MetaFilter posts tagged with fantomas

Il Diabolico Vendicatore!

Smart Dalek — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:50:26 -0800

In the wake of The Scarlet Pimpernel, countless figures have flamboyantly stalked the night. Among them were the scofflaw Arsene Lupin and his more violent contemporary, Fantomas. So influential was the latter that imitators soon arose, plying their merciless wiles on others. Among them were Fu Manchu, the nefarious Dr. Mabuse, the hooded Diabolik, and Matt Wagoner's Grendel. Not even Donald Duck was immune from the seductive lure of crime. In the late 1960s, Italian comic creators Elisa Penna, Guido Martina, and Giovan Battista Carpi were commissioned by the Walt Disney Company to produce overseas versions of Mickey Mouse's adventures. In seeking ideas for new storylines, the trio conceived of an ode to the Fantomas legend; in their tale, the bumbling, short-tempered Donald Duck was transformed into the sinister, cooly-scheming Paperinik. From his secret lair, Donald's twisted alter ego sowed the seeds of distrust upon his Uncle $crooge and cousin Gladstone, as a humiliating punishment for perceived slights. The comic quickly developed a cult following, as PK (or Phantom Duck), displayed a more anarchic side to the more progressively staid actions of the Disney menagerie. Alas, in a fate which similarly affected Diabolik, Paperinik was considered too anti-social a character, and was subsequently softened. Instead of using others as pawns for their disposal, both figures instead were recast as protectors of the innocent. It was in this incarnation that Donald would be remembered as a webbed parody of Batman. With Disney's success in licensing the duck as a mascot for the University of Oregon, as well as a brand of orange juice, the last thing the corporate giant wanted was for their windfall to be associated with roughhousing, or even cold-blooded murder.

thanx for letting me fuck your dad

angry modem — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 02:31:09 -0800

thanx for letting me fuck your dad --PATTON

Horreur! Plus de Balles!!!

MrBaliHai — Sat, 29 Nov 2003 14:16:13 -0800

Sure, you all know Barberella from the campy 60's cult film, and our own vacapinta turned us on to the classic French anti-hero, Fantomas. Yet there are even more sleazy, Eurotrash cartoon characters to adore at Cool French Comics: the diabolical Satanik, the [ahem] big-top avenger Felina, and in a shocking twist, my childhood idol TinTin going main a la main with the Dark Knight.

vacapinta — Sat, 14 Sep 2002 12:13:14 -0800

Fantomas Lives!
Fantômas is the Lord of Terror, the Genius of Evil, the arch-criminal anti-hero of a series of 32 pre-WWI French thrillers written by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain. He carries out the most appalling crimes: substituting sulfuric acid in the perfume dispensers at a Parisian department store, releasing plague-infested rats on an ocean liner, or forcing a victim to witness his own execution by placing him face-up in a guillotine.
In 1912, Apollinaire founded the Societe des Amis de Fantomas which included prominent artists and writers. Magritte considered Fantomas to be a major influence in many of his paintings. Fantomas was not only a comic book but also spawned films, tv and radio shows and plays. (There is, of course, a modern band as well)(I read the Mexican comic book as a child)