Mortadelo y Filemón

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Mortadelo y Filemón (Mortadelo and Filemón) is one of the most popular comic strip series in Spain, appearing for the first time in 1958 in the children's comic-book Pulgarcito drawn by the hand of Francisco Ibáñez. The series features Mortadelo, the tall, bald master of disguise named after mortadella, and his boss, the shorter, pudgier, and two-haired Filemón Pi.

Initially, they were private detectives operating as Mortadelo y Filemón, Agencia de Información, but now both serve as secret agents in the Técnicos de Investigación Aeroterráquea (TIA is the Spanish word for 'aunt,' slang in Spain for 'girl,' and also a spoof on CIA) which translates into "Air-Earth Investigation Technicians".

Mortadelo, no. 102, 1987

Mortadelo and Filemón can be described as a pair of walking catastrophes, and no matter what kind of mission they are assigned they always manage to get it wrong. The results are almost invariably extremely violent, and most often directed towards Filemón.

At TIA, they interact with their boss, the bad-tempered Superintendente Vicente; Profesor Bacterio, a black-bearded, disastrous scientist parodying James Bond's Q; and the fat, blonde secretary Ofelia, a parody of Moneypenny, whose attempts at seducing Mortadelo always fail.

Ibáñez issues several albums a year.

After the 1980s, the albums have featured current news, like computer sabotage, the AVE, Islamic terrorism, Spanish and European politics, and specials for the Olympic Games and the soccer World Cup.

They are also popular in Germany as Clever & Smart.

A movie based on the series was made in 2003 in Spain.

Mortadelo disguised as Renaissance Soldier. Picture from Official Web Page

[edit] Characters

Mortadelo / Maestro del disfraz: Mortadelo is a bald detective with pebble glasses and a long nose who usually wears a black frock coat. He is always fighting with Filemón, his partner, mostly because he tends to mess things up - usually to Filemon's discomfort. His favourite hobby is wearing all sorts of (sometimes outrageous) disguises - animals, inanimate objects, even small-sized vehicles like miniature blimps and mopeds - which he mostly dons when either special abilities are called for or when he is on the run from Filemon or his boss.

Filemón Pi: He is Mortadelo's partner and the boss of the two. He has only got two hairs, and wears a white shirt and red pants. He usually insults Mortadelo because Mortadelo is really clumsy, but often he is at the receiving end of any mishappenings which come their way, mostly in the shape of their outraged boss.

Vicente Ruinez /"Superintendente", "Señor Súper" or just "El Súper": He is the boss of Mortadelo and Filemón and is usually called "Señor Súper" or "El Súper" by his underlings. He has got a dense moustache, which makes him the object of mocking abuse by his underlings as a human walrus. He is very short-tempered and usually angry because Mortadelo and Filemón fail in their missions, leaving a spectacular mess (sometimes Ruinez' own - and expensive - possessions are victimized in the process). Just as often, however, he ends up as the one being chased by them, as his often short-sighted assignments cause them grief to no end.

Dr. Bacterio: TIA's black-bearded scientist. Mortadelo says Bacterio is the reason for his baldness (he had tried a new hair-styling concoction on Mortadelo's then-lush mane, which made the hair fall out instead) and therefore the doctor is the unwilling recipient of Mortadelo's practical jokes. His inventions, which are to assist Mortadelo and Filemón in their assignments, often fail quite spectacularly, mostly because they achieve the opposite of what they are supposed to do.

Ofelia: Fat and vain secretary of the Superintendente Vicente. She is still single and would like to get attached (usually with Mortadelo), but so far her attempts have been in vain. She is quite touchy about this and about being called fat, and reacts with corresponding violence - and with her considerable weight, this is nothing to be ignored.

Irma: The beautiful secretary of the Súper. Mortadelo and Filemón are in love with her (much to Ofelia's chagrin), but she is not interested. This character disappeared from the series after only 24 volumes.

F. Ibañez: The creator of the series himself has a number of appearances, either by name or in cartoon form. Mostly he is (humorously) portrayed as the "Artist of the Nation", in perhaps the same league as Pablo Picasso.

"Rompetechos"/the Mole-Eyed Guy: A small man with a rather oversized head, receding black hair and a small moustache in a black suit. He is always put in as a comic relief character; although he wears glasses, they must either have the wrong prescription or are totally ineffectve, because his eyesight is totally down. This causes him to react in ways which causes some ... inconvenience to Mortadelo and Filemón if they happen to cross his way. He both has his own comic series (although this is little known outside Spain) and has cameos in Ibanez' other works as well.

The Minister: Vicente Ruinez's boss (and the only person who he ever toadies to). His appearance changes constantly throughout the series.

Señora Superintendente: The wife of Vicente Ruinez (also with an everchanging face). While he may hold the rudder in the TIA, she holds the rudder in their household.

Bestiájez: The giant agent of the TIA. He usually has to hunt down Mortadelo and Filemón because they don't want to do their missions. A rather minor character, his face has changed many times in the past.