The adventures of the great vizier Iznogud are stories about an evil vizier who wants to take the caliph's place at all costs, but as it happens in life, all his plans go to the head. Is this another pearl of René Goscinny as Asterix ?
“I want to be caliph in place of the caliph!”
Iznogud is a very ambitious vizier – he aims very high, despite his small height. He wants to take the Caliph’s place at all costs, so he will not shy away from any scam to gain power. He is helped by the invaluable Pali Bebeh, who likes to eat up. In addition, he has the “gift of clairvoyance”, because he often suggests to his master that his plan will fail, and even turn against him. Nevertheless, it is no secret for the reader. Iznogud is a typical antihero – he is evil and cruel, so it is no wonder that his every plan will fail, but always in an effective way.
Laughter is good for health
René Goscinny has a whole lot of amazing ideas. In this volume, Iznogud tries to get rid of the caliph in many fancy ways. For example, he wants to shove it into a primitive rocket and send it into space. Uses an amulet that turns dreams into reality. He hires a descendant of Midas to help him turn the caliph into a golden statue. It is also worth mentioning the stories with the theme of the labyrinth and aliens. Even an enchanted pencil appears in one chapter! Apart from the shorter stories, there are two longer ones in this volume. One focuses on the caliph, who is a good but naive person. As soon as rumors of Iznogud’s cruelty reached him, on the advice of a certain sage, he went on a journey to get a carrot (allegedly it is supposed to positively affect the character of the vizier).Madmen’s Day is a fascinating story about a day when everything is upside down, so the slaves are the masters and the Grand Vizier becomes the Caliph.
Each story is always a dose of great entertainment for people of all ages. Although Iznogud is an antihero, it is a pleasure to read about his adventures, and it is even impossible not to like him. Anyway, all the characters, even the episodic ones, such as the cruel Sultan Pulmankar or the sailor Iznosobed, fit perfectly into the comic book formula and bring a lot of humor to the story.
Furious Grand Vizier!
In terms of the performance, The Adventures of the Grand Vizier Iznogud looks great. These are one hundred and eighty pages of crazy adventures of the Grand Vizier, drawn with the beautiful line of Jean Tabara. I like how the illustrator shows the emotions accompanying our heroes: Iznogud’s rage and his malicious smirks, or the lack of intelligence emanating from the honest face of Caliph Harun Arachid.
Is Baghdad worth visiting?
The adventures of the great vizier Iznogud is an example of a light position perfect for improving one’s mood. I had a lot of fun with this comic, I would love to reach for other volumes. Of course, the stories of the grand vizier cannot match the adventures of Asterix and Obelix, but they are close to that. This is another great work by René Goscinny, and perfectly illustrated by Jean Tabara. Thanks to this comic, you can break away from the gray reality and immerse yourself in a colorful and unusual Baghdad.
