''Oumpah-pah le Peau-Rouge'' (''Ompa-pa the Redskin'') is a comics series created by

comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary a ...

Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; ; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the '' Astérix'' series in collaboration with ...

and

comics author A script is a document describing the narrative and dialogue of a comic book in detail. It is the comic book equivalent of a television program teleplay or a film screenplay. In comics, a script may be preceded by a plot outline, and is almost ...

René Goscinny René Goscinny (, ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Raised largely in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended French schoo ...

, best known as the creators of

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gauls, Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book book series, series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight th ...

. The series first appeared in the weekly ''

Tintin Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to: ''The Adventures of Tintin'' * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series ** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...

'' magazine in 1958 though it remained serialised for a relatively short time, ending in 1962. The stories were published in book form by Lombard and

Dargaud Société Dargaud, doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud (), publishing its first comics in 1943. ...

starting in 1961. In 1995, the series was reissued by Albert Uderzo's own publishing house, Les Éditions Albert-René.

Characters

The series features the adventures of Ompa-pa (Oumpah-pah in French – the name referring to a

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...

), a Native American of the Flatfeet tribe, and his friend, the French officer Hubert Brussels Sprout (Hubert de la Pâte Feuilletée in French, which translates as Hubert of

Puff Pastry Puff pastry, also known as ', is a flaky light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough (') and butter or other solid fat ('). The butter is put inside the dough (or vice versa), making a ' that is repeatedly folded and rolled out befo ...

), whom Ompa-pa calls ''Two-scalp'', a reference to his

wig A wig is a head or hair accessory made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fiber. The word wig is short for periwig, which makes its earliest known appearance in the English language in William Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona' ...

. The series is set in the 18th century during the age of French colonization in America. Ompa-pa is strong and quick, and loves to eat

pemmican Pemmican (also pemican in older sources) is a mixture of tallow, dried meat, and sometimes dried berries. A calorie-rich food, it can be used as a key component in prepared meals or eaten raw. Historically, it was an important part of indigenou ...

. He is an honest and trustworthy brave whose simple heroism is comparable to that of the more famous

, whom Uderzo and Goscinny later created. Hubert Brussels Sprout, whom the Flatfeet initially hold as a prisoner, subsequently serves as a mediator between the Europeans and the Native Americans, and is also an ally against the tribe known as the Sockitoomee, the sworn enemies of the Flatfeet. When Brussels Sprout introduces Ompa-pa as his

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

, his commanding officer remarks: "When madam the Marquise your mother hears about this..." The character Ompa-pa makes a cameo appearance in the 1976 ''

'' film ''

The Twelve Tasks of Asterix ''The Twelve Tasks of Asterix'' (''Les Douze travaux d'Astérix'') is a 1976 Belgian/French animated feature film based on the ''Asterix'' comic book series, and the third in the animated franchise. René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, the crea ...

'', though this story is set in

pre-Columbian America In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

Publication history

Goscinny and Uderzo met in 1951 and were seated next to each other at the Paris office of World Press, where they first began their collaboration, inventing the characters Ompa-pa, Jehan Pistolet and Luc Junior. Ompa-pa was the very first character created by Uderzo and Goscinny, but initially failed to raise the interest of any publisher. While he was staying in the United States for professional reasons, Goscinny unsuccessfully tried to have the first version of the comic published in English. (

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...

may have worked on the English translation.) The idea remained shelved for several years until the concept was adapted for publication in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''Tintin''. The finished series made its debut on April 2, 1958. Goscinny and Uderzo ultimately decided to end the series early, in order to focus their energies on the more popular Asterix character. The series was published in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

under the title ''Ompa-Pa'' in the UK in 1977–78, in a translation by Nicholas Fry.

Bibliography

Serialised stories

* ''Oumpah-pah le Peau-Rouge'', 1958 (''Oumpah-pah the Redskin'') * ''Oumpah–pah sur le sentier de la guerre'', 1958 (''Oumpah-pah on the Warpath'') * ''Oumpah–pah et les pirates,'' 1959 (''Oumpah-pah and the Pirates'') * ''Mission secrète'', 1960 (''Secret Mission'') * ''Oumpah–pah contre Foie–Malade'', 1962 (''Oumpah-pah against Liver Sick'')

Albums

(Les Éditions du Lombard, Brussels, published simultaneously in France by Dargaud Éditeur, Paris) # ''Oumpah-pah le Peau-Rouge'', including Oumpah-pah sur le sentier de la guerre (1961) # ''Oumpah-pah et les pirates'', including Mission secrète (1962) # ''Oumpah-pah contre Foie-Malade'' (1967) Reissues by Les Éditions Albert René # ''Oumpah-Pah le Peau-Rouge'', including an introduction and a reprint of the 1951 U.S. pilot (1995) # Vol. 2, including Oumpah-Pah sur le sentier de la guerre and Oumpah-Pah et les pirates (1996) # Vol. 3, including Mission secrète and Oumpah-pah contre Foie-Malade (1997) English translation by Nicholas Fry (Egmont/Methuen, London) # ''Ompa-Pa and Brother Two Scalp'' (1977) # ''Ompa-Pa Saves the Day'' (1977) # ''Ompa-Pa and the Pirates'' (1977) # ''Ompa-Pa and the Secret Mission'' (1978) # ''Ompa-Pa and the Prussians'' (1978)

Sources

''Oumpah-pah'' publications in Belgian ''Tintin''
BDoubliées

Bedetheque ;Footnotes

External links

Umpah-Pah
on Yps Fanpage {{Asterix, type=skip French comic strips Works by René Goscinny Comics by Albert Uderzo Fictional Native American people Comics set in the 18th century 1958 comics debuts 1962 comics endings Humor comics Children's comics Satirical comics Lombard Editions titles Comics characters introduced in 1958 French comics characters Native Americans in popular culture