Iznogoud

Iznogoud (French pronunciation: [iznoɡud]; from "he's no good" pronounced with a French accent) is a French comics series featuring an eponymous character, created by the comics writer René Goscinny and comics artist Jean Tabary. The comic series chronicles the life and times of Iznogoud, the Grand Vizier of the Caliphate of Baghdad at an undefined period. His greatest desire is to dethrone the Caliph and replace him, leading him to repeatedly utter the phrase "I want to be Caliph instead of the Caliph" –– a phrase that has been adopted in French and some other European languages to characterize overly ambitious people. Iznogoud is supported by his dimwitted yet faithful servant, Dilat Laraht (from French "dilate la rate", literally "dilates the spleen", an old idiom meaning "causes one to burst out laughing"), rendered in English as Wa'at Alahf (from "what a laugh"). After the death of Goscinny in 1977 Tabary continued with writing the character. The stories have been translated into several languages, including English, and the title has been adapted to animated and live-action film. So far 30 graphic novels featuring Iznogoud have been published in French, with at least 26 of those published in English and a number of other languages. In 1974-1979, and again since 2021, Iznogoud also ran as a political-satirical newspaper comic, L'Ignoble Iznogoud Commente L'Actualité, with jokes referring directly to French politics and current events. Iznogoud was also adapted into a cartoon series produced by Saban Entertainment, with 52 episodes to its name, again with most of them having been translated to other languages as well.