Inspector Canardo
Encyclopedia
History
Sokal created the character Inspector Canardo after graduating from Institut Saint-LucInstitut Saint-Luc
The Institut Saint-Luc is an arts school in Brussels. It consists of six departments, with a total of 2200 students and some 430 employees, divided over five locations in Ixelles and Saint-Gilles.-History:...
, at the age of 20. He first drew his comics for À Suivre
À Suivre
or was a Franco-Belgian comics magazine published from February 1978 to December 1997 by the Casterman publishing house....
but after the comic became popular, they were published as albums by Casterman
Casterman
Casterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Tournai, Belgium.Founded in 1780, Casterman was originally a printing company and publishing house...
.
Canardo
The eponymous character and the protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the series, Canardo is an anthropomorphic
Funny animal
Funny animal is a cartooning term for the genre of comics and animated cartoons in which the main characters are humanoid or talking animals, with anthropomorphic personality traits. The characters themselves may also be called funny animals...
duck who has a career as a private investigator
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
. While he is seldom seen on paid assignments, he tends to end up in dangerous situations everywhere. He is also often used as a pawn
Pawn
Pawn may refer to:* Pawn , the weakest and most numerous piece in the game* Pawn, another name for a pledge in certain jurisdictions ** Pawnshop/pawnbroker* Pawn , an embeddable programming language...
in bigger schemes because of his expendability. He suffers from severe personal problems, including vast consumption of beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
to forget the unfortunate events he has gone through. While Canardo is quite skilled both in armed and unarmed combat, he is more of an everyman
Everyman
In literature and drama, the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual, with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances...
than a traditional hero.
Interestingly, Canardo has died, at least seemingly, several times. Most of these happen in the comics written for À Suivre
À Suivre
or was a Franco-Belgian comics magazine published from February 1978 to December 1997 by the Casterman publishing house....
. In the first incident, Canardo is about to be lynched
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
by an angry crowd when he falls in a pit filled with urine, where he supposedly drowns. In the next comic, he is alive an well. Later, he is shot to death after being tricked by Clara. Canardo jokingly refers to this incident in the next comic, claiming that the "blood" was actually tomato sauce
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
. In the last short comic, Canardo commits suicide, although this presumably happens chronologically after all other adventures. In the album La Fille qui rêvait d'horizon (1999), Canardo's Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
collides with Rasputin's motorbike, causing an explosion that is implied to have killed both Canardo and Rasputin.
Clara
One of the first recurring characters in the series, Clara is a femme fataleFemme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
whose lust for power has lead her to do extreme things. In her first appearance, she uses Canardo to kill a mobster cat named Fritz, resulting in Canardo being shot. Despite the hostility between the two, they apparently have romantic feelings for each other, although this is less evident in Clara's later appearances. Like Canardo, Clara has survived several evident deaths.
Rasputin
Rasputin is a huge, violent evil mystic who lives in Siberia. He and his band of raiders have terrorized Siberian villages for years. Rasputin is obsessed with immortality, and has his assistant prepare numerous medicines to slow down his natural aging. When he learns that one of his supposedly dead daughters is alive, he decides to abandon his potions and instead find the daughter and make her his successor. After the plan fails, he blames Canardo, sparking hostility between the two.Premières enquêtes (1979)
English title: First InvestigationsThis album is a compilation of the shorter comics originally published in a comic book magazine, À Suivre
À Suivre
or was a Franco-Belgian comics magazine published from February 1978 to December 1997 by the Casterman publishing house....
. The loose story arc includes Canardo attempting to solve various crimes, him being used as a tool of political scheming, as well as the complex relationship between Canardo and Clara. The story arc ends tragically when Canardo, now married and settled down, kills himself outside the pub by shooting himself in the head.
These comics featured humans, who are considerably larger than the animal characters, and don't seem to notice the anthropomorphic traits of the animals. Humans were seen rarely in the other albums.
Le Chien debout (1981)
English title: The Standing DogCanardo isn't the main protagonist of this album, but rather a background influencer, or Éminence grise. The story features a dog working to stop a mad doctor who performs animal experiments, while investigating the murder of his girlfriend, for which everyone blames him.
La Marque de Raspoutine (1982)
English title: The Mark of RasputinRasputin, an evil mystic whose raiders have plagued Siberian villages for years, sends a messenger to Europe to find his daughter. After the messenger gets injured by Rasputin's enemies, Canardo, inspired by the beauty of Rasputin's daughter, agrees to help escort her to Rasputin. Matters are complicated by Clara, who is Rasputin's mistress, who isn't willing to share Rasputin's love with his daughter, and is willing to do anything to stop the reunion.
Rasputin, one of Canardo's enemies, appears for the first time in this album.
La Mort douce (1983)
English title: The Suave DeathCanardo, depressed after the trip to Siberia, witnesses a brutal homicide as Bronx, a bear, kills a customer of the pub despite normally being harmless, being too stupid to be angered. The violent outburst is caused by Lili Marleen
Lili Marleen
"Lili Marleen" is a German love song which became popular during World War II.Written in 1915 during World War I, the poem was published under the title "Das Lied eines jungen Soldaten auf der Wacht" in 1937, and was first recorded by Lale Andersen in 1939 under the...
, a song sung by a pub singer. Canardo sets off to find Bronx and discover the connection between the song and Bronx's behavior.
Noces de brume (1985)
English title: Misty WeddingRasputin is found alive, although weak and blind. When he is being transported in a wagon by a father and a daughter in East Europe, Rasputin escapes, causing the local population to equip themselves with firearms and begin hunting for this beast.
This album is the last to feature humans. The story is somewhat more mystical than in other albums, for example featuring a pact with the devil
Deal with the Devil
Deal With The Devil is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Lizzy Borden released in 2000 .A return to form, featuring a cover by Todd McFarlane.2 covers were recorded...
.
La Cadillac blanche (1990)
English title: The White CadillacLe Canal de l'angoisse (1994)
English title: The Channel of AnguishLe Caniveau sans lune (1995)
English title: The Moonless GutterLa Fille qui rêvait d'horizon (1999)
English title: The Girl who Dreamt of the HorizonCanardo's car breaks, forcing him to stay in a service station that is soon attacked by motorist gangsters, led by Canardo's enemy, Rasputin.
Un misérable petit tas de secrets (2001)
English title: A Miserable Little Pile of SecretsCanardo is tasked by a family to locate the gold bars their late grandfather stole from the Nazi government during his French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
days. Canardo is given a portable time machine (a rare occurrence of futuristic elements in the comics) to help him discover the location of the gold.
La Nurse aux mains sanglantes (2002)
English title: The Nurse with the Blood-Covered HandsLe Buveur en col blanc (2003)
English title: The Drunk in the White CollarCanardo attempts to solve a mystery surrounding the death of a respected wine critic.
Marée noire (2004)
English title: Black TideAn oil tanker Canardo is on is attacked by a revolutionary faction, who threaten to release the oil
Oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is mostly used to describe marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters...
into he ocean unless their demands are met.
L'Affaire belge (2005)
English title: The Belgian AffairL'Ombre de la bête (2006)
English title: The Shadow of the BeastCanardo is on a bus trip, which is interrupted when one passenger shoots the driver, and threatens to detonate the bus and the people inside it with a bomb tied to his waist. The criminal is fickle, and Canardo as well as the other passengers are having a hard time not aggravating him.