King Smurf
Encyclopedia
The Smurfs (comics)
The Smurfs are a Belgian comic series, created by cartoonist Peyo . The fictional characters of the Smurfs first appeared in Johan and Peewit in 1958, and the first independent Smurf comics appeared in 1959. Twenty-nine Smurf comic albums have been created, 16 of them by Peyo...
, and the name of the main fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
who assumes power in the absence of Papa Smurf
Papa Smurf
Papa Smurf is a male fictional character from The Smurfs. At 542 years old is the third-oldest Smurf after Grandpa and Nanny, and well above the typical age of the other Smurfs, which are approximately 100 years old...
. The story was written and drawn by Peyo
Peyo
Pierre Culliford , known as Peyo, was a Belgian comics artist, perhaps best known for the creation of The Smurfs comic strip.-Biography:...
with Yvan Delporte
Yvan Delporte
Yvan Delporte was a Belgian comics writer, and was editor-in-chief of Spirou magazine between 1955 and 1968 during a period considered by many the golden age of Franco-Belgian comics...
as co-writer.
Publication history
The adventure of King Smurf first started in Spirou magazine in 1964 as Le Schtroumpfissime (cf. illustrissimo — most illustrious — a term sometimes used to flatter European monarchs of the medievalMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
period). While not the second story to appear in Spirou, it was the titular story to be published in book format.
In the original French book edition from 1965, the comic contains two stories, the titular one and Schtroumphonie en Ut, a story about the frustrated efforts of a Smurf to make some acceptable music and being tricked by Gargamel into playing an enchanted musical instrument which has a disastrous effect on his fellow Smurfs.
An English Canadian edition appeared in 1978 by Dupuis
Dupuis
Éditions Dupuis S.A. is a Belgian publisher of comic books and magazines.Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis was founded in 1922 by Jean Dupuis, and is mostly famous for its comic albums and magazines. It is originally a French language publisher, but publishes many editions both in French...
in collaboration with Granger Frères Limitée. A later edition was published by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. The English edition of the comic appeared in 1997, published by Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
.
Other translations appeared in German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Polish, Catalan, Chinese and Swedish.
King Smurf
King Smurf is a regular Smurf whose actual name and position is never stated in the original adventure in which he is the titular main character.When Papa Smurf left the village for a few weeks in order to get some Euphorbia leaves (which he needed to complete an herbal potion for undisclosed use), the Smurfs were left with no leader
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
. Arguments and fights ensued when they all claimed the post and were only solved by the decision to have a vote, though at first they all announced that they were voting for themselves.
One particular (but unnamed) Smurf used demagogical tactics and made promise
Promise
A promise is a commitment by someone to do or not do something.In the law of contract, an exchange of promises is usually held to be legally enforceable, according to the Latin maxim pacta sunt servanda.- Types :...
s to almost all the Smurfs and they agreed to vote for him. He also put up posters, held a parade, made self-praising election speeches and offered rounds of raspberry
Raspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
juice. Soon, the only other candidate was Brainy Smurf
Brainy Smurf
Brainy Smurf is a male fictional character from The Smurfs.- Character :Brainy Smurf fancies himself as the all-around-brain of the village. Although he acts as though he is second-in-command behind Papa Smurf, this isn't the case and even Papa Smurf doesn't seem very fond of his sanctimonious...
who, as usual, simply claimed that he was the only suitable Smurf since (according to himself only) "Papa Smurf always said so". This arrogance and constant lecturing actually put all the other Smurfs off him.
The Smurf thus won 98% of the votes — the other two going to Brainy Smurf, who was supported by himself, and Clumsy Smurf: the winning Smurf had told him to vote for Brainy Smurf, expecting him to get it wrong when it came to the actual vote.
The winning Smurf then proceeded to put on golden-coloured clothes and asked the others to refer to him as "King Smurf". The Smurfs laughed off his pretence, something he himself did not take with amusement. Instead he resolved to teach them their place and became authoritarian. The Smurfs began to despise him as he became corrupted by power
Autocracy
An autocracy is a form of government in which one person is the supreme power within the state. It is derived from the Greek : and , and may be translated as "one who rules by himself". It is distinct from oligarchy and democracy...
: King Smurf imposed a repressive regime and installed an armed troop of guards led by Hefty Smurf who punished all opposition. He forced the Smurfs into building him a palace and wore them out.
Ironically the only one to show him any real support was Brainy Smurf
Brainy Smurf
Brainy Smurf is a male fictional character from The Smurfs.- Character :Brainy Smurf fancies himself as the all-around-brain of the village. Although he acts as though he is second-in-command behind Papa Smurf, this isn't the case and even Papa Smurf doesn't seem very fond of his sanctimonious...
but, being the sort that goes whichever way the wind blows, he later joined a resistance movement
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
. The rebels based themselves in the forest, insulting and provoking King Smurf from a distance. By offering the other Smurfs gold medals, King Smurf managed to mount an expedition into the forest to confront the rebellion, but it was a failure, with the rebels simply getting more recruits in the process.
To prevent any more defection
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
s, King Smurf had the village surrounded by a wooden wall. When he refused to abdicate, the rebels attacked the village. King Smurf's troops fought back by pelting them with tomatoes.
The rebels eventually broke through the wooden wall and the battle carried on inside the village, causing widespread destruction. During the fight, a rebel took explosives from Papa Smurf's laboratory and blew up King Smurf's castle. King Smurf was left helpless with only his guards to support him. He still defiantly refused to stand down and the final fight was about to start when Papa Smurf returned from his journey and demanded to know what was going on.
The sudden return of paternal authority brought an immediate end to the battle and the embarrassed Smurfs had to explain themselves to Papa Smurf. He was very angry with them because they "behaved like humans" and mostly put the blame on King Smurf. Extremely remorseful, ex-King Smurf simply returned to his old home, took a bucket and broom and said he would clean up all the damage the village had suffered. The other Smurfs felt sorry for him and offered their help, claiming it was also their fault, and that they still liked him after all. Ex-King Smurf was touched by this and so was Papa Smurf who forgave them all.
King Smurf's outfit was then used for a scarecrow
Scarecrow
A scarecrow is, essentially, a decoy, though traditionally, a human figure dressed in old clothes and placed in fields by farmers to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.-History:In Kojiki, the oldest surviving book in Japan...
.
Smurphony in C
An un-named Smurf is rejected from the village orchestra since he plays badly every instrument (even the triangle!). He meets a strange fairy who gives him a magic instrument, the "turlusiphon", which always plays well. However, when the Smurf plays the turlusiphon to the other smurfs, they fall asleep. The Smurf discovers the fairy was really GargamelGargamel
In the fictional world of The Smurfs, Gargamel the sorcerer is the sworn enemy of the Smurfs and the main antagonist in the show and comic books. While described as a wizard in the narration, Gargamel is not depicted as possessing real magical powers to speak of...
in disguise and goes to Gargamel's laboratory to find the cure for the turlusiphon-induced sleep, and faces both Gargamel and his cat Azrael. Sadly, Gargamel's books say there is no known cure for the turlusiphon. Angry, the Smurf kicks the turlusiphon to the chimney and leaves Gargamel's home. At the village, Harmony (as the Smurf now calls himself) takes his old trumpet and decides to play a requiem for his fellow Smurfs. The miracle happens when his music is so awful that it awakens the Smurfs. The Smurfs decide to accept him at the orchestra due to his heroism, but they still cover their ears when he plays.
Issues
In the King Smurf story, PeyoPeyo
Pierre Culliford , known as Peyo, was a Belgian comics artist, perhaps best known for the creation of The Smurfs comic strip.-Biography:...
and Yvan Delporte
Yvan Delporte
Yvan Delporte was a Belgian comics writer, and was editor-in-chief of Spirou magazine between 1955 and 1968 during a period considered by many the golden age of Franco-Belgian comics...
(the writer) appear to make several comments about government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, the lengths politicians will go to be elected
Elected
Elected is the latest EP by Dutch Progressive metal project Ayreon. It was released on April 25, 2008 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and on April 28 in the rest of Europe...
(such as making promises that they fail to keep) and the corruption and abuse of power
Abuse of Power
Abuse of Power is a novel written by radio talk show host Michael Savage.- Plot :Jack Hatfield is a hardened former war correspondent who rose to national prominence for his insightful, provocative commentary...
. By these standards, the story can be considered a satire on Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
; which was particularly poignant in post-WW2 Europe, most analysts agreeing that Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
took power through perfectly legal means before imposing a dictatorship. In the Dutch edition this link was even more apparent since the title of the story was "The Smurführer" (a reference to the German title "fuhrer" which Hitler used) instead of "King Smurf." The embarrassment the Smurfs feel when Papa Smurf returns makes the final battle seem like a schoolyard game which got out of hand.
In other media
When the story was made into an animated cartoon, it is Brainy Smurf who becomes King Smurf. "His Majesty's" disastrous forest-campaign is eliminated; Brainy's palace is destroyed not by a bomb, but by a flood when the dam on the River Smurf breaks. Ultimately, Brainy spells out the episode's moral, that "being a good leader means more than just giving orders."In the animated version of Smurphony in C, the melody of the smurphony is based on a Beethoven gavotte. Furthermore, the instrument the "fairy" (Gargamel) offers Harmony is called a "shazala-kazoo".