Pondus

"Pondus" is a comic strip created by the Norwegian cartoonist Frode Øverli. Since its start in 1995, it has become one of the most successful comic strips in Scandinavia. It has been translated to several languages, including Danish, English, German, Finnish, French, Icelandic, Latin, Sami, Swedish and Esperanto.

Publication history

Øverli initially developed a strip titled "A-laget" (A-team) in 1995, prior to leaving the magazine "Pyton". This early version focused on three characters who were fanatical football-supporters. By the time the strip in its earliest form was first published in a small local newspaper "Vest-Nytt" of Sotra on October 28, 1995, it had taken the name "Pondus".cite journal | last =Harper | first =Morten | title =Pondus-en fordomsfull folkehelt | journal =Samtiden | issue =3-2005| pages =107–117|url =http://www.samtiden.no/05_3/art0.php [http://www.idunn.no/servlets/dispatcher?marketplaceId=2000&languageId=1&siteNodeId=1854849 pdf] no_icon] In 1996 it began a four-year run as a supporting strip in the Norwegian magazine devoted to Bud Grace's "Ernie", leading to its breakthrough on April 2, 1997, when it was taken on as a daily strip in national distribution newspaper "Dagbladet".

On July 4, 2000, it began publication in its own "Pondus" magazine, as the first Norwegian strip to ever carry its own monthly publication.cite web | last = Steinkjer | first = Mode | title = Tegneseriens lokale Beckham | publisher = "Dagsavisen"| date = June 27, 2000 | | url = http://www.dagsavisen.no/kultur/article991242.ece|language=Norwegian] This was followed on June 6, 2001 with the launch of a Swedish sister magazine.cite web | last =Grønneberg | first =Anders | title = Pondus tar av | publisher = "Dagbladet" | date = June 6, 2001 | url = http://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/2001/06/06/261960.html|language=Norwegian] The strip runs daily in more than 80 Norwegian newspapers, and is syndicated to several international publications, most notably Swedish "Dagens Nyheter", Danish "Berlingske Tidende", and Icelandic "Frettabladid".

As of 2007's first issue, "Pondus" magazine left publisher Schibsted to continue its run with publisher Egmont. In a simultaneous event, the character Pondus quit his job as a bus driver, and bought a pub.cite web | last =Hellesund | first =Kristian | title = Tilsynelatende nytt| publisher = Serienett.no | date = January 14, 2007 | url = http://www.serienett.no/article/386/tilsynelatende-nytt|language=Norwegian]

Frode Øverli has twice received the Sproing Award for Pondus, in 1998 and 2003, and the Adamson Award in 2006.cite web| last = Norsk Tegneserieforum | title = Prisvinnere norsk kategori | publisher =Tegneserier.no | url = http://www.tegneserier.no/ntf/sproing.asp?kID=542&side=2402&sprk=1&skat=1375&bhcp=1|language=Norwegian] cite web| last = Sørensen | first =Britt | title = Prestisjepris til Øverli | publisher ="Bergens Tidene" | date =September 23, 2006 | url =http://www.bt.no/kultur/article300532.ece |language=Norwegian]

Characters

Pondus' family

* Pondus - the main character, a late-thirties, football fanatic family man.
* Beate - Pondus' wife.
* Påsan/Kevin - Pondus' teenage son.
* Sneipen/Frida - Pondus' baby daughter.
* Bjarne - the family's exceptionally stupid dog.

Jokke's family

* Jokke - Pondus best friend and a former notoriously pathetic pursuer of ugly women.
* Camilla - Jokke's former girlfriend, and the mother of their child.
* Else - Jokke's mother and wife of Günther.
* Günther - Jokke's bald, German midget stepfather.
* Jacobsen - Jokke's father, a former jailbird.
* Gordon - Jokke and Camilla's baby.

Other characters

* Turid-Laila - a stunning blonde barmaid at Pondus' pub.
* Kjakan - an awkward teenager and Påsan's best friend.
* Harold & Selma - long-time friends of Beate whom Pondus find dull.
* Hugo & Ivar - two (former) colleagues of Pondus with geek interests.
* Reidar - a car mechanic of the greediest sort.
* Roger - an awful comics creator.
* Ponny-Petra - the most notorious of Jokke's female acquaintances.
* Dr. Zimmerknaben - an unorthodox psychiatrist.
* Zlatan - a black metal-guy who works in Jokke's shop.

Publications

Pondus magazine

The Pondus magazine has been a monthly publication since 2000. The line-up of past and current guest strips are:
*"Rutetid", also by Øverli, in the one-panel format.
*"The Duplex" by Glenn McCoy
*"Eon" by Lars Lauvik
*"Holger og Hagbart" by Arne Bye
*"The Flying McCoys" by Glenn and Gary McCoy
*"M" by Mads Eriksen
*"MonoMania" by Thomas S. Hansen
*"Piray" by Karine Haaland
*"Prim" by Bodil Revhaug
*"RedakTom" by Tom Ostad
*"Rocky" by Martin Kellerman

Pondus albums

There have so far been 7 digest albums, all but the last given football-related titles. English translations appended:
*1. "Første omgang" (2001, Schibsted, ISBN 8250945514) "First Half"
*2. "Andre omgang" (2002, Schibsted, ISBN 8250947886) "Second Half"
*3. "Hat trick" (2003, Schibsted, ISBN 8250949552) In reference to football's hat-trick, a 3 goal accomplishment.
*4. "Flat firer" (2004, Schibsted, ISBN 8250952049) "Flat Four". A reference to the "back four" in soccer, which normally involves four defenders, "flat" in reference to the defence forming a straight line, to execute an offside trap. The cover displays Pondus playing football, having just "flattened" the opponent player #4.
*5. "Fem rette" (2005, Schibsted, ISBN 8250954092) "Five Correct". A reference to the Norwegian football pools betting on 12 matches, with prizes awarded for 10, 11, or 12 successful predictions. 5 is a very poor result.
*6. "0-6" (2006, Schibsted, ISBN 8250955927) In reference to a very poor result for the home team in a football match. In Norwegian it can also mean no sex, or "Zero sex". The cover displays Jokke, the goalkeeper, fumbling the ball to concede a goal, as the foot of an opponent player is bound for Jokke's crotch. In the background, Jokke's girlfriend looks horrified.
*7. "Sju lange og sju breie" (2007, Egmont, ISBN 9788242931320) "Seven Long and Seven Wide", an old Scandinavian expression signifying time which feels like an eternity, and referring to Pondus' old boys football squad of 14 odd-looking men posing on the cover.
*8. 8. Divisjon

ources

* [http://www.avistegnerne.no/utstilling/pondus1.html "Pondus" dossier] Avistegnernes hus no_icon;Footnotes

External links

* [http://pondus.no/ Pondus.no] official site and editor's blog no_icon
* [http://my.opera.com/community/pondus/ "Pondus" daily strip in English]
* [http://www.dagbladet.no/tegneserie/pondus/ "Pondus" daily strip] at Dagbladet no_icon
* [http://pondus.net Pondus.net] unofficial site no_icon
* [http://www.dagbladet.no/tv/index.html?clipid=16473 Time-lapse video of Øverli drawing a strip]