Zembla (character)
Encyclopedia
Zembla is a French
comic book
character created by Augusto Pedrazza and Franco Oneta for French publisher Editions Lug
in 1963.
, Akim, published by Lug's competitor, Editions Aventures et Voyages.
The first episode of Zembla was drawn by Akim artist Pedrazza, but not being able to juggle the workload of two popular series, he had to bow out and the task was delegated to artists Franco Oneta and, later, his brother Fausto Oneta, who from that point on, remained the two main artists and creators, with a few, occasional fill-in artists.
Zembla’s adventures began in Special-Kiwi No. 15 in June 1963, before moving into its own monthly title the following month. A year later, a companion title, Special-Zembla, was launched. Zembla was eventually cancelled with No. 479 in 1994. Special-Zembla lasted until No. 175 published in 2003.
Zembla is now part of Hexagon Comics
which has published a collection of his adventures translated into English.
n jungle
. His companions include the white lion
Bwana, Petoulet the kangaroo
, Satanas an irritable wildcat
, Wombo the gorilla
, a grouchy and inept circus illusionist named Rasmus, teenager Ye-Ye and the beautiful Queen Takuba, who might see Zembla as more than a mere friend. This cast of characters remained unchanged over the life of the series. Zembla’s adventures pit him not only against ordinary villain
s but also mad scientists, world conquerors, intelligent gorillas, lost civilizations, guns
and drugs
smugglers, poachers, etc.
Zembla's origins were revealed in a story published 1972. It turned out that Zembla is the child of Paul Marais, a French
adventurer who was forced to flee into the jungle to escape the police
after a tragic brawl. Injured, Paul was rescued by Ula, a native princess. Unfortunately, her father wanted his daughter to marry Thudor, so Ula and Paul had no choice but to elope. Eventually, their son, Zembla, was born. However, an enraged Thudor managed to find the two lovers and killed them both. Thudor would have also murdered the baby if a lioness whose cub he had previously killed had not leapt to his defence. The baby was then raised by the lions and became known as Zem-bla, meaning the Lion-Child in their language.
to fund an ecological task-force.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
character created by Augusto Pedrazza and Franco Oneta for French publisher Editions Lug
Editions Lug
Editions Lug was a French comic book publisher created in 1950 by writer/editor Marcel Navarro and businessman Auguste Vistel.-History:When it started, Editions Lug only reprinted old French and Italian comics in digest-sized magazines....
in 1963.
History
Zembla was created at the initiative of editor-in-chief Marcel Navarro to compete with the highly successful pseudo-TarzanTarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
, Akim, published by Lug's competitor, Editions Aventures et Voyages.
The first episode of Zembla was drawn by Akim artist Pedrazza, but not being able to juggle the workload of two popular series, he had to bow out and the task was delegated to artists Franco Oneta and, later, his brother Fausto Oneta, who from that point on, remained the two main artists and creators, with a few, occasional fill-in artists.
Zembla’s adventures began in Special-Kiwi No. 15 in June 1963, before moving into its own monthly title the following month. A year later, a companion title, Special-Zembla, was launched. Zembla was eventually cancelled with No. 479 in 1994. Special-Zembla lasted until No. 175 published in 2003.
Zembla is now part of Hexagon Comics
Hexagon Comics
Hexagon Comics is a syndicate of French, Italian and Spanish comic book writers and artists formed in early 2004, after French publisher Semic Comics decided to cancel its line of comic books....
which has published a collection of his adventures translated into English.
Character
Zembla is a typically powerful jungle lord who has the ability to communicate with the beasts of the AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
. His companions include the white lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
Bwana, Petoulet the kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
, Satanas an irritable wildcat
Wildcat
Wildcat is a small felid native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa.-Animals:Wildcat may also refer to members of the genus Lynx:...
, Wombo the gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
, a grouchy and inept circus illusionist named Rasmus, teenager Ye-Ye and the beautiful Queen Takuba, who might see Zembla as more than a mere friend. This cast of characters remained unchanged over the life of the series. Zembla’s adventures pit him not only against ordinary villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
s but also mad scientists, world conquerors, intelligent gorillas, lost civilizations, guns
Güns
Güns or Guens may refer to:* Kőszeg, Hungary * Kőszeg Mountains, Hungary * Akiva Güns , birth name of Akiva Eger, a Hungarian-Polish rabbi- See also :* Guns * Gün, a surname...
and drugs
DRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
smugglers, poachers, etc.
Zembla's origins were revealed in a story published 1972. It turned out that Zembla is the child of Paul Marais, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
adventurer who was forced to flee into the jungle to escape the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
after a tragic brawl. Injured, Paul was rescued by Ula, a native princess. Unfortunately, her father wanted his daughter to marry Thudor, so Ula and Paul had no choice but to elope. Eventually, their son, Zembla, was born. However, an enraged Thudor managed to find the two lovers and killed them both. Thudor would have also murdered the baby if a lioness whose cub he had previously killed had not leapt to his defence. The baby was then raised by the lions and became known as Zem-bla, meaning the Lion-Child in their language.
Modernisation
In a new series of adventures published in 2000-2003, Zembla was modernized. He was shown to care deeply for his native land, now dubbed the Republic of Karunda. He is concerned about the constant encroachment of the modern world upon the jungle. This new Zembla used his considerable wealthWealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
to fund an ecological task-force.