Zbeng! () is a humorous weekly

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i comic series geared towards Israeli teenagers. The creator of the series is the Israeli

cartoonist 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 comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

Uri Fink, who has both illustrated and written the series for over three decades. The series has been published in the Israeli weekly youth magazine "Ma'ariv La'Noar" on a weekly basis since the 17 August 1987. Most of the chapters published in "Ma'ariv La'Noar" contain between 1-3 pages and comprise a single, self-contained storyline. Most chapters also contain a

punch line A punch line (also punch-line or punchline) concludes a joke; it is intended to make people Laughter, laugh. It is the third and final part of the Joke#Telling jokes, typical joke structure. It follows the introductory framing of the joke and th ...

in the last frame of the comic. The plot of the series focuses on the everyday life of an average Israeli adolescent, Gal Tichon, and his classmates at a fictional Israeli high school located in Gush Dan. The plot usually focuses in a humorous way on

adolescent Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated w ...

experiences as well as lampooning

Israeli culture The culture of Israel is closely associated with Jewish culture and rooted in the Jewish history of the Jewish diaspora, diaspora and Zionism, Zionist movement. It has also been influenced by Arab culture and the history and traditions of the Ara ...

, society, and many aspects of the

human condition The human condition can be defined as the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, reason, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered ...

. The characters' exaggerated personality traits are all based on common stereotypes (the

geek The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In th ...

, the bully, the queen bee, the evil teacher, etc.). Since its inception, the series has attained unprecedented success amongst its Israeli audience. This popularity has prompted the production of various related products under the "Zbeng!"

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

: including, amongst others, several series of books; student diaries; a spin-off version, portraying the "Zbeng!" characters as children; a monthly magazine; and even a

TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

loosely based on the comics. In 2015, Uri Pink decide to update the comics "Zbeng!" and make new characters while the original casts are their parents, it is called Zbeng!: The Next Generation.

Overview

"Zbeng!" was published for the first time in the popular Israeli teen magazine " Ma'ariv La'noar" on August 17,

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and attained popular success. Though originally published as a single-page item, the comic soon expanded to a multi-page format. Occasionally "Zbeng!" spoofed other regular columns in the magazine. The success of "Zbeng!" has been attributed in part to the author's willingness to make changes throughout the years and in response to reader feedback - for example, altering characters' appearances to reflect the latest fashions and trends. Despite the large fan base which the comics have acquired, "Zbeng!" has also been frequently and heavily criticized by Israeli parents and educators because of its portrayal of sexual activity, contempt for adult authority, and stereotypical characters.

Characters

Main characters

* Gal Tichon (גל תיכון) - the average teenager and series

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

. Gal is popular and adored by all the other characters. He loves to surf and to play the

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

. He is a guitar player in the rock band "My Limpy Sister" (אחותי הצולעת). Gal is Sigal's boyfriend. Gal's frequent breakups with Sigal is a repeated common feature in the series. * Jinji Anjing (Ronen Sagiv) (ג'ינג' אנגינג י) - Gal's sly red headed friend. A stereotypical character, Jinji is obsessed with sex, nevertheless is hated by every woman he meets. He is a bassist in the rock band "My Limpy Sister". * Sigal Sagi (סיגל שגיא) - Gal's

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

- left wing-

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

girlfriend. Sigal is an excellent student who is well-liked by her peers. She became a vegan. The color of her hair changes again and again, it's related to how she feels. * Yaron Tichon (ירון תיכון) - Gal's

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

brother. Yaron is a book worm

nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly t ...

computer expert who loves to perform many experiments in his laboratory - the majority of which ends in various accidents. He was Stav's boyfriend. * Maya Shalit (מאיה שליט) - A drop-dead beautiful and manipulative

blonde Blond () or blonde (), also referred to as fair hair, is a human hair color characterized by low levels of eumelanin, the dark pigment. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can be ...

. She is a model and is considered to be the class "queen bee". She used to be "Aya", an ugly and unpopular girl which had a crush on Asher.

Recurring characters by type

Teenagers

* Asher Killer (אשר קילר) - A hot-tempered and dim-witted bully who tends to be very possessive about his girlfriend. His legs are tiny and because of the difference between his hands and his legs he cannot ride rollerblades. * Yosefa Rosenblum (יוספה רוזנבלום) - Asher's girlfriend. Her inability to cook is a running joke throughout the series. She made a lot of cookies for her boyfriend, cookies which can break teeth. * Nir La-cost (ניר לה-קוסט) - A rich

narcissist Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism, named after the Greek mythological figure ''Narcissus'', has evolv ...

snob ''Snob'' is a pejorative term for a person who feels superior due to their social class, education level, or social status in general;De Botton, A. (2004), ''Status Anxiety''. London: Hamish Hamilton it is sometimes used especially when they pr ...

. He looks down on his class mates because of their lower socio-economic status and considers himself superior to them. He also looks down on all Israelis in general. He enjoys trips abroad, mainly to London. * Yitzhak "Tzachi" Hamburger (יצחק "צחי" המבורגר) - A

morbidly obese Obesity is a risk factor for many chronic physical and mental illnesses. The health effects of being overweight but not obese are controversial, with some studies showing that the mortality rate for individuals who are classified as overweight ( ...

teenager with an unhealthy appetite for food. * Golan Pines (גולן פינס) - A handsome and attractive guy. He is the male equivalent of Maya. * Ido Ramon (עידו רמון) - The lead singer in the rock band "My Limpy Sister". He has an extremely limited vocabulary. When not singing, all he is capable of saying is " sex, intercourse and Rock 'n' roll!". * Ziv Ochovski-Robinson (זיו אוחובסקי-רובינסון) - The

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

in the rock band "My Limpy Sister." * Sivan Bar-Ratzon (סיוון בר-רצון) - A liberal teenage girl with a

sex addiction Sexual addiction is a state characterized by compulsive participation or engagement in sexual activity, particularly sexual intercourse, despite negative consequences. The concept is contentious; sexual addiction is not a clinical diagnosis in ...

. * Gili "Magili" Yefe-Nof (גילי "מגעילי" יפה-נוף) - An ugly teenager who is a big

horror movie Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include monsters, apocalyp ...

enthusiast. He loves disgusting things in general. * Herzel Hazon (הרצל חזון) - the ultimate Ars. Herzel is a dark-skinned teenager, who at one point in the series bleaches his hair, dresses in form-fitting clothes and wears

jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

. * Stav Harov Tany (סתיו חרוב/תאני) - A dark, gloomy, gothic teenage girl. * Sharon Zelig (שרון זליג) - A teenage girl who is highly interested in

fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

and is always up to date with the latest

fashion trends The following is a chronological list of articles covering the history of Western fashion—the story of the changing fashions in clothing in countries under influence of the Western world⁠—from the 5th century to the present. The series foc ...

. * Ron Rockafeller (רון רוקפלר) - A compulsive troublesome pest. * Aisha Sivan Raichel (אעישה סיון רייכל) - A teenage girl of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

n origin. She is very spiritual and has a great interest in matters of the

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

. * Asaf Netanyahu (אסף נתניהו) - A

homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

but

optimistic Optimism is the attitude or mindset of expecting events to lead to particularly positive, favorable, desirable, and hopeful outcomes. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled with water to the halfway poin ...

teenager. * Noga Cnaan (נגה כנען) - A dark-skinned girl with curly hair and glasses. Sigal's friend. * Shay (שי) - A religious teenager. He is a

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

. He was Sigal's boyfriend for a short while after she separated from Gal.

The School Faculty

* Anuga Zaafani (ענוגה זעפני) - The gang's monstrous teacher and the ultimate nightmare for every student. She's married to Gershon. * Principal Zvulon Chartzueli (המנהל זבולון חרצואלי) - The principal of the high school who is stuck in his

childhood A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

. He is a big fan of

cartoons A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

and loves to play with

action figures An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These fig ...

of super heroes. * Mrs. Za'amon (גברת זעמון) - A

substitute teacher A substitute teacher is a person who teaches a school class when the regular teacher is absent or unavailable; e.g., because of illness, personal leave, maternal leave and so on. "Substitute teacher" (usually abbreviated as sub) is the most c ...

. She is a less extreme version of Za'afani. * Avishai (אבישי) - Gal's sport teacher.

Gal's family

* Hana/Sara/Rachel Tichon née Reshef (חנה\שרה\רחל תיכון לשעבר רשף) - Gal, Yaron and Osnat's mother. Portrayed as the stereotypical Jewish mother. She is a big worrier. She tends to obsessively color her hair. * Yizhak Tichon (יצחק תיכון) - Gal, Yaron and Osnat's father. He is of Iraqi origin and is very proud of his heritage. He constantly tries to develop his children's sense of their Iraqi roots, without much success. He is hot tempered although most of the time he is just apathetic. * Osnat Tichon (אסנת תיכון) - Gal's sister. * Schwartze Tichon (שוורצה תיכון) - Gal's new

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

The Next Generation

Originally, In 2015, Uri Pink decide to update the comics "Zbeng!" and make new characters while the original casts are their parents, But After Complaints Pink Decide Crossover with the Old Generation and the New Generation together. * Gal Sagiv (גל שגיב) - Daughter of Sigal and Jinji. * Steve Tichon (סטיב תיכון) - Son of Maya and Yaron. * Aviv (אביב) - Nerd boy who like geeks and technology. * Mangalit (Margalit Pines) (מנגלית (מרגלית פינס)) - Adopted Daughter of Golan and Ziv. Loves TV Shows and Movies and have Imaginary Friends. * Micha (מיכה) - The Mad Guy. Son of Ido and Sivan. * Adina Killer (עדינה קילר) - Daughter of Asher and Yosefa * Irad Hazon (עירד חזון) - Son of Herzel and Stav.

Characters who died in the comics

* Mordechai "Moti" Galil (מרדכי "מוטי" גליל) - Osnat's boyfriend. He appeared for many years as the eternal

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

, coming for short visits during periods of leave from the army. * Nezek (נזק) - Gal's first dog. * The nurse Nightingreps-The evil school nurse. She died because of a skeleton's arm penetrated her back.

Published works

In addition to the strips in the popular Israeli teen magazine "Ma'ariv La'noar," Fink has published 28 different "Zbeng!" comic books and many different pamphlets. Additional publications include a series of "Zbeng!" student diaries, "Zbeng!" notebooks, a series called "Zbengale" which featured the characters of "Zbeng!" as children, a series which spoofed "

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

," Zbeng

Manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

, a series called "TsvaZveng!" which featured the characters of "Zbeng!" as soldiers, and a monthly "Zbeng!" magazine. Fink has also published two instructional drawing books showing techniques for illustrating the Zbeng! characters. The book "Zbeng! Gold" summarizes the first ten years of the series. The book includes new drawings of 30 comics chosen by the readers, special features such as drawings of the neighborhoods where the characters live, "Zbeng!" in English and more. A subsequent book called "Zbeng! Platinum", which summarizes the second decade of the series, was released in 2007.

TV series

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, "Zbeng!" was adapted into a live-action TV series broadcast on the Israeli Channel 2. The show was based loosely on the plot and the characters of the comics, with slight changes from the original. The show lasted for two seasons.

Computer game

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, Corbomite Games announced the production of a computer game based on the comics, and designed by Oded Sharon.זבנג! - המשחק
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References

External links

* {{IMDb title, qid=Q12407200, id=tt0310546, title=Zbeng!
Official website

Zbeng! The game
Israeli comics titles Comics characters introduced in 1987