Tete Cohete

Tete Cohete is a Spanish comic character created by the artist Francisco Ibáñez. He first appeared in 1981 in the Mort & Phil album titled Tete Cohete and later in the magazine Pulgarcito.

Tete Cohete is a child who is very passionate about mechanics, cars, and engines. This hobby leads him to transform everyday objects into jet-powered vehicles, accidentally causing the director and secretary of his school to become victims of them. According to Miguel Fernández Soto, this series represents "movement taken to its ultimate consequences".^[1] Meanwhile, Fernando Javier de la Cruz Pérez comments that Tete Cohete's physical appearance comes from another character by Ibáñez, Libertito Mecha, who appeared in the album Mort & Phil ¡A por el niño!. However, he affirms that the image of a mischievous child is better achieved here as Tete Cohete has longer and tousled hair, a face covered in freckles, and an outfit consisting of jeans, a jacket, and sneakers. Moreover, Tete Cohete is influenced by the novels of Mark Twain and Richmal Crompton^[2]

In 1982, a new stage of the magazine Pulgarcito was launched in a pocket-sized format, targeting a younger audience. As a result, Ibáñez was asked to create a new character for the publication. The character was introduced in the Mort & Phil comic album titled Tete Cohete.^[3]

It initially appeared in short comic strips made of 6 or 8 mini-pages, but soon the character began to be developed by an unofficial team. In 1983, Tete Cohete started appearing in one-page comic strips in the newspaper Avui. Later on, the character transitioned to the magazine Zipi y Zape.

De la Cruz Pérez, Fernando Javier (2008). Los cómics de Francisco Ibáñez. Cuenca: Ediciones de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. ISBN 9788484276005.

Fernández Soto, Miguel (2005). El mundo de Mortadelo y Filemón. Dolmen. ISBN 84-96121-86-0.