L'Élève Ducobu is a comic series

Comics

Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...

 created by Zidrou (scenario) and Godi (drawing). The series tells the adventures of Ducobu, a comic and eccentric dunce

Dunce

A dunce is a person incapable of learning.The word is derived from the name of the great Scholastic theologian and philosopher John Duns Scotus, also referred to as Doctor Subtillis, or "Subtle Doctor", whose works on logic, theology and philosophy were accepted textbooks in the universities from...

. The series first appeared in September 1992 in the Belgian comics magazine Tremplin. The first album was published in 1997 by Le Lombard

Le Lombard

Le Lombard or Lombard Editions is a Belgian comic book publisher established in 1946 when the Tintin magazine was launched. In 1986 the company was acquired by Média-Participations.-Titles:Lombard's more famous series include:*Clifton...

 and from this year have appeared in the French comics magazine Le Journal de Mickey.

Style

L’élève Ducobu is an assortment of gag

Gag

A gag is usually a device designed to prevent speech, often as a restraint device to stop the subject from calling for help. This is usually done by blocking the mouth, partially or completely, or attempting to prevent the tongue, lips, or jaw from moving in the normal patterns of speech. They are...

s. Most of the story takes place at the Saint-Potache school, but some strips deal with the main character's private life and take place at home. Other strips go back into the past of the characters. Each album generally begins with the start of the school year and ends with the summer holidays.

Characters

• L'élève Ducobu: the main character of the series; a very inventive dunce and joker, he is very resourceful at finding new ways to copy from his neighbour, to cheat or to defy the teacher's authority. But he always fails and each of his examination papers is rated with a zero. He spends all his time either copying, cheating or reading Rik Spoutnik, his favorite magazine, or in the corner of the classroom with a dunce cap
  Dunce cap
  A dunce cap, also variously known as a dunce hat, dunce's cap, or dunce's hat, is a pointed hat. In popular culture, it is typically made of paper and often marked with a D or the word "dunce", and given to schoolchildren to wear as punishment by public humiliation for misbehavior and, as the name...
  
  . He wears a pullover with yellow and black stripes, which refers to the traditional prisoners' uniform.
• Léonie Gratin, brilliant and gifted pupil and Ducobu's classroom neighbour; she continuously gets angry at all Ducobu's attempts to copy, but she sometimes naively feels some loving affection for him. She always gets a 10/10 mark, but occasionally fails owing to Ducobu's mischief, which explains why his overall score is never 10.
• Gustave Latouche, a very strict teacher; he is very demanding of his pupils. He always keeps an eye on Ducobu and foils all his attempts to cheat or copy, and succeeds in avoiding all his traps. He is single and loses his mother in the course of the series.
• Néness, the classroom anatomy skeleton
  Skeleton (undead)
  A Skeleton is a type of physically manifested undead often found in fantasy, gothic and horror fiction, and mythical art. Most are human skeletons, but they can also be from any creature or race found on Earth or in the fantasy world.- Myth and folklore :...
  
  ; he stays all the day at the back of the classroom and waits for Ducobu to be sent to the corner. He is a joker and likes commenting on Ducobu's adventures, but he sympathizes with him and is ready to help or defend him.
• Rotule: the skeleton of a small female dog which was abandoned by its masters going in holidays. It was offered by Ducobu to Néness so that he doesn't get bored during the holidays.
• Ducobu's father: a lazy and frivolous civil servant at the Ministry of Employment; he takes care alone of his son, his wife having left him when Ducobu was a baby.
• Léonie's mother, in charge of the perfume section in a department store
  Department store
  A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
  
  . A single mother, she is extremely proud of her daughter and always praises her school results and her hard work. She dislikes the Ducobus and doesn't hesitate to criticize them.
• Saint-Potache's headteacher, liked by Mister Latouche.

Albums

All published by Le Lombard

Le Lombard

Le Lombard or Lombard Editions is a Belgian comic book publisher established in 1946 when the Tintin magazine was launched. In 1986 the company was acquired by Média-Participations.-Titles:Lombard's more famous series include:*Clifton...

.

1. Un copieur sachant copier ! (1997)
2. Au coin ! (1998)
3. Les Réponses ou la vie ? (1999)
4. La Lutte des classes (1999)
5. Le Roi des cancres (2000)
6. Un Amour de potache (2001)
7. Vivement les vacances ! (2001)
8. Punis pour le meilleur et pour le pire (2002)
9. Le Fortiche de la triche (2003)
10. Miss dix sur dix (2004)
11. Peut mieux faire ! (2005)
12. 280 de Q.I. ! (2006)
13. Pas vu, Pas pris ! (2007)
14. Premier de la classe (en commençant par la fin) (2008)
15. Ça sent les vacances (2009)
16. Confisqués ! (2010)
17. Silence, on copie ! (2011)

Novel

1. Le Trésor de Kanul Archinul (2004)
2. 6 × 7 = Amour (2004)
3. Ducobu, instituteur ! (2004)
4. La Carotte (2004)
5. Zéro de conduite (2004)
6. Le Championnat du monde de la triche (2004)
7. La Punition du siècle ! (2005)
8. Le Voleur de vacances (2005)
9. La Méthode www.dix-sur-dix.com (2005)
10. Le Terrible Secret de Néness (2005)
11. Dans l'enfer des tables de multiplication (2006)
12. Gros Q.I et petits soucis de cœur (2006)

Publication in English

The series have been translated into English by Cinebook Ltd

Cinebook Ltd

Cinebook Ltd is a British publishing company that publishes comic books and graphic novels. It describes itself as "the 9th art publisher," the 9th art being comics in continental Europe, especially France, Italy and Greece....

, a British publisher specializing in Franco-Belgian comics. So far, four books have been translated.

1. King of the Dunces, Sept. 2006, ISBN 1-905460-15-5
2. In the Corner! , June 2007, ISBN 978-1-905460-26-7
3. Your answers or your life !, June 2008, ISBN 978-1-905460-28-1
4. The Class Struggle, May 2010, ISBN 978-1-84918-031-3

External links

• English Publisher of Ducoboo - Cinebook Ltd
• Official website