General Tapioca

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General Tapioca
General Tapioca

General Tapioca from The Adventures of Tintin series of classic comic books drawn and written by Hergé, was the arch-enemy of General Alcazar. He is first mentioned in The Broken Ear and then appears in Tintin and the Picaros. He is the on-again, off-again dictator of San Theodoros (deposed and re-instated in that fictional country's innumerable coups). During Tintin and the Picaros, after being re-instated thanks to Colonel Sponz, he was finally deposed by Tintin, the Captain, and Alcazar. His fate after this last coup is unknown.

General Tapioca has been seen as a typical corrupt leader, brought to power by people cleverer than him, who rule with an iron hand through him. He is part of an attempt at humour; when he is deposed, San Theodoros's (a land of squalid streets, starving inhabitants, and indifferent policemen) only change is that the advertising signs read 'Viva Alcazar' instead of 'Viva Tapioca'.

The Adventures of Tintin
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Miscellany: Hergé · Marlinspike · Captain Haddock's exclamations
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