Zorglub is a fictional character in the Belgian comic strip Spirou et Fantasio, created by Greg and André Franquin, and first appeared in the serialised story Z comme Zorglub in Spirou in 1959, later published in the diptych albums "Z comme Zorglub" (1961) and "L'ombre du Z" (1962).[1] Zorglub's character was Initially that of a sinister megalomaniac, mad scientist, but also a clumsy and bungling one who later reformed and became a friend and ally to the protagonists.
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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 hypnotise 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.
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. This however adds some irony, as he still refers to himself as The Great Zorglub.
Appearances
- 15. Z comme Zorglub (Franquin)
- 16. L'ombre du Z (Franquin)
- 19. Panade à Champignac (Franquin)
- 20. Le faiseur d'or (Fournier)
- 23. Tora Torapa (Fournier)
- 37. Le réveil du Z (Tome & Janry)
- 50. Aux sources du Z (Jean-David Yann Morvan and José-Luis Munuera)
See also
Sources
- Spirou et Fantasio Les Personnages: Zorglub spirou.com (French)
- Spirou et Fantasio Personnages > Zorglub franquin.com (French)
- Footnotes
- ^ franquin.com. "Un vie - 1959" (in French). http://franquin.com/bio/1959.php.
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