'', '' ...

'' magazine. Goscinny's taste for sharp satirical writing keeps the repetitive format of the stories constantly fresh, making Iznogoud one of the most popular anti-heroes in the French comic strip world. Goscinny's skill with puns, made famous in ''

Astérix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...

'', is also evident in ''Iznogoud''. Most of the puns in the original French make little sense if translated directly into English, requiring of translators (

Anthea Bell Anthea Bell (10 May 1936 – 18 October 2018) was an English translator of literary works, including children's literature, from French, German and Danish. These include '' The Castle'' by Franz Kafka, '' Austerlitz'' by W. G. Sebald, the ''In ...

and

Derek Hockridge Derek Hockridge (1934 – 8 August 2013) was a British translator, teacher, lecturer, and occasional actor, who was perhaps best known for his translations of the ''Asterix'' comic book series. Born in Wales and brought up in Birmingham, he comp ...

in the case of the English translations) to find creative solutions for equivalent puns while still keeping within the spirit of the original text. When Goscinny died in 1977, Tabary eventually decided to carry on the work himself, just as

Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; ; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the '' Astérix'' series in collaboration with ...

did with ''Asterix''. While the Goscinny period was characterized by "albums" comprising several short-length tales each, Tabary turned the series in a new direction, by dedicating every new album entirely to a single story, larger and much more detailed, usually revolving around a new unique concept. In 1987 a game was produced by

Infogrames Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA) is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. It is the current owner of the Atari brand through Atari Interactive. ...

entitled ''Iznogoud''. The series was adapted to animated film in 1995 with a cartoon TV series, where the caliph is referred to as a sultan. A live-action ''Iznogoud'' film starring

Michaël Youn Michaël Benayoun (; born 1973), known professionally as Michaël Youn, is a French actor, singer, comedian and television personality. Life and career Youn was born Michaël Benayoun in Suresnes, France, to a family of Hungarian, Italian, ...

and

Jacques Villeret Jacques Villeret (; 6 February 1951 – 28 January 2005) was a French actor, best known internationally for his role as François Pignon in the comedy ''Le Dîner de Cons''. During his career, he earned many awards including the prestigious ...

, ''Iznogoud: Calife à la place du calife'', was released in France in February 2005. The publisher

Cinebook Ltd Cinebook Ltd is a British publishing company that publishes comic albums and graphic novels. It describes itself as "the 9th art publisher," the 9th art being comics in continental Europe, especially France, Belgium and Italy. They typically ...

is currently publishing English language translations of the books in the Iznogoud series. The first book in the series, "The Wicked Wiles of Iznogoud", was published in March 2008. Further volumes continue to appear at approximately six month intervals. In India, Euro Books published the English versions of 12 Iznogoud titles in 2009.

Synopsis

Iznogoud is Grand Vizier to the

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

Haroun El Poussah Haroun El Poussah (also called Haroun El Plassid in English or Harun El Pullah in Finnish) is the caliph in the ''Iznogoud'' comics series, created by René Goscinny and Jean Tabary. Character Haroun El Poussah is a middle-aged, corpulent man wh ...

(Haroun El Plassid in English, a pun on the historical Caliph,

Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...

; "poussah" is roughly translated as "oaf"). His sole aim in life is to overthrow the Caliph and take his place. This is frequently expressed in his famous

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

, "I want to be Caliph instead of the Caliph" ("je veux être calife à la place du calife"), which has passed into everyday French for qualifying over-ambitious people who want to become chief. Iznogoud is always assisted in his plans by his faithful but dimwitted henchman, Dilat Larath (Wa'at Alahf in English, se dilater la rate = have a good laugh, in French).

Supporting characters

Goscinny and Tabary occasionally make appearances themselves. In one episode, Tabary uses a magical time-travelling closet to help Iznogoud seize the Caliph title. In another episode, Iznogoud gets a magical calendar that lets him travel in time when he rips off its pages. He rips too many and he is transported to the 20th century, inside the studio of Tabary. In another episode, Iznogoud gets a magical drawing paper set that makes anybody or anything drawn on it disappear once the paper is torn apart. Unfortunately, the drawing needs to be realistic, and Iznogoud is a poor artist. In search of an art teacher, he meets Tabary, renamed "Tabary El-Retard". There are occasionally "behind-the-scenes" moments, as when Iznogoud travels in a country in a mirror, and all is reversed, including text in balloons. Tabary is shown complaining to Goscinny about going through this frustrating "reversal" work, and even threatens him with a gun, to convince him into making a non-reversed "translated" version. They also appear debating after a contemporary crowd demands that they make Iznogoud caliph. Other recurring characters include Sultan Pullmankar (''Sultan Streetcar'' in English), the Caliph's neighbour who is described as a touchy man with a powerful army. Iznogoud often tries to provoke Pullmankar to become angry at the Caliph, in order to instigate a war. However, Pullmankar never gets angry with the caliph, only with Iznogoud. The crew of Redbeard, another comics series published in Pilote, appears in ''A Carrot for Iznogoud'', as it did in many stories of René Goscinny's most famous creation

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gauls, Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book book series, series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight th ...

Bibliography

# ''Le Grand Vizir Iznogoud'' (1966, Dargaud) - Translated into English as ''The Grand Vizier Iznogoud'' (2012, Cinebook UK) # ''Les Complots du Grand Vizir Iznogoud'' (1967, Dargaud) - Translated into English as ''The Wicked Wiles of Iznogoud'' (2008, Cinebook UK) # ''Les Vacances du Calife'' (1968, Dargaud) - Translated into English as ''The Caliph’s Vacation'' (2008, Cinebook UK) # ''Iznogoud l'infâme'' (1969, Dargaud) - Translated into English as ''Iznogoud the Infamous'' (2011, Cinebook UK) # ''Des Astres pour Iznogoud'' (1969, Dargaud) - Translated into English as ''Iznogoud Rockets to Stardom'' (2011, Cinebook UK) # ''Iznogoud et l'ordinateur Magique'' (1970, Dargaud) - Translated into English as ''Iznogoud and the Magic Computer'' (2009, Cinebook UK) # ''Une Carotte pour Iznogoud'' (1971, Dargaud) - Translated into English as ''A Carrot for Iznogoud'' (2010, Cinebook UK) # ''Le Jour des Fous'' (1972, Dargaud) - Translated into English as ''Iznogoud and the Day of Misrule'' (2009, Cinebook UK) # ''Le Tapis Magique'' (1973, Dargaud) - Translated into English as ''Iznogoud and the Magic Carpet'' (2010, Cinebook UK) # ''Iznogoud l'acharné'' (1974, Dargaud) - Translated into English as ''Iznogoud the Relentless'' (2013, Cinebook UK) # ''La Tête de Turc d'Iznogoud'' (1975, Dargaud) - Translated into English as ''Iznogoud and the Jigsaw Turk'' (2014, Cinebook UK) # ''Le Conte de Fées d'Iznogoud'' (1976, Dargaud) - Translated into English as ''Iznogoud’s Fairy Tale'' (2015, Cinebook UK) # ''Je veux être Calife à la place du Calife'' (1978, BD Star) - Translated into English as ''I Want to be Caliph Instead of the Caliph'' (2016, Cinebook UK) # ''Les Cauchemars d'Iznogoud'', Tome 1 (1979, Editions de la Séguinière) - Translated into English as ''Iznogoud’s Nightmares'' (2017, Cinebook UK) # ''L'enfance d'Iznogoud'' (1981, Glénat) # ''Iznogoud et les Femmes'' (1983, Editions de la Séguinière) - Translated into English as ''Iznogoud and the Women'' (2009, Euro Books India) # ''Les Cauchemars d'Iznogoud'', Tome 4 (1984, Editions de la Séguinière) - Translated into English as ''Some More Nightmares of Iznogoud'' (2009, Euro Books India) # ''Le Complice d'Iznogoud'' (1985, Editions de la Séguinière) - Translated into English as ''The Accomplice of Iznogoud'' (2009, Euro Books India) # ''L'anniversaire d'Iznogoud'' (1987, Editions de la Séguinière) - Translated into English as ''The Nightmarish Birthday of Iznogoud'' (2009, Euro Books India) # ''Enfin Calife!'' (1989, Éditions Tabary) - Translated into English as ''Caliph at Last!'' (2009, Euro Books India) # ''Le Piège de la Sirène'' (1992, Éditions Tabary) - Translated into English as ''The Trap of the Siren'' (2009, Euro Books India) # ''Les Cauchemars d'Iznogoud'', Tome 2 (1994, Éditions Tabary) - Translated into English as ''The Nightmares of Iznogoud'' (2009, Euro Books India) # ''Les Cauchemars d'Iznogoud'', Tome 3 (1994, Éditions Tabary) - Translated into English as ''More Nightmares of Iznogoud'' (2009, Euro Books India) # ''Les Retours d'Iznogoud'' (1994, Éditions Tabary) - Translated into English as ''The Returns of Iznogoud'' (2009, Euro Books India) # ''Qui a tué le Calife?'' (1998, Éditions Tabary) - Translated into English as ''Who Killed the Caliph?'' (2009, Euro Books India) # ''Un Monstre Sympathique'' (2000, Éditions Tabary) - Translated into English as ''A Likeable Monster'' (2009, Euro Books India) # ''La Faute de l'ancêtre'' (2004, Éditions Tabary) - Translated into English as ''The Ancestor's Mistake'' (2009, Euro Books India) # ''Les Mille et Une Nuits du Calife'' (2008, Éditions Tabary) # ''Iznogoud Président'' (2012, IMAV Éditions) # ''De Père en Fils'' (2015, IMAV Éditions) # ''Moi, Calife...'' (2021, IMAV Éditions) # ''Des Βougies pour Iznogoud'' (2022, IMAV Éditions)

English translations

Animated series

An animated series based on the comics produced by Saban International Paris. The series began airing on

Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

on October 11, 1996, and ran until March 16, 1997, with reruns airing on

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...

around that time. Ownership of the series passed to

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

in 2001 when Disney acquired

Fox Kids Worldwide ABC Family Worldwide is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Television that is responsible for the operations of the U.S. cable network Freeform. The company was originally formed as International Family Entertainment, a spin-off of the Christian Broad ...

, which also includes

; however, it never aired in the United States and the series is not available on

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

Episodes

References in society

Notably, the character has also made his mark on French popular culture and public life. Wanting to become "Caliph in the Caliph's place" has become a popular expression in French, describing people perceived as over-ambitious. The ''Prix Iznogoud'' (Iznogoud Award) was created in 1992 and is given each year to "a personality who failed to take the Caliph's place", chosen among prominent French figures who have recently known spectacular failures. The award has been given to various personalities, amongst them

Édouard Balladur Édouard Balladur (; born 2 May 1929) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France under François Mitterrand from 29 March 1993 to 17 May 1995. He unsuccessfully ran for president in the 1995 French presidential election, c ...

(1995), Nicolas Sarkozy (1999) and

Jean-Marie Messier Jean-Marie Messier (born 13 December 1956) is a French businessman who was chairman and chief executive of the multinational media conglomerate Vivendi (formerly Vivendi Universal) until 2002. He is also frequently referred to by the nickname " ...

(2002). The jury is headed by politician

André Santini André Santini (; born 20 October 1940) is a French politician and current mayor of Issy-les-Moulineaux, Hauts-de-Seine. A former member of the UDF, he did not support François Bayrou, the candidate of his party for the first round of the 2 ...

, who gave the award to himself after failing to become president of the

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...

in the 2004 regional elections.

Footnotes

Sources

''Le calife Haroun el Poussah / Iznogoud'' publications in ''Record''
an

BDoubliées

Bedetheque

External links

Éditions Tabary official site

English publisher of Iznogoud - Cinebook Ltd

Iznogoud International fansite

Goscinny official site
* *

{{Portal bar, Comics 1962 comics debuts 1990s French animated television series 1995 French television series debuts 1995 French television series endings Baghdad in fiction Bandes dessinées Comics adapted into animated series Comics adapted into television series Comics adapted into video games Comics characters introduced in 1962 Comics set in Iraq Comic strip villains Dargaud titles Fictional Arabs Fictional people from Baghdad Fictional viziers French children's animated adventure television series French children's animated comedy television series French comics adapted into films French comics characters Comics villains French comics titles Humor comics Male characters in comics Muslim characters in comics Metafictional comics Works by René Goscinny Satirical comics Television series based on French comics Television series by Saban Entertainment