Creation
The King of Sirius IV was created by Scott McCloud for the first color volume of Zot!, in issue 5.
Major Story Arcs
The Sirius IV Conspiracy
The King is leader of the planet Sirius IV. He is fairly corrupt and many of the planet’s people are poor and maltreated. It is run like a totalitarian state where the people have to line up and cheer when told to, and so on.
His wife, the Queen, does not want to follow such an immoral approach to leadership but is unable to affect his policies. Their son, Drufus, is a scared, ineffectual teen. The Queen’s brother, Zarbim, is a hidebound traditionalist and supports the King because he is the King.
The King has plans to start a war with Earth, including destroying its capitol, but they are thwarted by Zot’s mom and dad. The King then has assassin 9-Jack-9 kill Zot’s parents.
Years later, some of the most senior other leaders of the planet are in a conspiracy to overthrow the King and start the war with Earth after all. They include General Schrapp, Grand Inquisitor Von Clokmann, bureaucrat Sam Twik, and royal advisor Weevis Swimbler.
Their plan involves corruptly using the Golden Key and the Doorway at the Edge of the Universe, but they are opposed by Zot and his friends.
The conspiracists hire 9-Jack-9 to kill the King, ironically using the same assassin the King used earlier.
After the King’s death, Prince Drufus becomes the next king, but only briefly, because he dies after a crash in the desert and a conflict with the conspiracists’ soldiers. The Queen then becomes the next ruler of Sirius, but she is also opposed by the conspiracists, only barely surviving an attempt on her life by 9-Jack-9 as well. Zot and his friends eventually defeat the conspiracists.
Alternate Versions
Within the world of “Dimension 10 1/2,” the stick-figure alternate universe created by Matt Feazell and running in the back of the black-and-white issues of Zot!, The King, Queen, and Drufus go to a movie about Zot along with many of the characters from Earth.