Agent 327

Last updated
Agent 327
Agent-327.jpg
The main characters of Agent 327 (right to left): Agent 327, The Chief, Miss Betsy, Barend
Publication information
Publisher Geïllustreerde Pers
First appearance Pep #21 (1966)
Created by Martin Lodewijk
In-story information
Alter egoHendrik IJzerbroot
Team affiliations Dutch Secret Service, Swiss Secret Service
AbilitiesMaster of disguise

Agent 327 is a Dutch action/comedy comic series by cartoonist Martin Lodewijk. It was a regular feature from 1966 until 1983, and again from 2000 to the present. [1] The eponymous Agent 327 is a James Bond/Maxwell Smart-like Dutch secret agent who fights for "Righteousness and World Peace"; his looks are based on the character of Peter Gunn. [1] Often partnered with the junoesque Olga Lawina (an agent of the Swiss Secret Service), his adventures take him around Europe and the rest of the world as he battles numerous villains, both fictional and parodies of real people.

Contents

The song "Denk toch altijd met liefd' aan je moeder" by Gerda en Herman Timmerhout is a common feature in the comic, and is often used to hideously torture someone or provide a plot-turning emotional reaction.

Publication history

Agent 327 debuted in 1966 as a feature in Pep magazine #21, written and drawn by Martin Lodewijk and published by Geïllustreerde Pers. Agent 327 ran in Pep as a weekly 4-8-page feature until 1975, when Pep and the comics magazine Sjors merged into Eppo , published by Oberon.

Meanwhile, in 1970 Geïllustreerde Pers published the first Agent 327 album, titled Dossier Stemkwadrater . Further albums followed every few years, continuing under Oberon after Pep's acquisition.

Agent 327 was cancelled as a feature in Eppo in 1983, but returned in 2000 as a regular feature. In 2009, Agent 327 returned to Eppo as a regular feature.

Characters

Main characters

Agent 327
Initiated into the world of espionage in the Dutch resistance, his creative and elaborate disguises just to get to work in the morning form a running gag and catchphrase: Grrrutjes-nog-aan-toe, wat een geheim agent toch allemaal niet moet doen om incognito op zijn werk te verschijnen (translation:"Heavens above, what a secret agent has to do these days to arrive at his job without being recognized.). [2] Agent 327's real name, Hendrik IJzerbroot, is derived from the Dutch political figure Hendrik Koekoek and an allusion to the Dutch resistance fighter Bernardus IJzerdraat. The character's physical features were modelled after actor Craig Stevens who played in Peter Gunn . [2]
The Chief
One of his main concerns is to keep the costs down.
Willemse
The doorman. When Agent 327 wants to enter the premises they exchange pass words.
Miss Betsy
The secretary of the office. Obviously modelled after Miss Moneypenny.
Olga Lawina
A Swiss secret agent partnered with Agent 327 in a wide variety of adventures. Her good looks often present both an advantage and a liability.

Recurring villains

Boris Kloris
Ruthless spy with paper white skin.
Dr. Maybe
Brother of Dr. Yes and Dr. No. With his assistant Fi Doh, and sometimes Herr Dr. Vonvonderstein.
Colonel Bauer
German officer who held many war secrets.

Minor (real life) characters

Martin Lodewijk
Member of several jug bands. First appearing with the badly-received Endatteme Jugband, he now plays with Chickenfeed.
Jan Tromp
Struggling painter who was drafted by Boris Kloris to forge Rembrandt's The Night Watch . After being exposed he confessed that he'd turned down an offer to draw a one-page family comic for a women's magazine.

Adaptations

Albums

Other versions

Blender Conference 2016: The trailer in development
Martin Lodewijk helped Blender to develop its 3D version of Hendrik IJzerbroot Blender 2.79-splash.jpg
Martin Lodewijk helped Blender to develop its 3D version of Hendrik IJzerbroot

Agent 327: Operation Barbershop

On May 15, 2017, the Blender Foundation [3] released a teaser trailer that was almost four minutes long, [4] for an upcoming computer-animated feature film based on the comic. It stars 327 as he investigates a barbershop, battles his nemesis Boris, and learns the dangerous truth about the shop. The 3-minute film was released online as a proof of concept to attract funding for a feature-length adaptation. [5] The trailer won 11 film awards for best short film or best animated short film. [6]

At the Blender Conference in November 2017, producer Ton Roosendaal mentioned that the film industry really loved the trailer. It was fresh, new and had potential. The original story for the film didn't resonate in Hollywood, and a new story was developed that was solid enough to transform into a script. Roosendaal reveiled the working title of the full feature film as: Agent 327, The Case of the Einstein Enigma. [7] In January 2018, an alternative ending to the trailer was published. [8]

Tribute stories

Between 2017 and 2019, Eppo pre-published twenty-one shorties drawn and scripted by others. They were released as two volumes.

Translation

The agent's name has been changed in several languages:

Related Research Articles

<i>The Adventures of Nero</i> Belgian comic strip (1947–2002)

The Adventures of Nero or Nero was a Belgian comic strip drawn by Marc Sleen and the name of its main character. The original title ranged from De Avonturen van Detectief Van Zwam in 1947 to De Avonturen van Nero en zijn Hoed in 1950, and finally De Avonturen van Nero & Co from 1951. It ran in continuous syndication until 2002. From 1947 until 1993 it was all drawn by Sleen himself. From 1992 until 2002 Dirk Stallaert took over the drawing while Sleen kept inventing the stories.

<i>Storm</i> (Don Lawrence) Comic book series

Storm is a soft science fiction/fantasy comic book series originally drawn by Don Lawrence. It tells the adventures of an astronaut who accidentally gets lost in time. The series originated in Dutch, but has since been translated into many other languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blender Foundation</span> Non-profit organization responsible for the development of Blender

The Blender Foundation is a Dutch nonprofit organization (Stichting) responsible for the development of Blender, an open-source 3D content-creation program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Lodewijk</span>

Martinus Spyridon Johannes Lodewijk is a Dutch comics writer and cartoonist, and advertising adviser.

Dutch comics are comics made in the Netherlands. In Dutch the most common designation for the whole art form is "strip", whereas the word "comic" is used for the (usually) soft cover American style comic book format and its derivatives, typically containing translated US superhero material. This use in colloquial Dutch of the adopted English word for that format can cause confusion in English language texts.

<i>The Rainbow Orchid</i>

The Rainbow Orchid is a comic written and drawn by Garen Ewing, the first of a series of planned Julius Chancer books. It is set in the 1920s and follows Chancer's expedition to discover the mythical 'Rainbow Orchid'. Starting in England, the adventure takes the characters first to France, then Karachi in India and into the Indus Valley. It is drawn in the ligne claire style and published in English by Egmont, in Dutch by Silvester Strips, in French by BD Must Editions, in Spanish by NetCom2 Editorial, and in German by Salleck Publications.

<i>Franka</i>

Franka is a popular Dutch comic book series drawn and written since the mid-1970s by the graphic artist Henk Kuijpers. The principal character is a strong female Dutch sleuth who solves mysteries in exotic locales.

Notable events of 1999 in comics. See also List of years in comics.

<i>Bruno Brazil</i> Franco-Belgian comics series by Greg under the pseudonym Louis Albert

Bruno Brazil is a Franco-Belgian comics series written by Greg, under the pseudonym Louis Albert, and drawn by William Vance. It was initially serialised in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine Tintin, first appearing on January 17, 1967. The first album publication was in 1969, while the latest album was first published in 1995. While Dargaud had initially published the series up to the penultimate volume, the rights were eventually passed on to Le Lombard, which is part of the same holding company, Média-Participations, and the final volume was published under its banner. As of today, the series is yet to be published in English but is available in various other languages, including French and Spanish.

Pinkeltje is a fictional character from the eponymous children's book series by the Dutch writer Dick Laan. Pinkeltje is a white-bearded gnome and wears a pointed hat and is as big as a pinky finger, hence its name, meaning "fingerling" in Dutch. Twenty-nine books were published in a series between 1939 and 1977. The last four volumes appeared posthumously. A successful film was also released with the same title and based on the books.

Notable events of 1985 in comics. See also List of years in comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dino Attanasio</span> Belgian author of comics

Dino Attanasio is a Belgian author of comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inez and Vinoodh</span> Dutch fashion photographer duo

Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin are a Dutch-American fashion photographer duo, whose work has been featured in fashion magazines and advertising campaigns. They also produce independent art work.

<i>Eppo</i> (comics)

Eppo is a Dutch comic magazine named after the protagonist of the back-page-gags. It was the result of the merging of the magazines Pep and Sjors. Eppo ran as a weekly magazine from 1975 to 1988; it was revived in 2009 as a fortnightly magazine.

Wilhelmus Henricus Maria van den Hout was a Dutch writer and publicist, best known as the writer of the Bob Evers series of children's books.

<i>Sjors & Sjimmie</i> Dutch comic strip

Sjors & Sjimmie is a Dutch adaptation of the comic strip Winnie Winkle, specifically the character Perry Winkle from that strip. The difference between the American original and the Dutch adaptation is that Sjors (Perry) forms a duo with Africa-born Sjimmie. They are raised by Sally and the Colonel. The Colonel regularly finds himself on the receiving end of their pranks. In return Sjors & Sjimmie are outsmarted by their scheming classmate Dikkie, although they manage to stay the best of friends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Matena</span> Dutch comics writer and cartoonist

Dick Matena is a Dutch comics writer and cartoonist. He has also published under the pseudonyms A. den Dooier, John Kelly and Dick Richards. He has made several kinds of comics, from humor comics to erotic comics, but is best known for his comic book adaptations of famous literary novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Vriens</span> Dutch writer

Jacques Vriens is a Dutch children's author and playwright. He is known for his 1999 book Achtste-groepers huilen niet, which was twice adapted into a film. Vriens formerly worked as a schoolteacher and has written for the show Tien torens diep. In 2001 he was appointed to the Order of the Netherlands Lion by Queen Beatrix.

<i>Bessy</i> (comics) Belgian comic series

Bessy was a long-running Belgian comics series created by Willy Vandersteen and Karel Verschuere in 1952. Together with Suske en Wiske and De Rode Ridder it was once one of his most popular and best-selling series, with successful translations in Dutch, French, German and Swedish. It was terminated in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert van der Kroft</span> Dutch cartoonist, musician and disc jockey

Robert van der Kroft is a Dutch cartoonist, musician and disc jockey. He has been drawing the longstanding Sjors & Sjimmie comic strip since 1977, and Claire since 1988.

References

  1. 1 2 Royal Dutch Library
  2. 1 2 "Martin Lodewijk".
  3. "Agent 327", blender.org. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  4. Agent 327: Operation Barbershop trailer
  5. "Teaser for Agent 327: Operation Barbershop - blender.org". blender.org. Blender Foundation.
  6. "Agent 327, Awards". Studio.Blender.org. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  7. "Making of Agent 327, Operation Barbershop @ Blender Conference 2017". Blender on YouTube. 2017-11-14. Ton's speech starts at 46:03.
  8. "Agent 327: Rewind – Operation Barbershop Alternative Ending". Blender Studio on YouTube. 2018-01-17.