Agent 327
Agent 327 is a Dutch comic book series that started out as a spoof of James Bond, hence the title, but gradually became something completely different. The stories are written and drawn by Martin Lodewijk (1948) and center around Hendrik IJzerbroot, a spy working for the Dutch government. He is often sent to a mission by his chef, "The Chef", and accompanied by the tall, big breasted female spy Olga Lawina.
Agent 327 is notable for the clever stories, extensive background research and exquisite art work. The early albums were mostly child oriented stories and ran from 1967 until 1983. In 2000 Lodewijk rebooted his old series and started new production. Since then several new albums have been published. This new incarnation differs considerably from the older albums with more adult comedy and references.
- Action Girl: Olga Lawina
- Action Hero: Ijzerbroot and Olga Lawina
- Absolute Cleavage: Yet again, Olga Lawina.
- The Baroness: Dritta Reich
- Buxom Is Better: Olga Lawina, clearly a case of Big Breasts, Big Deal since her breasts grew considerably since 2000.
- Catch Phrase: "Grrutjes-nog-aan-toe, wat een geheim agent toch niet allemaal moet doen om incognito/onopgemerkt op zijn bureau/werk te komen." - Ijzerbroot says this traditionally on the first or second page of each story, when entering the office.
- Chase Scene: Several.
- Chaste Hero: Ijzerbroot is always a gentleman.
- Clothes Make the Legend: Ijzerbroot always wears a tuxedo and is clean as a whistle.
- Cultural Translation: Only popular in the Netherlands, mostly because it is too Dutch in both language, content, references and style.
- The Dictator: Papa Duivalier, a parody of Haitian tyrant Papa Doc Duvalier.
- Did Not Do the Research: Subverted. Lodewijk always does extensive research for each story.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?
- The setting is similar to James Bond: a succesful and clean cut spy, a female secretary, a chief,... In one of the early albums the villain is called "Dr. Maybe", in reference to Dr. No.
- Olga Lawina's name is a pun on the name of Dutch singer Olga Lowina and the Dutch word for an avalanche: "lawine".
- Double Agent: Olga Lawina is actually a double agent, who works both for Ijzerbroot and an evil network. Still, she always helps Ijzerbroot out in the end.
- Double Entendre: Several.
- Early Installment Weirdness:
- Ijzerbroot was much taller in the early stories. His clumsiness also made him more of a Comedic Hero than the Action Hero he became later.
- Olga Lawina's breasts were a lot less visible and roundish.
- Also, the Shout-Out s to popular culture stuff weren't that excessive.
- Fu Manchu: One of the villains, Wu Manchu, references his name.
- Fictional Country: Zakkestan, Kwaïti, Marihuwijne, Colombuela,...
- Incredibly Lame Pun: Several!
- James Bond: The main inspiration
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Barend the student spy.
- Ms. Fanservice: Olga Lawina, even to the point of being a Shameless Fanservice Girl
- Murphy's Law: Plot element in the album "De Wet van Alles".
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Subverted. Ijzerbroot's disguises are quite good.
- Punny Name: Several!
- Reference Overdosed: Especially in the later albums Lodewijk went berserk with this!
- Running Gag: Ijzerbroot always tries to enter his office in disguise, but usually something goes wrong, causing him to grumble: "Good grief! What a secret agent has to do nowadays to get to his office in secret." The song "denk toch altijd met liefd' aan je moeder" by Gerda and Herman Timmerhout also makes a cameo appearance in many albums. As does the fictional company "Habraken". The secret identity of Victor Baarn is also a running gag.
- Shout-Out: Several!
- Trust Password
- Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?