Mortadelo y Filemon (Mort & Phil)

             

      The best book ever. Well that's easy! For those who speak Spanish of course. My favorite book, well, books actually, are a series of comics called Mortadelo y Filemon, or in English, Mort and Phil. They are the most popular comic in Spain, and it is published in over 10 countries. I chose this as my favorite book because it is different from all the other books I read in the sense that it is NOT in English, and it is freaking hilarious! Allow me to provide a little background information about the characters and the story.
      In the photograph on the left, we have all the major characters. From left to right: Professor Bacteria, Filemon (Phil), Mortadelo (Mort), Ophelia, and the Superintendent. What do all these characters have in common? Well, they work for an agency known as the T.I.A. (In actuality, there is no such thing in Spain. The author took the American C.I.A. and made it the T.I.A. because "tia" in Spanish means aunt. It's a joke. Get it?) This agency deals with a variety of assignments, and the main characters that the story is based on are Mortadelo and Filemon. Mortadelo is the man in the black outfit, and Filemon is the man in the red pants.
      All of the stories are very random, and contain little unrelated add-ons in the pictures that catch your eye every once in a while and make you go "What the." Because the comic is supposed to be funny, all of their assignments deal with having to accomplish something that, for them, is very challenging, and almost always ends up failing, usually because Mortadelo messes up.   Whether it be trying to capture a terrorist with a nuclear detonator which Mortadelo accidentally sets off himself, or having to take care of the agency director's pets which end up dead, all of their missions end up badly. But it's funny.
      One thing that adds on to the comic's humor is the fact that Mortadelo is a master if disguise. Name any disguise a person could have, including animals, and Mortadelo has it. If he's running away from his angry boss, he might turn into a lamp post on the street, or a little bird, a female, or even a chair. As you can see, in the picture on the right, he is dressed as a traveler and is saying "They found me! I have to emigrate, one way or another!"
      But., like every book, one has to read it to get it. Luckily, this comic is published in English! Give it a shot, you might just laugh your socks off.