Mort & Phil () is a Spanish comic series, published in more than two dozen languages. It appeared for the first time in 1958 in the children's comic-book magazine drawn by Francisco Ibáñez. The series features Mort (), the tall, bald master of disguise named after mortadella sausage, and his bossy partner, the shorter, pudgier Phil (), named after fillet. Initially, they were private detectives operating as , but now both serve as secret agents in the T.I.A. (a spoof on CIA), the (Aeroterrestrial Investigation Technicians). is the Spanish word for "aunt".
The series frequently uses slapstick humour whereby the characters constantly suffer mishaps - such as falls from heights, explosions, and being crushed by heavy objects. Thanks to cartoon physics, the effects rarely last more than one panel.
Overview Mort and Phil are a pair of idiots, and no matter what kind of mission they are assigned they always manage to get it wrong. The results are almost invariably extremely violent, and most often directed towards Phil. At the T.I.A. (Spanish for "aunt", a parody of the CIA), which combats "enemy organisations" like ("frog") or ("grandmother"), they interact with their boss, the bad-tempered Superintendente Vicente; with Professor Bacterio, a black-bearded, disastrous scientist parodying James Bond's Q; and with the fat, blonde secretary Ofelia, a parody of Moneypenny, whose attempts at seducing Mort or Phil always fail.
Outside Spain, the series is especially popular in Germany as Clever & Smart. After the 1980s, the albums have featured current news, like computer sabotage, the AVE, Islamic terrorism, Spanish and European politics, and specials for the Olympic Games and the football World Cup.
Ibáñez liked to introduce whimsies unrelated to the action, especially in front covers. Examples have included a water tap sprouting from a tree, two mice chatting, and a vase containing a foot or an eggplant. In the final page of the album (1993), featured a New York scene with an aeroplane crashing into the World Trade Center. This attracted attention after the 9/11 attacks of 2001.
Prior to his death in 2023, Ibáñez would issue several albums a year. One animated series and some animated films were also produced. There are two live-action movies based on the series, one of them made in 2003 in Spain titled (Mort & Phil: The Big Adventure). A second movie was released in 2008, (Mort & Phil. Mission: Save Earth), marking the 50th anniversary of the series.
Characters
Mort (Mortadelo) Mort is a bald detective with pebble glasses and a long nose who usually wears a black frock coat. He is always fighting with Phil, his partner and boss, mostly because he tends to mess things up, usually to Phil's discomfort: his profound lack of skills to make his disguises believable and common sense have often made him a danger to everyone around him. His favourite hobby is wearing all sorts of (sometimes outrageous) disguises - professional and historical clothes and gear, animals, inanimate objects, even small-sized vehicles like miniature blimps and mopeds - which he mostly dons for special tasks or when he is on the run from Phil or his boss, and which all include his signature collar which obscures part of his mouth. He holds a grudge against Bacterio because he used to have lush hair until Bacterio offered him a supposed medicine against baldness, which actually made his hair fall out. His real name, Mortadelo, comes from , a kind of sausage.
Phil Pi ()/ Mort's partner and chief. He only has two hairs on his head and wears a white shirt with a black bowtie and red trousers. He usually insults Mort because Mort is quite clumsy, but is often at the receiving end of any mishaps which come their way, mostly in the shape of their outraged boss. Mortadelo habitually addresses him as (Spanish for "chief" or "boss"). He's also incredibly accident-prone, capable of being injured in comical and painful ways.
As the leader of the two-man team, Phil is an educated man and an expert in a variety of fields. In the movies, however, Filemón is shown to be just as ditzy as Mortadelo (especially in the animated movie Mortadelo and Filemon: Mission Implausible).
Vicente / Called for short or just , Vicente is Mort and Phil's boss. While he, as the head of the organisation, lives in splendour, indulging himself in expensive beverages and Cuban cigars, he keeps the T.I.A.'s operatives on an extremely tight budget. Vicente is bald and has a dense moustache, which makes him the object of mocking abuse by his underlings as a human walrus. He is very short-tempered and usually gets angry with Mort and Phil because they fail in their missions, making a mess of everything - occasionally at the expense of his own possessions. Just as often, however, he ends up as the one being chased by his underlings, as his frequently short-sighted assignments, and his habitual failure to properly introduce them, cause them no end of grief.
Professor Bacterio The T.I.A.'s black-bearded scientist and chief inventor. Mort blames him for his baldness (he had tried a new hair-strengthening concoction on Mort's then-lush mane, which made the hair fall out instead) and therefore the doctor is the unwilling prime recipient of Mort's practical jokes and revenge acts. His inventions, which are intended to assist Mort and Phil in their assignments, often fail quite spectacularly, mostly because they either achieve the opposite of what they are supposed to do, or work perfectly but fail at the most inconvenient moment. His name comes from bacteria, and acts as a parody of the character Q from the James Bond franchise.
Ofelia The fat and vain secretary of Superintendente Vicente. She is still single and would like to become involved with someone (usually with Mort), but so far her attempts have been in vain. She is quite touchy about her lack of luck with a relationship and being called fat; she reacts with corresponding violence when either of topics are brought up; and with her considerable weight, this is nothing to be ignored. She was the first female character created for the series and acts like a parody of Miss Moneypenny from the James Bond franchise.
Irma The bombshell secretary of El Súper. Both Mort and Phil have a huge crush on her (much to Ofelia's chagrin), but she is not interested. This character disappeared from the series after only 24 volumes.
F. Ibañez The creator of the series himself has a number of cameo appearances, either by name or in cartoon form. Mostly he is portrayed as the bald and bespectacled "Artist of the Nation", in perhaps the same league as Pablo Picasso. On several occasions, the series' characters often long to be "as rich as Ibáñez".
Rompetechos Rompetechos is a small man in a black suit, with an oversized head, receding black hair and a small moustache. He is always put in as a comic relief character; his short-sightedness causes him to react in ways which causes some inconvenience to Mort and Phil if they happen to cross his path. He has his own comic series (little known outside Spain) and makes cameo appearances in Ibañez's other works.
The Minister Vicente's boss (and the only person who he ever shows deference to). His appearance changes constantly throughout the series. In recent appearances has been replaced by a caricature of the President of the Government of Spain at the time.
Señora Superintendente The wife of Vicente (also with an ever-changing face). She is in charge of their household.
Bestiájez The giant agent of the T.I.A. He usually has to hunt down Mort and Phil because they do not want to do their missions. A rather minor character, his face has changed many times in the past. Many other agents appear, most of them having descriptive surnames ending in "-ez" ("Bestiájez" comes from "bestia", beast/brute).
Tete Cohete Tete Cohete (lit. "Tete Rocket") is a preteen boy who is an enthusiastic amateur mechanic and inventor. He habitually tinkers with mechanical devices, turning many of them into rocket-powered (hence his name) or hazardous contraptions, and because he neglects to warn other people about his modifications, often causes a lot of grief to any adults in his vicinity.
Tete Cohete was the main protagonist for another Ibáñez comic series which ran from 1981 to 1986. He makes infrequent cameos in other Ibáñez titles, particularly Mortadelo y Filemón and El botones Sacarino.
Parody characters There are also parodies of numerous celebrities and political personalities such as Ronald Reagan, José María Aznar or (in three albums in 2017) Donald Trump.
Albums In order of publication:
Between 1969 and 1971
El sulfato atómico Contra el "gang" del Chicharrón Safari callejero Valor y... ¡al toro! El caso del bacalao Chapeau el "esmirriau" La máquina del cambiazo La caja de los diez cerrojos ¡Magín "el mago"! ¡A la caza del cuadro!
Between 1972 and 1974
Los inventos del profesor Bacterio Gatolandia 76 Operación: ¡Bomba! Los diamantes de la gran duquesa El otro "yo" del profesor Bacterio Los monstruos El elixir de la vida El circo El antídoto Los invasores Los cacharros majaretas ¡A las armas! El plano de Alí-Gusa-No
Between 1975 and 1976
¡Pánico en el zoo! Concurso-oposición Los mercenarios Objetivo: eliminar al Rana Misión de perros Los secuestradores La gallina de los huevos de oro El caso del calcetín
Between 1977 and 1979
El brujo ¡Soborno! Los guardaespaldas Mundial 78 Los gamberros Contrabando La máquina de copiar gente Los "bomberos" El transformador metabólico ¡A por el niño! La gente de Vicente Secuestro aéreo
Between 1980 and 1981
Olimpiada 1980 La elasticina Kilociclos asesinos Ladrones de coches Lo que el viento se dejó La brigada bichera Tete Cohete En marcha el mundial 82 El caso de los señores pequeñitos
Between 1982 and 1983
En Alemania Queda inaugurado el mundial 82 El balón catastrófico Billy "El Horrendo" ¡Hay un traidor en la T.I.A.! El bacilón El ascenso
Between 1984 and 1985
La estatua de la libertad Testigo de cargo Los Ángeles 84 El cacao espacial El preboste de seguridad El cochecito leré
Between 1986 and 1987
¡Terroristas! El huerto siniestro El estropicio metereológico Los que volvieron de "allá" Seúl 88
Between 1988 and 1989
La perra de las galaxias Los sobrinetes Los superpoderes Las tacillas volantes La cochinadita nuclear Armas con bicho La maldición gitana El candidato La Gomeztroika El ansia de poder ¡...Va la T.I.A. y se pone al día!
Between 1990 and 1992
El profeta Jeremías El premio No-Vel El rescate botarate El gran sarao Los espantajomanes El inspector general El atasco de incluencias La crisis del golfo Barcelona 92 El caso del señor-probeta La tergiversicina Las embajadas chifladas El racista El quinto centenario El S.O.E. El 35 aniversario
Between 1993 and 1994
El señor todoquisque Maastricht ¡...Jesús! El nuevo "cate" Robots bestiajos Clínicas antibirria Dinosaurios La ruta del yerbajo Mundial 94 El pinchazo telefónico ¡Pesadillaaa...! Corrupción a mogollón
Between 1995 and 1996
¡Timazo al canto! Animalada 20.000 leguas de viaje sibilino ¡Silencio, se rueda! El disfraz, cosa falaz... La prensa cardiovascular El jurado popular El ángel de la guarda Atlanta 96 100 años de cómic Expediente J El trastomóvil
Between 1997 and 1998
¡Desastre! Bye bye, Hong-Kong! Esos kilitos malditos Los verdes Las vacas chaladas Mundial 98 La banda de los guiris Su vida privada ¡Deportes de espanto! El espeluznante doctor Bíchez
Between 1999 and 2000
El óscar del moro La maldita maquinita El tirano La M.I.E.R. Impeachment! De los ochenta p´arriba... Siglo XX, ¡qué progreso! Sydney 2000 La vuelta La sirenita Fórmula uno
Between 2001 and 2003
La rehabilitación esa Los vikingos ¡Llegó el euro! El ordenador... ¡qué horror! ¡Okupas! Mundial 2002 ¡Misión triunfo! ¡El estrellato! ¡Mascotas! Parque de atracciones El UVA (Ultraloca Velocidad Automotora)
Between 2004 and 2008
¡Rapto tremendo! Atenas 2004