Swedish Comics 1
“Galago was a protest against what we called ‘Ame
rican cultural imperialism’, a spac e dominated by superhero comics an d Donald Duck.” Socker-Conny (picture) was a comic character who arrived on the scene in the 1980s like a (literal!) smack in the face. He brought his creator, Joakim Pirinen, to the attention of a wide audience and even helped to generate interest in comics among the Swedish cultural establishment. Grants and other support for comics enabled the creation of dedicated access channels. Art galleries were keen to exhibit them. The magazine Galago was founded in 1980 and went on to become a publisher of comics and graphic novels as well as a periodical: a hub for the Swedish comics scene and a place where aspiring artists could publish their work. “Galago was a protest against what we called ‘American cultural imperialism’, a space dominated by superhero comics and Donald Duck,” recalled publisher Rolf Classon, one of the founders. “Galago published socially engaged black-and-white comics, often with elements of slapstick. At that time, the Swedish Arts Council was looking to support original Swedish comics. We received grants for the magazine and the books we published. That’s a cultural policy initiative that demonstrates in very concrete terms how it’s possible to make a difference. I don’t think the unique comics culture we have in Sweden today would have 2 been as diverse as it is without the political vision that existed back then,” he continued. A trait shared by several of the artists associated with Galago in the ’80s was that they didn’t shy away from bleak subjects or taboos. There’s something almost Bergmanesque in the way Gunnar Lundkvist, Joakim Pirinen and Lars Sjunnesson give free rein to death, anxiety and loneliness –with the occasional small, insignificant pleasure like black coffee, herring and alcohol thrown in as a distraction. Pain thresholds are there to be continually tested. Lars Sjunnesson’s character Åke Jävel (whose surname means ‘bastard’) blows everything up, while Gunnar Lundkvist’s Klas Katt engages in incest with his grandmother and gives her AIDS. Whereas the ’80s were about breaking down boundaries, today’s contemporary Swedish comics and graphic novels have often focused on defining new boundaries. Setting limits for oneself and one’s own body. Creating a new canon that’s not founded on preconceived notions about things like gender. This is happening in politically and socially engaged graphic works as well as in more subtle, literary tales with genuine narrative structure, such as Det som händer i skogen (‘What Happens in the Forest’) by Hilda-Maria Sandgren and Nattbarn (‘Night Child’) by Hanna Gustavsson.