Mort & Phil

Mortadelo y Filemón Mort & Phil
Created by:	Francisco Ibañez
Genre:	Humor, surrelism, satire and farce
Publisher:
Original publication period:	20 January 1958
Country of origin:	Spain
Language of origin:	Spanish
Number of books published:	190
Website:	official website

Mort & Phil (Spanish: Mortadelo y Filemón) is one of the most popular Spanish comics series, published in more than a dozen countries. It appeared for the first time in 1958 in the children's comic-book Pulgarcito drawn by Francisco Ibáñez. The series features Mort (Spanish: Mortadelo), the tall, bald master of disguise named after mortadella, and his bossy partner, the shorter, pudgier Phil (Spanish: 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", a spoof on CIA, with T.I.A. translating into "Aeroterraquatic (air, land, sea) Investigation Technicians".

Overview

Mort and Phil 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 (Phil). At TIA (Spanish for "aunt", a parody of the CIA), which combats "enemy organizations" like RANA ("frog") or ABUELA ("grandmother"), they interact with their boss, the bad-tempered Superintendente Vicente; with Professor Bacterio, a black-bearded, disastrous scientist parodying James Bond's Q; and with the fat, blonde secretary Ofelia, a parody of Moneypenny, whose attempts at seducing Mort always fail.

The series is especially popular in Germany as Clever & Smart. 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.

Ibáñez likes to introduce whimsies unrelated to the action especially in covers. A water tap can sprout from a tree, two mice may be chatting, a vase can contain a foot or an eggplant,... An eerie example happened in the final page of "El 35 aniversario" (1993) where a New York scene features an airplane crashing against the World Trade Center. This attracted attention after the 9/11 attacks of 2001^[1][2].

Ibáñez issues several albums a year. Several animated series were also produced. There was a movie based on the series, made in 2003 in Spain, under the name La Gran Aventura de Mortadelo y Filemón (Mort & Phil: The Big Adventure). A second movie was released in 2008, Mortadelo y Filemón. Misión: salvar la Tierra (Mort & Phil. Mission: Save Earth), marking the 50th anniversary of the series.

Characters

Mort (Mortadelo) 

Mort is a bald detective with pebble glasses and a long nose who usually wears a black frock coat. He is always fighting with Phil, his partner, mostly because he tends to mess things up, usually to Phil's discomfort. His favourite hobby is wearing all sorts of (sometimes outrageous) disguises - professional and historical clothes and gear, animals, inanimate objects, even small-sized vehicles like miniature blimps and mopeds - which he mostly dons for special tasks or when he is on the run from Phil or his boss. He is the sworn enemy of Bacterio because he used to have lush hair until Bacterio offered Mort a "medicine against baldness". (Mort's full name, "Mortadelo", comes from "mortadela", a kind of sausage).

Phil Pi (Filemón Pi)

Mort's partner and friend. He only has two hairs on his head and wears a white shirt with red trousers. He usually insults Mort because Mort is quite clumsy, but is often at the receiving end of any mishaps which come their way, mostly in the shape of their outraged boss. As the leader of the two-man team he is an educated man and an expert in a variety of fields, such as biology^{[citation needed]} and geology.

Vicente /"El Superintendente", "Súper" or just "El Súper"

Vicente is the boss of Mort and Phil and is usually called " Súper" or "El Súper" by his underlings. While he, as the head of the organization, lives in splendor, indulging himself in expensive beverages and Cuban cigars, he keeps TIA's operatives on an extremely tight budget; some central story plots revolve around Mort and Phil acquiring and testing new equipment for TIA because the gear used by the organization has long since become (in very mild terms) virtual stone age.
El Super is bald and has 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 Mort and Phil fail in their missions, leaving a spectacular mess - occasionally at the expense of his own (and expensive) possessions. Just as often, however, he ends up as the one being chased by his underlings, as his frequently short-sighted assignments cause them no end of grief.

Pr. Bacterio 

TIA's black-bearded scientist and chief inventor. Mort blames Bacterio for his baldness (he had tried a new hair-strengthening concoction on Mort's then-lush mane, which made the hair fall out instead) and therefore the doctor is the unwilling prime recipient of Mort's practical jokes. His inventions, which are to assist Mort and Phil in their assignments, often fail quite spectacularly, mostly because they achieve the opposite of what they are supposed to do. Sometimes they do work well, but fail at the most inconvenient moment. ("Bacterio comes from "bacteria", germ).

Ofelia 

The fat and vain secretary of the Superintendente Vicente. She is still single and would like to become involved with someone(usually with Mort), but so far her attempts have been in vain. She is quite touchy her lack of luck with a relationship and being called fat; she reacts with corresponding violence when either of topics are brought up- and with her considerable weight, this is nothing to be ignored. She was the first female character created for the series.

Irma 

The boom secretary of the Súper. Mort and Phil 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 cameo appearances, either by name or in cartoon form. Mostly he is (humorously) portrayed as the bald and bespectacled "Artist of the Nation", in perhaps the same league as Pablo Picasso. On several occasions, the series' characters often long for being "as rich as Ibáñez".

"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 ineffective, because his eyesight is totally down. This causes him to react in ways which causes some inconvenience to Mort and Phil if they happen to cross his way. He both has his own comic series (little known outside Spain) and cameoes in Ibañez' other works.

The Minister

Vicente's boss (and the only person who he ever toadies to). His appearance changes constantly throughout the series. In recent appearances has been replaced by a caricature of the President of the Government of Spain.

Señora Superintendente

The wife of Vicente (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 Mort and Phil because they don't want to do their missions. A rather minor character, his face has changed many times in the past. Many other agents appear, most of them having descriptive surnames ending in "-ez" ("Bestiájez" comes from "bestia", beast).

Casimira Nitorta

An expert in "secret chases", she has a penetrating and incisive glance. She's also a relative of "Rompetechos".

Famous people

Numerous celebrities and political personalities have guest-starred or made some cameos:

• Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, former presidents of the United States

• Charles, Prince of Wales, and Queen Elizabeth II

• Adolfo Suárez, Felipe González and José María Aznar, former presidents of Spain

• Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schröder, former Chancellors of Germany

• François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac, former Presidents of France

• Adolf Hitler

• Fidel Castro

• Juan Antonio Samaranch, former President of the IOC

• Pau Gasol, Spanish professional basketball player for the L.A. Lakers

• The Marx Brothers, Humphrey Bogart, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and several other actors

Albums

In order of publication:

Between 1969 and 1971

• El sulfato Atómico
• Contra el "gang" del Chicharrón
• Safari Callejero
• Valor y... ¡al toro!
• El caso del bacalao
• Chapeau el "esmirriau"
• La máquina del cambiazo
• La caja de diez cerrojos
• ¡Magín "el mago"!
• ¡A la caza del cuadro!

Between 1972 and 1974

• Los inventos del profesor Bacterio
• Gatolandia 76
• Operación: ¡Bomba!
• Los diamantes de la gran duquesa
• El otro "yo" del profesor Bacterio
• Los monstruos
• El elixir de la vida
• El circo
• El antídoto
• Los invasores
• Los cacharros majaretas
• ¡A las armas!
• El plano de Alí-Gusa-No

Between 1975 and 1976

• ¡Pánico en el zoo!
• Concurso-oposición
• Los mercenarios
• Objetivo: eliminar al Rana
• Misión de perros
• Los secuestradores
• La gallina de los huevos de oro
• El caso del calcetín

Between 1977 and 1979

• El brujo
• ¡Soborno!
• Los guardaespaldas
• Mundial 78
• Los gamberros
• Contrabando
• La máquina de copiar gente
• Los "bomberos"
• El transformador metabólico
• ¡A por el niño!
• La gente de Vicente
• Secuestro aéreo

Between 1980 and 1981

• Olimpiada 1980
• La elasticina
• Kilociclos asesinos
• Ladrones de coches
• Lo que el viento se dejó
• La brigada bichera
• Tete Cohete
• En marcha el mundial 82
• El caso de los señores pequeñitos

Between 1982 and 1983

• En Alemania
• Queda inaugurado el mundial 82
• El balón catastrófico
• Billy "El Horrendo"
• ¡Hay un traidor en la T.I.A.!
• El bacilón
• El ascenso

Between 1984 and 1985

• La estatua de la libertad
• Testigo de cargo
• Los Ángeles 84
• El cacao espacial
• El preboste de seguridad
• El cochecito leré

Between 1986 and 1987

• ¡Terroristas!
• El huerto siniestro
• El estropicio metereológico
• Los que volvieron de "allá"
• Seúl 88

Between 1988 and 1989

• La perra de las galaxias
• Los sobrinetes
• Los superpoderes
• Las tacillas volantes
• La cochinadita nuclear
• Armas con bicho
• La maldición gitana
• El candidato
• La Gomeztroika
• El ansia de poder
• ¡...va la T.I.A. y se pone al día!

Between 1990 and 1992

• El profeta Jeremías
• El premio No-Vel
• El rescate botarate
• El gran sarao
• Los espantajomanes
• El inspector general
• El atasco de incluencias
• La crisis del golfo
• Barcelona '92
• El caso del señor-probeta
• La tergiversicina
• Las embajadas chifladas
• El racista
• El quinto centenario
• El S.O.E.
• El 35 aniversario

Between 1993 and 1994

• El señor todoquisque
• Maastricht ¡...Jesús!
• El nuevo "cate"
• Robots bestiajos
• Clínicas antibirria
• Dinosaurios
• La ruta del yerbajo
• Mundial 94
• El pinchazo telefónico
• ¡Pesadiiiillaaa...!
• Corrupción a mogollón

Between 1995 and 1996

• ¡Timazo al canto!
• Animalada
• 20.000 leguas de viaje sibilino
• ¡Silencio, se rueda!
• El disfraz, cosa falaz...
• La prensa cardiovascular
• El jurado popular
• El ángel de la guarda
• Atlanta 96
• 100 años de cómic
• Expediente J
• El trastomóvil

Between 1997 and 1998

• ¡Desastre!
• Bye bye, Hong-Kong!
• Esos kilitos malditos
• Los verdes
• Las vacas chaladas
• Mundial 98
• La banda de los guiris
• Su vida privada
• ¡Deportes de espanto!
• El espeluznante doctor Bíchez

Between 1999 and 2000

• El óscar del moro
• La maldita maquinita
• El tirano
• La M.I.E.R.
• Impeachment!
• De los ochenta p´arriba...
• Siglo XX, ¡qué progreso!
• Sydney 2000
• La vuelta
• La sirenita
• Fórmula uno

Between 2001 and 2003

• La rehabilitación esa
• Los vikingos
• ¡Llegó el euro!
• El ordenador... ¡qué horror!
• ¡Okupas!
• Mundial 2002
• ¡Misión triunfo!
• ¡El estrellato!
• ¡Mascotas!
• Parque de atracciones
• El UVA (Ultraloca Velocidad Automotora)

Between 2004 and 2008

• ¡Rapto tremendo!
• Atenas 2004
• El señor de los ladrillos
• Mortadelo de la Mancha
• Prohibido fumar
• ¡El carnet al punto!
• El kamikaze Regúlez
• Mundial 2006
• ¡Bajo el bramido del trueno!
• El dopaje...¡qué potaje!
• Euro Basket 2007
• ¡...y van 50 tacos!
• ¡Venganza cincuentona!
• ¡El dos de mayo!
• Pekín 2008
• Gasolina... ¡la ruina!

Between 2009 and 2012

• ¡En la Luna!
• ¡Por Isis, Llegó la Crisis!
• Nuestro antepasado, El Mico
• La Gripe "U"
• Mundial 2010
• Marrullería en la Alcaldía
• Chernobil...¡Qué cuchitril!
• ¡A reciclar se ha dicho!
• Jubilación...¡a los Noventa!

Animated series

There was an animated series, with the name of "Mortadelo y Filemón" with Spanish voice actors.

Film adaptations

Further information: La gran aventura de Mortadelo y Filemón and Mort & Phil. Mission: Save Earth

Betwenn 1965 and 1970, Rafael Vara directed 16 short films which was united in two films (Festival de Mortadelo y Filemón and Segundo Festival de Mortadelo y Filemón). In 1970 make other film, El armario del tiempo.

In other languages

• Catalan: Mortadel·lo i Filemó
• Chinese: 特工二人组
• Czech: Clever & Smart
• Danish: Flip og Flop
• Dutch: Paling en Ko
• English: Mort & Phil
• French: Mortadel et Filémon (Futt et Fil)
• German: Clever & Smart (Flip & Flap)
• Greek: Αντιρίξ και Συμφωνίξ
• Italian: Mortadello e Polpetta
• Japanese: ᵊᵊᵊꜜꜜᵊꜛꜜꜜꜛꜜ
• Norwegian: Flipp og Flopp (earliest pocket editions), Clever & Smart
• Polish: Mortadelo i Filemon
• Portuguese: Mortadelo e Salaminho (in Brazil), Mortadela e Salamão (Portugal)
• Russian: Морт и Фил (Мортадело и Филемон)
• Slovak: Clever & Smart
• Slovene: Mortadelc pa File
• Swedish: Flink & Fummel
• Turkish: Dörtgöz ile Dazlak
• Finnish: Älli ja Tälli (used to be first Nopsa ja Näpsä)
• Spanish: Mortadelo y Filemón
• Serbo-Croatian: Zriki Švargla i Šule Globus

See also

• Francisco Ibáñez
• Superlópez
• Capitán Trueno
• Spanish comics
• The Adventures of Tintin
• Lucky Luke
• Asterix
• The Smurfs
• Popeye

References

1. ^ Mortadelo y Filemón llegan al cine de la mano de Javier Fesser: Ibáñez y la viñeta profética del 11-S: “¡Qué quince días pasé!”, El País, 4 February 2003.
2. ^ September 11 Premonitions, Dark Roasted Blend (blog), September 10, 2007.

External links

	Spain portal
	Comics portal

• Official website