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World Comics Heritage

Denmark.

5 chapters

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Chapter 1

1913

to 1939

Storm P. and the first strips

Ferd'nand

Storm P.'s De tre smaa Mænd og Nummermanden (1913) is regarded as the first Danish comic with recurring characters and speech balloons, building on the Danish satire tradition. Storm P.'s Peter og Ping (1922) and Henning Dahl Mikkelsen's Ferd'nand (1937) became international successes, while Axel Ingvar's Prins Pilfinger and Arne Ungermann's realistic Hanne Hansen appeared at home.

1913 to 1939

Chapter 2

1940

to 1956

Wartime boom and the golden age

Cut off from English-language competition during the war, Danish production thrived: Harry Nielsen began Willy på Eventyr in 1941 as a local continuation of a British strip, and Carlt and Styrmand Rask also date from this period. After the war Anders And & Co. arrived in March 1949, and Far til fire, Poeten og Lillemor (1950), Rasmus Klump (1951), Livets gang i Lidenlund (1953) and MOCO's Alfredo reflected growing prosperity, even as Tørk Haxthausen's book Opdragelse til terror attacked comics.

1940 to 1956

Chapter 3

1966

to 1983

Magazines and the Danish renaissance

Valhalla

Interpresse in Bagsværd published Seriemagasinet (1968 to 1984), Basserne (from 1972) and the horror magazine Gru, while Gutenberghus brought Franco-Belgian series to readers in fart og tempo (1966 to 1976). Freddy Milton, Rune T. Kidde and Peter Madsen debuted at Interpresse; Kidde co-founded the underground comics periodical På Stribe in 1977, the year Claus Deleuran's Rejsen til Saturn appeared, and the first Valhalla album sold out its 100,000 print run in 1979.

1966 to 1983

Chapter 4

1984

to 1999

Newspaper strips and albums

Nikoline Werdelin's Café won Politiken's strip contest in 1984 and Ivar Gjørup's Egoland began the same year, joining Carsten Graabæk's Statsministeren (1982), Sussi Bech's Nofret (1986), Deleuran's Illustreret Danmarkshistorie for Folket (1987 to 1996) and Werdelin's Homo Metropolis (1994). The Ping prize was awarded from 1986 to 1996; sales fell in the late 1990s, but anthologies such as Fahrenheit and Achtung gave new artists a platform.

1984 to 1999

Chapter 5

2000

to today

Web comics, graphic novels and new institutions

Wulffmorgenthaler began as a web comic on DR's website, and the festival Komiks.dk, later Copenhagen Comics, started in 2004. Dansk Tegneserieråd was founded in 2009 and the Ping prize was relaunched in 2012, honouring works such as Halfdan Pisket's graphic novel trilogy about his father, while children's series such as Taynikma and Mira reached readers abroad.

2000 to today

Keep reading

The comics to know Comics from Denmark

World Comics Heritage

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Cover

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1. 1913

   to 1939

   Chapter 01

   Storm P. and the first strips

   Storm P.'s De tre smaa Mænd og Nummermanden (1913) is regarded as the first Danish comic with recurring characters and speech balloons, building on the Danish satire tradition. Storm P.'s Peter og Ping (1922) and Henning Dahl Mikkelsen's Ferd'nand (1937) became international successes, while Axel Ingvar's Prins Pilfinger and Arne Ungermann's realistic Hanne Hansen appeared at home.

   

2. 1940

   to 1956

   Chapter 02

   Wartime boom and the golden age

   Cut off from English-language competition during the war, Danish production thrived: Harry Nielsen began Willy på Eventyr in 1941 as a local continuation of a British strip, and Carlt and Styrmand Rask also date from this period. After the war Anders And & Co. arrived in March 1949, and Far til fire, Poeten og Lillemor (1950), Rasmus Klump (1951), Livets gang i Lidenlund (1953) and MOCO's Alfredo reflected growing prosperity, even as Tørk Haxthausen's book Opdragelse til terror attacked comics.

3. 1966

   to 1983

   Chapter 03

   Magazines and the Danish renaissance

   Interpresse in Bagsværd published Seriemagasinet (1968 to 1984), Basserne (from 1972) and the horror magazine Gru, while Gutenberghus brought Franco-Belgian series to readers in fart og tempo (1966 to 1976). Freddy Milton, Rune T. Kidde and Peter Madsen debuted at Interpresse; Kidde co-founded the underground comics periodical På Stribe in 1977, the year Claus Deleuran's Rejsen til Saturn appeared, and the first Valhalla album sold out its 100,000 print run in 1979.

   

4. 1984

   to 1999

   Chapter 04

   Newspaper strips and albums

   Nikoline Werdelin's Café won Politiken's strip contest in 1984 and Ivar Gjørup's Egoland began the same year, joining Carsten Graabæk's Statsministeren (1982), Sussi Bech's Nofret (1986), Deleuran's Illustreret Danmarkshistorie for Folket (1987 to 1996) and Werdelin's Homo Metropolis (1994). The Ping prize was awarded from 1986 to 1996; sales fell in the late 1990s, but anthologies such as Fahrenheit and Achtung gave new artists a platform.

5. 2000

   to today

   Chapter 05

   Web comics, graphic novels and new institutions

   Wulffmorgenthaler began as a web comic on DR's website, and the festival Komiks.dk, later Copenhagen Comics, started in 2004. Dansk Tegneserieråd was founded in 2009 and the Ping prize was relaunched in 2012, honouring works such as Halfdan Pisket's graphic novel trilogy about his father, while children's series such as Taynikma and Mira reached readers abroad.

• De tre smaa Mænd og Nummermanden1913 · comic stripRobert Storm Petersen (Storm P.). Regarded as the first Danish comic with recurring characters and speech balloons.
• Ferd'nand1937 · comic stripHenning Dahl Mikkelsen. Danish strip that became an international success.
• Rasmus Klump1951 · comic book seriesCarla and Vilhelm Hansen. Published in more than 30 countries since 1951.
• Alfredocomic stripJørgen Mogensen and Cosper (MOCO). Pantomime strip syndicated around the world.
• Rejsen til Saturn1977 · comic book seriesClaus Deleuran. Satirical science fiction album.
• Valhalla1979 · comic book seriesPeter Madsen, Henning Kure and Hans Rancke-Madsen. Norse myth series; the first album's 100,000 copies sold out quickly.
• Nofret1986 · comic book seriesSussi Bech. Historical series set around 1350 BC.
• Homo Metropolis1994 · comic stripNikoline Werdelin. Politiken strip about the Copenhagen middle class for some twenty years.

• 
  Robert Storm PetersenComics artist, 1882 to 1949Storm P.; his 1913 strip marks the start of Danish comics; he also created Peter og Ping.
• H
  Henning Dahl MikkelsenCartoonist, 1915 to 1982Mik; creator of Ferd'nand.
• V
  Vilhelm HansenComics artist, 1900 to 1992Co-creator of Rasmus Klump with his wife Carla Hansen.
• J
  Jørgen MogensenCartoonist, 1922 to 2004Creator of Poeten og Lillemor and, with Cosper, of Alfredo.
• 
  Claus DeleuranCartoonist, 1946 to 1996Author of Rejsen til Saturn and Illustreret Danmarkshistorie for Folket.
• 
  Peter MadsenComics artist, Born 1958Artist of Valhalla.
• 
  Sussi BechComics artist, Born 1958Creator of Nofret.
• N
  Nikoline WerdelinCartoonist, Born 1960Creator of the Politiken strips Café and Homo Metropolis.

• 
  Freddy MiltonComics artist, Born 1948
• 
  Teddy KristiansenComics artist, Born 1964
• W
  Werner Wejp-OlsenComics artist, 1938 to 2018
• H
  Henning KureComics artist, Born 1953
• 
  Flemming AndersenCartoonist, Born 1968
• J
  Jakob Martin StridCartoonist, Born 1972
• 
  Frank MadsenComics artist, Born 1962
• 
  Morten SchmidtCartoonist, Born 1961
• 
  Henrik RehrComics artist, Born 1964
• 
  Ivar GjørupCartoonist, Born 1945
• 
  Kim Fupz AakesonComics writer, Born 1958
• P
  Peter SnejbjergComics artist, Born 1963

• Wulffmorgenthaler2001 · comic strip
• Anders And & Co.1949 · periodical
• Peter og Ping1922 · comic
• Kurt Dunder1986 · comic
• GnuffFamilien Gnuff1974 · comic book series
• Felix1967 to 1986 · comic
• Mammutbog1995 to 2009 · comic book series
• Quark1986 to 1994 · comic book series
• Egolandcomic
• På Dybt Vandcomic book series
• Slim Slam Slum (tegneserie)comic strip
• Stridcomic strip