September 16th 2011- Comic strips centenary
The world’s first comic strip character, The Yellow Kid, appeared in the “New York World” newspaper in 1896. It was created by freelance illustrator Richard Outcault, the father of American comic strips.
New comic heroes appeared in quick succession. Norway’s first comic strip, Knoll og Tott (The Katzenjammer Kids), was issued in book form in 1911. Norway Post is issuing four stamps to commemorate this Norwegian centenary.
The bird in the nest is a character created by John Arne Sæterøy, under the synonym Jason. His fourteen Mjau mjau (Meow, Baby!) albums contain a variety of animal characters. His drawing style is simple and his characters are usually silent with expressionless faces. However we, the readers, are not silent. We have been chuckling and laughing at comic strips for a hundred years, and we haven’t finished yet!
Hold Brillan (Hold my Glasses) is the main character in Christopher Nielsen’s latest comic strip, Bygdegutar. Julius, a country boy, likes to be called Hold Brillan because he always asks a mate to hold his glasses for him before he gets into a fight. He finds himself participating in a reality series on a tropical island, where the aim is to win the favour of Petra, a sophisticated but spirited woman. Only one Bygdegutar album has been issued so far, but more are expected.
Nemi is the creation of Lise Myhre. This is a humoristic comic strip about a young, black-clad goth/metal girl. Non-committally, with both scorn and self-irony, she comments on the world around her. She made her debut in Larsons gale verden in 1997, first under the name of Den svarte siden (The Black Page). The Nemi strip first appeared on a daily basis in “Dagbladet” in 1999 and has since been issued in magazine and book form in Norway and other European countries.
Pondus is drawn and written by Frode Øverli. This comic strip became known when the “Dagbladet” newspaper started publishing it in 1997. Pondus is a football supporter (Liverpool) and a walking football encyclopaedia. He loves heavy rock, is married to Beate and they have two children, Påsan and Sneipen (Frida). There is plenty of action and the list of characters is long. Close to Pondus is Jokke, his childhood friend and best mate. This strip now appears in more than 130 newspapers and the Pondus comic comes out twelve times a year.
NK: 1798-1801
Date of issue: 16 September 2011
Values and subjects:
Kr 9.00: Mjau mjau
Kr 14.00: Hold Brillan
Kr 17.00: Nemi
Kr 20.00: Pondus
Design: Madeleine M. Karlstrøm
Method of printing: Offset
Printing house: Joh. Enschedé Security Print