What is "iznogoud"

Iznogoud (pronounced "he's/is no good" with a French accent) is a French comics series featuring an eponymous character, created by the comics writer René Goscinny and comics artist Jean Tabary. After the death of Goscinny in 1977 Tabary continued with writing the character. The stories have been translated into several languages, including English, and the title has been adapted to animated and live-action film.

The comic series chronicles the life of Iznogoud, the Grand Vizier and second in command of Baghdad, at an undefined period in the past. His greatest desire is to replace the Caliph or Sultan of Baghdad Haroun El Plassid, leading him to repeatedly utter the phrase, "I want to be Caliph instead of the Caliph", a phrase that has been adopted in the French language to indicate overly ambitious people. Iznogoud is supported by his faithful servant, Wa'at Alahf.

So far 29 graphic novels featuring Iznogoud have been published in French, with at least 12 of those published in English and a number of other languages. Iznogoud was also turned into a cartoon series produced by Saban Entertainment, with 52 episodes to its name, again with most of them having been translated to other languages as well.