I’m having a (not unusually) crummy day at work today and the weather’s dreary so I’m a little glum. But I hate to blog about that kind of stuff because it’s usually intensely boring to read.
So, why not talk about something I really like? Like “M!”
M is a great Norwegian comic strip by Mads Eriksen This strip features himself and his girlfriend (know only as Madamen. “The Madam” is a vaguely old fashioned way to refer to your wife) and various friends, toys, rubber chickens, random Goths, Vorlon ambassadors, etc. Nearly everything is pop culture based. Star Wars is particularly heavily referenced
Unfortunately, most of the language is Norwegian, but I’ve found a few current strips that are wordless. It’s a bit of a shame because his text is every bit as funny as his drawings. What makes it extra annoying is that Norway is practically bilingual, but alas they will insist on using their native language. I’ve ended up translating M, Nemi, and Pondus strips for English speaking friends.
One great thing about M is how accomplished an artist he really is. The covers of his collect newspaper strips usually have movie poster parody themes destined to make you giggle. For instance, look at this one imitating the classic “Tales of the Crypt” comic books.
Knut and I have noticed some striking similarities between M and Madamen and Knut and me. Interestingly, once we went to one of Eriksen’s book signing in Stavanger. When we got to the store, we were told that it had been rearranged and took place the day before. So I’ve still never seen Mads and Knut in the same room together. Hmmm…
But please do enjoy these! He’s such a great cartoonist that it seems such a shame that he’s really only available to such a small percentage of readers. Also please do go to the website to look at his work. I've reproduced his strips here so it would be more accessible to non-Norwegian speakers.
No comments:
Post a Comment