Svenska serier #1/1987
Svenska Serier #1/1987 marks the relaunch of Semic Press's flagship talent-development anthology after a five-year hiatus, signalling a deliberate shift from a purely amateur showcase to a mixed platform combining established semi-professionals with new voices. Most significantly, the issue contains the debut of James Hund — the detective-parody strip by writer Jonas Darnell and artist Patrik Norrman that would become one of the most durable and recognisable original Swedish comic creations of the late twentieth century. By blending homegrown original strips with licensed international material such as Disney's Donald Duck universe and Tarzan, the issue embodies Semic's broader editorial strategy for the Swedish market in the late 1980s. The second-run Svenska Serier (1987–1996) ultimately produced 42 issues and launched careers that reshaped Swedish comics humour for a generation.
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After the original Svenska Serier ran for 22 issues between 1979 and 1982 before folding due to poor commercial performance, Semic — Sweden's dominant comics publisher of the era — revived the title in 1987 under the editorial stewardship of Ulf Granberg, who had simultaneously been the longstanding driving force behind the Fantomen franchise. The 1987 relaunch carried a revised editorial philosophy: rather than restricting content exclusively to unpublished amateurs, the new format welcomed semi-professional and professional contributors alongside newcomers, with a stated rule that no single amateur creator could appear more than three times. Granberg commissioned Jonas Darnell — on a to-do list prepared for the relaunch — to write a detective-parody script for artist Patrik Norrman, resulting in the first James Hund story ('Fallet med den prickiga gummiankan') that ran in this inaugural issue. The magazine was produced at Semic's Sundbyberg offices at 52 pages in a 17×26 cm format.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of James Hund, the Swedish detective-parody strip: written by Jonas Darnell, drawn by Patrik Norrman; the debut story was titled 'Fallet med den prickiga gummiankan' and appeared in this issue.
- James Hund was conceived in 1986 at the request of editor Ulf Granberg to prepare material for the relaunch; the character name — a riff on James Bond — was Norrman's suggestion, replacing Darnell's original working name 'Philip Hanclove.'
- Supporting characters Kommissarie Barskebäck and the mute animal sidekick Moppe appear alongside James Hund from the strip's very first outing.
- The magazine's recurring mascot strip 'Sven' — a genre-parody serial produced by the editorial team in collaboration with various artists — also begins its run with this issue; it would eventually evolve into the strip 'Harry Hund.'
- The 1987 relaunch of Svenska Serier adopted a new editorial rule: amateur contributors could appear in the magazine no more than three times, ensuring it remained an open platform for new talent.
- Semic held the Swedish licensing rights to both the Disney catalogue (covering characters including Kalle Anka, Musse Pigg, Farbror Joakim, and related figures) and Tarzan, making the magazine's blend of original Swedish strips and licensed international material characteristic of the publisher's 1987 output.
- The second run of Svenska Serier produced 42 issues between 1987 and 1996, with the format settling into quarterly publication after the first few years.
- James Hund subsequently transferred from Svenska Serier to the Fantomen magazine and also ran as a newspaper strip in Dagens Nyheter, establishing the franchise well beyond its anthology origins.