Schanulleke is a Flemish comic book character, also known as ''Schabolleke'' with an 'o', who originated in the Belgian comics series '' Suske en Wiske''. In the series she is Wiske's beloved rag doll. Between 1986 and 1993 Schanulleke received her own spin-off series. The character's name in English is Molly, Sawdust or Muffin.

History

Schanulleke was introduced in the very first panel of ''Suske en Wiske'', along with her owner Wiske, namely in the album ''Rikki en Wiske in Chocowakije'' (1945). Her original name was "Schalulleke", later changed into "Schabolleke" for publication in the

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, both Flemish dialect expressions for a

scallion Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chi ...

. When it was later decided to use one translation for both the

and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

her name was changed again from "Schalulleke" to "Schanulleke", because the word "lul" is Dutch slang for "penis". The name change became official in the Suske en Wiske story "De Schone Slaper" ("Sleeping Beau") (1965).

Character

Schanulleke is a little rag doll, always portrayed wearing a red dress, indicating it is female. Wiske loves her with a passion and treats her like a mother. She is always heartbroken whenever Schanulleke is kidnapped, lost or threatened. Whenever people mock her for loving a doll at her age she feels insulted. In some stories the kidnapping of Schanulleke brings the plot into motion, like "Prinses Zagemeel" ("Princess Sawdust") (1949), "De Knokkersburcht" ("The Batterers' Fortress") (1953) and "De Laatste Vloek" ("The Last Curse") (2002). She is also brought to life in "Bibbergoud" (1950), "De Sterrenplukkers" (1952), "Het Vliegende Bed" (1959), "De Dulle Griet" (1966), "De Poppenpakker" (1973), "De Vlijtige Vlinder" (1976), "Sony-San" (1986), "De Mysterieuze Mijn" (1990), "Amber" (1999), "De Kus van Odfella" (2003) and "De Gevangene van Prisonov" (2003). Despite being an inanimate object and usually not being the focus of the stories, Schanulleke is still one of the few characters in the franchise who has been present in most of the stories.

Spin-off

From 1986 until 1993 Schanulleke received her own comic strip. The first two stories, "Eiko, de wijze boom" and "Schanulleke in de dierentuin" were drawn by

Willy Vandersteen Willy Vandersteen (15 February 1913 – 28 August 1990) was a Belgian creator of comic books. In a career spanning 50 years, he created a large studio and published more than 1,000 comic albums in over 25 series, selling more than 200 million co ...

himself and were long stories. He also gave her a

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

: the clown doll Duddul. Later his studio employees, Eric De Rop and Patty Klein, continued the series, but as a gag-a-day comic. The series have been published in ''Okki'' and ''

Suske en Wiske Weekblad ''Suske en Wiske Weekblad'' was a Belgian comics magazine which debuted in September 15, 1993 and ran in weekly syndication until December 24, 2003. It was based on the popularity of Suske en Wiske and notable for being the last attempt in Fland ...

''.

List of Schanulleke albums

* "Eiko, de wijze boom" * "Schanulleke in de dierentuin" * "Kattekwaad" * "Poppenmoppen" * "Popverdorie" * "Poppenkast"

In popular culture

Child daycare centers in Meerbeke and

Roeselare Roeselare (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. ...

, Flanders have been named after the character, as well as a children's clothing store in

Woerden Woerden () is a city and a municipality in central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht, and the fact that it has rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commu ...

and IJsselstein. The character was made into an actual rag doll too.

Sources

{{Spike and Suzy Spike and Suzy Comics characters introduced in 1945 Fictional dolls and dummies Female characters in comics Belgian comic strips Belgian comics titles Comics spin-offs 1986 comics debuts 1993 comics endings Gag-a-day comics Comics about cats Fantasy comics Humor comics Belgian comics characters Comics by Willy Vandersteen Rag dolls