Kalimán

"Kalimán" is the name of a Mexican comic book hero very famous across Latin America. He was created by Rafael Gutberto Navarro and Modesto Vázquez González. The "Kalimán" comic depicts the adventures of Kalimán and his young companion Solín, an Egyptian kid who is descended from Pharaohs. Kalimán had his own radio show since 1963, which featured adventures that took place on exotic sites. The comic book was born due to the huge success of the radio show of the same name.

Superherobox|

caption="Kalimán, el Hombre Increíble" #416.
Art by Jose Luis Gutierrez,
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=Kalimán, el Hombre Increíble.
real_name=
publisher=Promotora K, Mexico; Editora Cinco, Colombia
debut="Los Profanadores de Tumbas (The Tomb Raiders)", )
creators=Rafael Cutberto Navarro y Modesto Vázquez G.
alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0
status=active
alliances=none
relatives=none living
powers=Martial Arts
Esoteric and Scientific knowledge
Fast Healing
Telepathy
Actus Mortis
Almost Superhuman Strength

Origins

Kalimán's origin is unknown, which helps the sense of mystery that surrounds the character. What we know is that he's an orphan adopted by prince Abul Pasha from one of the kingdoms in the valley of Kalimantan, that he's the fifth man in a dynasty of men dedicated to preserving justice in the world, and that he's the seventh man of the goddess Kali's dynasty. He swore an oath to Kali to wander the world fighting for justice, a vow he must return to India to renew every seven years.

Kaliman wears an all-white outfit without marks, except the jeweled-encased "K" he wears in his turban. He doesn't use weapons, except a blowpipe with tranquilizer darts and a ceremonial dagger he never uses in a fight. He's a master of martial arts, science and arts. He also possesses extensive mental powers: levitation, telepathy, telekinesis, astral projection, control of the involuntary functions of the body (allowing him to fake a dead state, that he calls "actus mortis"), hypnosis, self-healing and so on.

The Radio Play

The radio Play of Kaliman started in 1963, it was transmitted by "Radio Cadena Nacional", a station that dedicate most of its time to radio plays. In the morning there were soap operas, and in the afternoon action radio plays. Kaliman was a hit, and soon it was replayed along the Mexican Republic.Later the radio play was redone in Colombia, with Colombian actors.

The voice of the Mexican version of the Kaliman radio play was done by the actor Luis Manuel Pelayo, but he was not credited, instead it was announced that the voice was done by Kalimán himself. In Colombia, Kalimán was played by Gaspar Ospina.

More than 100,000 hours of radio were produced.

Two years later it was decided to publish the story in comic book format.

The comic book

The first issue of Kalimán was published in December 4, 1965 with the first ot ten parts of the story "Los Profanadores de Tumbas", ("The Tomb Raiders"). 100,000 copies were sold out within that week, so the issue had to be reprinted. The original run of more than 1,000,000,000 issues sold for 1,348 weeks until 1991. Reprints have been printed since 1998.

The comic book was done in black and white, and printed in sepia tones, like most of the Mexican comics of the time. Only the cover was done in color. Later special editions were done "Kalicolor" and "Kalimán de lujo" that were done in color, but they were not as popular as the original magazine.

The Kalimán comic-book was published in Colombia as well, but starting with the eleventh issue of the Mexican run, the beginning of the second story, "El Valle de los Vampiros" ("The Valley of the Vampires"). In Colombia, Kalimán was also very successful, and the Colombian run of the comic-book lasted for more than 1200 issues.

The Movies

Besides the radio show, there were two movies made in Mexico about the blue-eyed hero, with actor Jeff Cooper as Kalimán. Both of them were huge successes, the first one (in 1972) being in theaters for more than a year.

Kalimán

Kalimán has no superhuman powers, he is a human at the peak of his abilities, thanks to the esoteric knowledge he has. It is assumed that Solín, a common boy, willeventually take his place as he learns form Kalimán

Only in two adventures "El Extraño Doctor Muerte" (The Strange Doctor Death) and "El Dragón Rojo" (The Red Dragon) he gets momentary superhuman powers, thanks to the third eye, opened by the lama masters.

Kaliman never kills, and even puts his live in danger in order to prevent any kind of killing.

Kalimán is also famous for the wise phrases he uses to teach his child companion Solín. Among these, we have "No Hay Fuerza Mas Poderosa Sobre La Tierra Que La Mente Humana, Quien domina la mente, lo domina todo" (There is No Power On Earth Greater Than The Human mind, Who masters the mind, masters everything); "Serenidad y paciencia, mucha paciencia" (Serenity and patience, lots of patience) and "Siempre hay un camino cuando se usa la inteligencia" (There's always a way when you use your intelligence).

Kalimán and popular culture

Kalimán was one of the most popular comics in Mexico and Latinamerica around 1970, his phrases were common knowledge, and it became a common alias.

Kalimán's comic-book adventures

1. "Los Profanadores de Tumbas" ("The Tomb Raiders"), issues 1-10, main villain: Eric von Kraufen
2. "El Valle de los Vampiros" ("The Valley of the Vampires"), issues 11-32, main villain: Conde Bártok (Count Bartok)
3. "Los Misterios de Bonampak" ("The Mysteries of Bonampak"), issues 33-47, main villain: Capitán Scott (Captain Scott)
4. "El Misterio de los Astronautas" ("The Mystery of the Astronauts"), issues 47-64, main villain: Van Zeland
5. "El Tigre de Hong-Kong" ("The Tiger of Hong-Kong"), issues 64-77, main villain: el Tigre de Hong-Kong (the Tiger of Hong-Kong)
6. "Las Momias de Machu-Pichu" ("The Mummies of Machu-Pichu"), issues 77-90, main villain: Comahué
7. "El Insepulto" ("The Unburied One"), issues 90-103, main villain: Sacha Moster
8. "El Extraño Doctor Muerte" ("The Strange Doctor Death", issues 103-124, main villain: Doctor Muerte (Doctor Death)
9. "La Mano Negra" ("The Black Hand"), issues 124-150, main villain: la Araña Negra (the Black Spider)
10. "Los Samurais, Mensajeros de la Muerte" ("Samurais, Messengers of Death"), issues 147-180, main villain: Doctor Kiro
11. "Los Magos del Crimen" (The Magicians of Crime"), issues 175-212, main villain: Profesor Satanyk (Professor Satanyk)
12. "El Terror Blanco" ("The White Terror"), issues 201-244, main villain: Cerebro
13. "Los Mensajeros de la Muerte" ("The Messengers of Death"), issues 231-259, main villain: el Pulpo (the Octopus)
14. "Muñecos Infernales" ("Puppets of Hell"), issues 256-287, main villain: Bengala
15. "El Regreso de la Araña Negra" ("The Return of the Black Spider"), issues 280-315, main villain: la Araña Negra (the Black Spider)
16. "El Viaje Fantástico" ("The Fantastic Journey"), issues 310-351, main villain: Poseidon
17. "Cerebros Infernales" ("Brains of Hell"), issues 344-387, main villain: Humanon
18. "Los Jinetes del Terror" ("The Horsemen of Terror"), issues 378-416, main villain: Zulma
19. "Los Misterios de la Muralla China" ("The Mysteries of the Chinese Wall"), issues 411-452, main villain: el Caballero Negro (the Black Knight)
20. "El Asesino Invisible" ("The Invisible Assassin"), issues 447-485, main villain: Barón de Kruger (Baron of Kruger)
21. "El Faraón Sagrado" ("The Sacred Pharaoh"), issues 478-522, main villain: Nefris
22. "El Dragón Rojo" ("The Red Dragon"), issues 513-572, main villain: Karma
23. "La Bruja Blanca del Kilimanjaro" ("The White Witch of the Kilimanjaro"), issues 563-633, main villain: Tac-Tac
24. "El Triángulo de la Muerte" ("The Triangle of Death"), issues 622-698, main villain: la Araña Negra (the Black Spider)
25. "El Ojo de Satán" ("Satan's Eye"), issues 685-752, main villain: Kardo
26. "La Venganza de Karma" ("Karma's Vengeance"), issues 742-817, main villain: Karma
27. "La Sombra del Terror" ("The Shadow of Terror"), issues 806-887, main villain: Conde Bártok (Count Bartok)
28. "La Séptima Muerte" ("The Seventh Death"), issues 880-944, main villain: Namilak
29. "Magia Negra" ("Black Magic"), issues 935-989, main villain: la Araña Negra (the Black Spider)
30. "Las Panteras de Estambul" ("The Panthers of Istanbul"), issues 978-1018, main villain: Príncipe Sakiri (Prince Sakiri)
31. "El Buda Negro" ("The Black Buddah"), issues 1009-1070, main villain: Ramar
32. "Las Máscaras de la Muerte" ("The Masks of Death"), issues 1061-1101, main villain: Lukas Hunt
33. "El Terror Chino" ("The Chinese Terror"), issues 1092-1153, main villain: Lin-Poo
34. "La Ciudad de los Muertos" ("The City of the Dead"), issues 1144-1194, main villain: Doctor Hill
35. "Terror bajo Tierra" ("Terror Underground"), issues 1186-1236, main villain: Nefris
36. "Los Guerreros Rojos" ("The Red Warriors"), issues 1227-1273
37. "El Hombre que cayó de la Luna" ("The Man who fell from the Moon"), issues 1264-1308, main villain: Cosman

After this, stories started to be repeated.

Kalimán´s Mexican Radio Adventures

1. "Profanadores de Tumbas" ("The Tomb Raiders")
2. "El Misterio de los Astronautas" ("The Mystery of the Astronauts")
3. "El Tigre de Hong Kong" ("The Tiger of Hong-Kong")
4. "Los Misterios de Bonampak" ("The Mysteries of Bonampak")
5. "El Valle de los Vampiros" ("The Valley of the Vampires")
6. "Las Momias de Machu Pichu" ("The Mummies of Machu Pichu")
7. "La Reina de los Gorilas" ("The Queen of the Gorillas")
8. "El Extraño Doctor Muerte" ("The Strange Doctor Death")
9. "Atlántida, la Ciudad Perdida" ("Atlantis, the Lost City")
10. "Los Brujos Diabólicos" ("The Diabolical Warlocks")
11. "La Araña Negra" ("The Black Spider")
12. "Los Cadáveres Vivientes" ("The Living Corpses")
13. "El Terror Invisible" ("The Invisible Terror")
14. "Las Panteras Negras de Estambul" ("The Black Panthers of Istanbul")
15. "Los Asesinos de la Máscara Roja" ("The Assassins of the Red Mask")
16. "El Genio de Ultratumba" ("The Genie from behind the Grave")
17. "El Juego de la Muerte" ("The Game of Death")
18. "Los Lobos Humanos" ("Werewolves")
19. "Los Hijos del Sol" ("The Sons of the Sun")
20. "La Venganza de los Ídolos" ("The Vengeance of the Idols")
21. "La Bruja Blanca del Kilimanjaro" ("The White Witch of the Kilimanjaro")
22. "Los Hijos de Satán" ("The Sons of Satan")
23. "Los Piratas del Espacio" ("The Space Pirates")
24. "Los Samurais, Mensajeros de la Muerte" ("The Samurais, Messengers of Death")
25. "El Terror del Planeta Gris" (Terror from the Grey Planet")
26. "Mas allá del mas allá" ("Beyond the Beyond")
27. "El Castillo de los Monstruos" ("The Castle of the Monsters")
28. "La Invasión de los Satánicos" ("The Invasion of the Satanics")
29. "El Pulpo de los Tentáculos Dorados" ("The Octopus of the Golden Tentacles")
30. "Muerte en la Cuarta Dimensión" ("Death in the Fourth Dimension")
31. "Los Magos del Crimen" ("The Magicians of Crime")
32. "El Terrible Miklos" ("The Terrible Miklos")
33. "El Demonio del Tíbet" ("The Demon of Tibet")
34. "El Sinestro Mundo de Humanón" ("The Sinister World of Humanon")
35. "El Poder Maligno" ("The Malevolent Power")

External links

* [http://www.kaliman.net/ Official Website]
* [http://www.kaliman.com.mx/ Unofficial Website]