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Iznogoud (pronounced "He's no good" with a French accent hence the loss of the H) is a French comic strip character invented by René Goscinny - who also created Asterix - and drawn by Jean Tabary . The stories have been translated into many languages, including English. Set in Baghdad, Iznogoud is second in command ( Grand Vizier) after the Caliph, Haroun El Poussah (Haroun El Plassid in English - a pun on the historical Caliph, Harun al-Rashid) but his sole aim in life is to kill the Caliph and take his place, expressed in the famous dictum, "I want to be Caliph instead of the Caliph". Goscinny's taste for sharp satirical writing keeps the rather repetitive nature of the stories constantly fresh, making Iznogoud one of the most popular anti-heroes in the comic strip world.A classic example is when the Grand Vizier discovers the "Road To Nowhere"--a road that only leads back to itself--and devises a plot to lure the Caliph there so he will be trapped forever. Of course, Iznogoud forgets that he needs to be able to exit the road himself first...! Another plan involves freezing the Caliph, which has to constantly be shelved because there always seems to be some source of heat around (never mind if it's only heartburn!). Iznogoud even attempts to enlist the services of a primitive computer (described as a very clever djinni) in order to find out the answer to his perennial ambition. The temperamental computer ends up sulking when Iznogoud's servant, Wa'at Alaaf, answers a complex mathematical equation before it can. In the end, the only answer Iznogoud gets is the solution to the equation.
Goscinny's furious talent for punning, made famous in the Asterix books, also appears in Iznogoud. Of course, most of the puns in the original French would make no sense when translated into English, so great credit must be given to translators Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge, whose challenging job was to come up with equivalent English-language puns while still keeping within the spirit of the original text.
As a nod to Asterix, the famous Latin-speaking Pirates of Asterix make a cameo appearance in Iznogoud. While sailing, Iznogoud's party encounters the pirates - complete with Nubian lookout. The captain's only question is "lookout, do you see G-G-G-G-Gauls with them?" After the inevitable destruction of the ship, the first mate proclaims that the Gauls are the least of their worries.
When Goscinny died in 1977, artist Tabary eventually decided to carry on the work himself, just as artist Uderzo did with the Asterix franchise. The Iznogoud series is now up to book #26 (released in April 2004) and shows no signs of stoppping. The character was immortalized in animated form in 1995 with a series of cartoons, and a live-action Iznogoud film is due for release in 2005.
Interestingly, the character has also made his mark on French politics - when the extreme-right wing politician Bruno Mégret and number two in the Front National, tried to take over the party from Jean-Marie Le Pen, he was immediately described by the latter as Iznogoud - Mégret's diminutive stature and disagreeable persona making the comparison even more realistic.
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Iznogoud
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