- Aku Ankka
"Aku Ankka" (Finnish for
Donald Duck ) is a Finnish weeklyDisney comics magazine published by Sanoma Magazines.The first issue was published on December 5, 1951 and sold 34,017 copies. The first issue, with a special
Christmas theme and theSnow White story published later in the 1950s, are very prized collectors' items and can fetch a price of several thousandeuro s on the collector market. Until 1956, the magazine was published monthly, between 1956 and 1960 biweekly, and since 1961, once a week every Wednesday.As of 2006 , more than 2500 issues have been published.Despite being a part of a multinational franchise with most stories produced abroad, "Aku Ankka" has become a cultural icon in Finland. This is largely due to the magazine's colourful and innovative use of the Finnish language. Many characters' names are Finnish language spoofs of established celebrities' names. In 2001, in recognition for their work for the Finnish language, the editorial team were given the "Kielihelmi"-award by the
Finnish language department ofUniversity of Helsinki 's Faculty of Arts. [ [http://www.helsinki.fi/hum/skl/helmi2001.htm The Finnish language department of the University of Helsinki] , accessed 17.11.2006. fi] With a circulation of over 320,000 [ [http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/kulttuuri/id54681.html YLE.fi: Aku Ankka teki uuden levikkiennätyksen] fi] and more than a million readers weekly, "Aku Ankka" is the most popular weekly publication in Finland.Somewhat ironically, the comic "Aku Ankka" is now more popular in Finland than in the country of its origin, the
United States (where Disney is better known for its cartoons and films than comics). The United States Donald Duck cartoonistDon Rosa is exceptionally popular in Finland, and has acknowledged this by creating "The Quest for Kalevala ", a Donald Duck story specifically set in Finland.There is a popular
urban legend that Donald Duck was once banned in Finland for not having any pants. This myth was sparked up by an incident in 1977, whenHelsinki councilman Markku Holopainen proposed discontinuing the use of city funds for the purchase of "Aku Ankka" comics foryouth center s, as a reaction to financial difficulties. The following year, as Holopainen was running for a Parliament seat, his opponents then called him "the man who banned Donald Duck from Helsinki".A similar incident also took place a few years previous in
Kemi and international reports then exaggerated the situation with claims that the character's attire and his unmarried relationship toDaisy Duck were the culprits. [cite web | url=http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/finland.asp | title=Fowled Out | publisher=Snopes | date=August 19 2007 | accessdate=2007-12-06]References
External links
* [http://www.akuankka.fi Official website] fi icon
* [http://coa.inducks.org/publication.php/x/fi/AA/ I.N.D.U.C.K.S. list of Aku Ankka issues] en icon
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