Zbeng!

Zbeng! is probably the most notable Israeli comic, by cartoonist Ouri Fink. It follows the day-to-day lives of a large cast of characters, most of them high-schoolers.


 * Author Avatar: Fink is himself an occasional character in the comic. Other than that, he said Yaron is the character that most closely resembles himself.
 * Berserk Button: Mess with Josepha -- or look like she's attracted to you -- and Asher will kick your ass.
 * Butt Monkey: Mostly averted -- while everyone is a Cosmic Plaything to some extent, any character can come up on top when opposed to the others.
 * Comic Book Time: a necessary trope to keep a teen comic running for over 20 years.
 * The Casanova: Golan is pretty much a male version of Maya. Word of God itself says as much.
 * Death Seeker: Stav. Very depressed, very lucky.
 * Ensemble Cast: Gal is the closest thing Zbeng has to a main character. That's not saying much.
 * Free the Frogs: A guy does this to improve the score with his angry girlfriend.
 * Lethal Chef: Yosepha's cooking is probably Asher's greatest fear, as he doesn't have the heart to tell her it can actually put him in the hospital.
 * Meaningful Name: Most surnames are relevant to the character's behavior.
 * Mood Whiplash: One story from the early 2000's involved the cartoonist trying to shoehorn himself into the cast. First as "one of the guys" (much to the dismay of the teenage protagonists), then as one of the characters' uncle (with even less success), and finally as a teacher at their school, before the characters finally intimidated him away. Gal then ponders what made him want so much to live in their fictional world.
 * Official Couple:
 * Gal and Sigal.
 * Yosepha and Asher.
 * Gili and Aisha
 * No Fourth Wall: The comic has many issues in which Ouri Fink and his characters directly criticize each other.
 * Strangely enough, in one comic Yaron consumed intelligence-enhancing substance which made him aware of being a comic book character.
 * Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Yaron.
 * Real Life Writes the Plot: often lampshaded, as there is No Fourth Wall.
 * The Pollyanna: Despite living in a cardboard box, Asaf is easily the happiest member of the cast.
 * Sadist Teacher: Mrs Zaafani. By her own admission, her only joy in life is screaming at people.
 * Soapbox Sadie: Sigal is more than a little devoted to her political ideals.
 * Status Quo Is God: To the point where changes to a character's haircut are treated like a big deal.
 * The Vamp: Maya's entire character is based on her ability to wrap the boys around her finger.