Zorglub
Encyclopedia
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
comic strip Spirou et Fantasio
Spirou et Fantasio
Spirou et Fantasio is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comic strips. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European humorous adventure comics like Tintin and Asterix...
, created by Greg and André Franquin
André Franquin
André Franquin was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best known comic strip creations are Gaston and Marsupilami, created while he worked on the Spirou et Fantasio comic strip from 1947 to 1969, during a period seen by many as the series' golden age.-Franquin's beginnings:Franquin was...
, and first appeared in the serialised story Z comme Zorglub in Spirou
Spirou (magazine)
Spirou magazine is a weekly Belgian comics magazine published by the Dupuis company...
in 1959, later published in the diptych albums "Z comme Zorglub
Z comme Zorglub
Z comme Zorglub, written and drawn by Franquin, is the fifteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the first part of Franquin's Zorglub diptych...
" (1961) and "L'ombre du Z
L'ombre du Z
L'ombre du Z, written and drawn by Franquin, is the sixteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the second part of Franquin's Zorglub diptych...
" (1962). Zorglub's character was Initially that of a sinister megalomaniac, mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
, but also a clumsy and bungling one who later reformed and became a friend and ally to the protagonists.
Character
An impressive arch-villain, his initial appearance is that of a visionary evil genius, but the comical aspects of the character soon come through. Although possessing a great deal of advanced machinery, his only true invention (as he admits) is the "zorglonde" (zorglwave, a mind-control radio wave) which he uses to bring others under his spell. Depending on the wave level, the zorglonde can be used to temporarily hypnotiseHypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
whole populations, prevent outsiders from approaching Zorglub's bases or having an entire army under his control.
Zorglub uses the zorglonde to steal inventions developed by others and which he then claims as his own. He also turns police officers from all over the world into his soldiers, known as Zorglhommes (Zorgl-men), who operate his worldwide secret bases. Zorglub designed a special language to talk with his zorglhommes in order to maintain the secrecy of his plans. It's just normal speech spelled backwards: "Gnol evil Bulgroz!" translates as "Long live Zorglub!"
He is an old acquaintance of The Count of Champignac from university. In his first appearances he boasts that he could, if he wanted to, take over the world, but considers it too petty for a man of his genius. His real aim is to be recognized as the greatest scientist of all time, but being eccentric, schizophrenic and with a big ego, he has a tendency to make foolish mistakes which are his downfall. He later reabilitates never returning to his evil ways but part of is ego is never "shot down" witch makes him an easy target to manipulate as evidence in the album Tora Torapa
Tora Torapa
Tora Torapa, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twentythird album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's fourth, following the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
.
In Le réveil du Z (1986), Spirou and Fantasio travel through time and meet Zorglub's son, who has followed into his father's footsteps and conquered the world of the future. Zorglub junior looks exactly like his father, but he suffers from dwarfism
Dwarfism
Dwarfism is short stature resulting from a medical condition. It is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than 4 feet 10 inches , although this definition is problematic because short stature in itself is not a disorder....
. This however adds some irony, as he still refers to himself as The Great Zorglub.
Appearances
- 15. Z comme ZorglubZ comme ZorglubZ comme Zorglub, written and drawn by Franquin, is the fifteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the first part of Franquin's Zorglub diptych...
(Franquin) - 16. L'ombre du ZL'ombre du ZL'ombre du Z, written and drawn by Franquin, is the sixteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the second part of Franquin's Zorglub diptych...
(Franquin) - 19. Panade à ChampignacPanade à ChampignacPanade à Champignac is the nineteenth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series. The story, written and drawn by Franquin, was serialised along with Bravo les Brothers in Spirou, before publication as a hardcover album in 1969.-Story:...
(Franquin) - 20. Le faiseur d'orLe faiseur d'orLe faiseur d'or, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twentieth album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the first to follow the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
(Fournier) - 23. Tora TorapaTora TorapaTora Torapa, written and drawn by Fournier, is the twentythird album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the author's fourth, following the Spirou retirement of André Franquin...
(Fournier) - 37. Le réveil du ZLe réveil du ZLe réveil du Z, written by Tome and drawn by Janry, is the thirtyseventh album of the Spirou et Fantasio series, and the fifth of the authors...
(Tome & Janry) - 50. Aux sources du Z (Jean-David Yann Morvan and José-Luis Munuera)
Sources
- Spirou et Fantasio Les Personnages: Zorglub spirou.com
- Spirou et Fantasio Personnages > Zorglub franquin.com
Footnotes