Arne Anka
Encyclopedia
Arne Anka is a Swedish
comic strip
drawn by Charlie Christensen under the pseudonym
Alexander Barks from 1983 to 1995. The title character closely resembles Donald Duck
(who is called Kalle Anka in Swedish
). The likeness with Donald Duck is only feather deep, however; the comics often take place at a bar, Zeke's, where Arne gets drunk while he cynically thinks about and discusses life. This usually happens in the company of his friend, Krille Krokodil ("Krille Crocodile
").
Charlie Christensen uses his friends as inspiration for the characters and story in Arne Anka. One of his friends has said that you sometimes notice that Charlie Christensen gets a particular look and then a few weeks later you read what you just said in an Arne Anka strip.
In 1995, Arne Anka was produced as a play at Stockholm
s stadsteater. The play was written by Christensen himself, and it was called "Arne Anka - en afton på Zekes" ("Arne Anka - a night at Zeke's"). Robert Gustafsson
starred as Arne.
In 1997, a few pages were translated to English in connection with an exhibition of Nordic
comics in France, and the publication of an English-language anthology. In this translation, the character was given the name "Arnie the Duck".http://www.lib.msu.edu/comics/rri/arri/arn.htm
threatened to sue the author, Charlie Christensen, due to Arne Anka's similarity with Donald Duck
. As a response, Charlie Christensen drew a comic strip about Arne faking his own death, so that he could have plastic surgery done to his beak in secrecy. Arne then returned with a new, pointed beak, and the pseudonym Alexander Barks was changed to Alexander X.
After a while though, Arne went to a novelty store to buy a fake beak, which looked exactly like his old one. This new beak was drawn showing a small rubber band holding it in place until the threat of being sued was withdrawn. In the meanwhile, however, Disney's threat of a lawsuit, which received very extensive publicity in Sweden, had turned Arne Anka into a Swedish "independence hero" of kinds and increased his popularity manyfold.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
drawn by Charlie Christensen under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Alexander Barks from 1983 to 1995. The title character closely resembles Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
(who is called Kalle Anka in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
). The likeness with Donald Duck is only feather deep, however; the comics often take place at a bar, Zeke's, where Arne gets drunk while he cynically thinks about and discusses life. This usually happens in the company of his friend, Krille Krokodil ("Krille Crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
").
Charlie Christensen uses his friends as inspiration for the characters and story in Arne Anka. One of his friends has said that you sometimes notice that Charlie Christensen gets a particular look and then a few weeks later you read what you just said in an Arne Anka strip.
In 1995, Arne Anka was produced as a play at Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
s stadsteater. The play was written by Christensen himself, and it was called "Arne Anka - en afton på Zekes" ("Arne Anka - a night at Zeke's"). Robert Gustafsson
Robert Gustafsson
Carl Robert Olof Gustafsson is a Swedish comedian, actor, and member of Killinggänget. He has sometimes been called "the funniest man in Sweden".-Style of comedy:...
starred as Arne.
In 1997, a few pages were translated to English in connection with an exhibition of Nordic
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
comics in France, and the publication of an English-language anthology. In this translation, the character was given the name "Arnie the Duck".http://www.lib.msu.edu/comics/rri/arri/arn.htm
The Disney threat
In the beginning of the 1990s, The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
threatened to sue the author, Charlie Christensen, due to Arne Anka's similarity with Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
. As a response, Charlie Christensen drew a comic strip about Arne faking his own death, so that he could have plastic surgery done to his beak in secrecy. Arne then returned with a new, pointed beak, and the pseudonym Alexander Barks was changed to Alexander X.
After a while though, Arne went to a novelty store to buy a fake beak, which looked exactly like his old one. This new beak was drawn showing a small rubber band holding it in place until the threat of being sued was withdrawn. In the meanwhile, however, Disney's threat of a lawsuit, which received very extensive publicity in Sweden, had turned Arne Anka into a Swedish "independence hero" of kinds and increased his popularity manyfold.
Albums
A total of eight Arne Anka comic albums have been published. In chronological order, they are:- Arne Anka, Tago 1989
- ISBN 91-86540-30-0
- Arne Anka, Part II, Tago 1991
- ISBN 91-86540-43-2
- Arne Anka, Part III, Tago 1993
- ISBN 91-86540-55-6
- Arne Anka, Part IV, Tago 1995
- ISBN 91-86540-78-5
- Jag, Arne (collected comics 1983-1995), (hardcover), Tago, 1997
- ISBN 91-88966-21-6
- Jag, Arne (collected comics 1983-1995), (softcover), Kartago, 2001
- ISBN 91-89632-01-X
- Arne Anka, Part V: Återuppuppståndelsen, Kartago 2006
- ISBN 91-89632-68-0
- Arne Anka, Part VI: Manöver i mörkret, Kartago 2007
- ISBN 978-91-89632-81-3
- Arne Anka, Part VII: Ner med monarkin, Kartago 2008
- ISBN 978-91-86003-08-1
- Arne Anka: Rapport från kriget, Kartago 2010
- ISBN 978-91-86003-56-2
Comeback
In December 2004, Arne made a comeback in Christensen's new comic series, Konrad K (now Arne Anka & Konrad K), and he has been the main character ever since. The series is published in the Swedish monthly newspaper Dagens Arbete. In his newest form, Arne is divorced, and has three children, but he's just as cynical and depressed as before, and his personal finances are even worse than in the original series.External links
- Arne Anka & Konrad K in Dagens Arbete - In Swedish