De Kiekeboes: Difference between revisions

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At first sight ''“De Kiekeboes”'' is your typical Flemish family strip in the tradition of ''Suske en Wiske, [[Jommeke]]'' and ''[[Nero]]''. All stories center around the family Kiekeboe: father Marcel, mother Charlotte, teenage daughter Fanny and school boy Konstantinopel. However, the series have a more realistic every day life setting avoiding many of the typical comic book strip clichés: no [[World's Strongest Man]], no [[Absent-Minded Professor]], no [[Talking Animal]] and fantasy elements are kept to a minimum. We do know that ghosts exist ''(“Spoken in Huis”)'', vampires ''(“Het Witte Bloed”, “De Kus van Mona”, “De Babyvampier”,…)'', strange prehistoric monsters ''(“Met De Franse Slag”)'', aliens ''("De Trawanten Van Spih")'' and occasionally some physically impossible gags occur. But most of the time everything is set in a realistic atmosphere. Fanny and Charlotte are not [[Conveniently an Orphan]] or adopted, but Marcel and Charlotte’s real children. The early albums are still a bit naïve and childish like a traditional comic strip, but gradually the series started [[Growing the Beard]] and became [[Darker and Edgier]]. Many of the early one-dimensional characters became more complex. Story lines touched more adult and often risqué subject matter like prostitution, drugs, transsexuality, religious cults, racism, homosexuality, … The sly erotic jokes also became more prominent and explicit in later stories. Today ''“De Kiekeboes”'' is mostly an adult strip, though it still manages to keep its stories amusing and interesting for children as well.

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* [[Adolf Hitler]]:

** Dictator Sstoeffer in ''"Het Plan [[S Stoeffer]]"'' is a clear parody.

* [[Fountain of Youth]]: In ''“Kiele Kiele Boe”'' Kiekeboe is changed into a baby overnight.

* [[Funny Background Event]]: Just keep your eyes open when reading an album.

* [[Game Show Appearance]]: Plot element in ''"Hoe Meer Kijkers"''.

* [[Gang of Critters]]: De Wollebollen in ''“De Wollebollen”''.

* [[Happy End]]: Sometimes subverted.

* [[Harmless Freezing]]: In ''“Een Koud Kunstje”'' it turns out that Napoleon Bonaparte was originally frozen to unthaw him several years later.

* [[Hopper Shot]]: Fanny and Inspecteur Sapperdeboere sat in this restaurant in the album ''"Blond en [[Blau W]]"''.

* [[Hurricane of Euphemisms]]

* [[Hurricane of Puns]]: It’s a trademark of the series.

* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]: Inevitable in the [[Hurricane of Puns]] that this series is...

* [[Killed Off for Real]]: Occasionely characters die in this comic strip.

* [[Limited Wardrobe]]: For years the characters mostly wore the same outfits, but recent albums show them wearing different types of clothing to go along with the times.

* [[Long Neck]]: In ''“De Pili-Pili Pillen”'' Balthasar’s neck grows to enormous lengths.

* [[The Movie]]: Adapted to the big screen twice, but in both cases it wasn’t a big success.

* [[The Napoleon]]: Plays the central role in ''“Een Koud Kunstje”''.

* [[Nobody Poops]]: Subverted in ''“Album 26”'', where Kiekeboe goes to the toilet in the middle of the story: ''“Just because other comic book heroes never do this doesn’t mean I have to do the same.”''

* [[No Name Given]]: One character, ''“De Dikke Dame” (“The Fat Lady”)'' makes a [[Hitchcock Cameo]] in every album, but nothing is known about her, not even her name.

* [[Nosy Neighbor]]: Fernand Goegebuer, who often walks in during an inappropriate moment or whose talkativeness causes a lot of trouble.

* [[Old Shame]]: Merho doesn’t like some of his earliest albums which followed a more traditional comic book structure, including fantasy stuff, unnecessarily exposure of jokes and plot points and too bland and childish jokes.

* [[Overly Long Name]]: Mr. Osnoprodavonoblikavitch in the album ''"Hotel O"'' who's never been able to remember his own surname. He shortens it to the letter ''"o"'', despite other people miraculously remembering it without any mistakes.

* [[Parental Bonus]]: This is a comic strip that adults can enjoy on different levels.

* [[People Jars]]: Comic book characters are put in jars in the album ''“Kiekebanus”''.

* [[Police Are Useless]]: Inspector Sapperdeboere, who usually spents more time eating than actually solving crimes.

* [[Print Long Runners]]: Since 1977.

* [[Product Placement]]: Merho drew one album ''“Avontuur in Sun Parks”'' where the Kiekeboes have an adventure in the amusement park “Sun Parks”.

* [[Pulp Magazine]]: The magazine ''“Top Roddel”''.

* [[Punny Name]]: It’s a trademark of the series! Almost every characters has some kind of pun hidden in his or her name.

** The thief El Bousidi in ''“De Fez van Fes”'' was inspired by a real thief with that name who stole Merho and his wife’s luggage during a trip to Morocco.

* [[Really Gets Around]]: Fanny has had a lot of boyfriends over the years.

* [[Religion of Evil]]: Found in ''“De Haar-Tisten”, "Het Boerka-Complot"'' and ''“De getatoeëerde mossel”''.

* [[Rene Goscinny]]: Has a cameo in ''"Het lijk had gelijk"''

* [[Shameless Fanservice Girl]]: Fanny is often put in erotic and (semi) nude situations.

* [[She Who Must Not Be Seen]]: Mevrouw Stokvis, the best friend of Moemoe is always mentioned, but never seen by the audience.

* [[Show Within a Show]]: In ''“Vrouwen Komen Van Mars”'' de Kiekeboes go inside a comic book that Kiekeboe enjoyed reading as a kid. The style is [[Deliberately Monochrome]] and a parody of the 1940s and 1950s Flemish comic strips.

* [[Slapstick]]: Merho is a huge fan of [[Laurel and Hardy]], so slapstick elements are often included.

* [[Smug Snake]]: Leon and Carmella Van Der Neffe

* [[Special Guest]]: For his album “Doorgestoken Kaart” Merho sought advice about magician’s tricks from Belgian magician Gil Ricardo. As a way to thank him he gave him a cameo role in the album.

* [[Symbol Swearing]]

* [[Tarzan]]: Van Der Neffe briefly dresses like him and swings on the lamp post in ''“Afgelast Wegens Ziekte”''.

[[Category:Newspaper Comics]]

[[Category:The Seventies]]

[[Category:Print Long Runners]]

[[Category:De Kiekeboes]]