Zembla

Zembla is the hero of a Small size created in 1963 by the Éditions Lug.

Origins

It is the artist Augusto Pedrazza who gave life on paper to this clone of Tarzan under the impulse of Marcel Navarro, created to also compete with the Italian character Akim created him by Pedrazza. At the end of some episodes, Franco Oneta takes the changing because Pedrazza cannot ensure the drawing of Akim and Zembla simultaneously. Zembla quickly becomes one of largest successes of Lug until in the Eighties where the rise to power of the publications Marvel condemns the character to the republications.

Characters

In the original version, the friends of Zembla are:

Rasmus , a conjurer out of dress of frac, capped of a top hat, parodies alive Mandrake; it magnifying glass all its juggling acts. Sometimes, it carries a red cape on a side and black of the other; in spite of this part in red, it often sometimes happens to him to listen to a conversation behind a bush without pointing out itself. One of its preferred counterparts is mashed potatoes of us others , and often exclaims by funeral! .
Yéyé , a black child with a helmet marked MP (meaning Military Organizes ), its tick-tock (a Alarm clock-morning hung in collar) is a frightening weapon, but it can happen that he sounds at one inadequate time. One as of its preferred swearwords is by Saint-Frusquin .
Pétoulet (a Kangaroo), large fruit amateur; although he does not eat meat, he helps Zembla to drive out to nourish their small troop.
Satanas (a Wildcat, perhaps a Serval). It is always famished, dreaming to drive out grassouillettes gazelles ; it is frequently put in anger against Rasmus, Pétoulet or Yéyé, but it is ready to give its life for them without the shade of a hesitation. One as of its preferred swearwords is by Astaroth .
Bwana , a placid Lion making figure of wise. The Bwana term wants to say chief; this term really exists in Swahili, but it is probable that the authors of Zembla took it while basing themselves on the books of Edgar Rice Burroughs reporting the adventures of Tarzan. In the series of the Seventies, when one sees it color, its mane is represented same color as that of an ordinary lion. On the other hand, in the text of this data base, it is indicated that the color of its mane is white. In the new series, it is represented with a mane white
Takuba , the superb queen of the tribe of Gombars, she is often put in anger against this awkward of Rasmus; it intends to marry Zembla which is very safe of agreement.

Compared to the other imitations of Tarzan, on the visual level, Zembla is different by a species from strap on its shorts: the strap and the shorts are in only one piece cut out in the skin of a leopard, killed in singular combat by Zembla.

New Zembla

The original series was published without interruption until the Eighties. It is into 2000 that Semic reintroduces it for new adventures. Appear then of new characters, recurring enemies and the hero gains even a traditional identity there. Initiated By Thierry Mornet and Jean-Marc Lofficier, it is Chris Malgrain which will carry out the first new episode. This return gives to the series a side " Comic s" very marked.

Zembla is called consequently Pierre Marais , his nickname meaning “ the man-lion ”. It with the double French nationality and of the Karunda (imaginary country located in Ecuadorian Africa), wire of Paul Marsh and Ula . His/her maternal grandfather is called Naghar .

His/her new friends are Joanni Bourask, Mozam, Antales and Frank Universal and are all resulting from the catalog of Lug characters (also called Semic Verse then Lug Universe ). Its adventures frequently lead it to meet insane scientists, main apprentices of the world, the extraterrestrial ones, of the wizards and to explore lost civilizations. Its enemies count in particular Karl Jäger, Kaifar, Boor, Mohor d' Anthar, Baroud, Horace Dayvil and Rod Zey.

In 2002, there were a crossover of Zembla and Kabur.

Reviews

Special Kiwi N° 15: first adventure of Zembla (June 1963)
Zembla: 479 numbers of July 1963 in December 1994.

1-199 new adventures (1963-1973)
200-297 new adventures and republications in alternation (1973-1979)
298-479 republications (1979-1994)

Special Zembla: 175 numbers of June 1964 in November 2003.

1-68 new adventures
69-151 republications
152-175 new Zembla + republications

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