Pahkasika
Encyclopedia
Pahkasika was a Finnish
adult humour magazine
, edited by Markku Paretskoi and published from 1975 to 2000.
Unlike the British
adult humour comic Viz
and the Nordic
adult humour magazine Pyton
/Myrkky
, Pahkasika did not include much pornography
despite sometimes very ribald jokes. Instead it focused more on such things as alcoholism
, family crises, xenophobia
and other negative aspects of adult life, all presented in a humorous way that appeared deceptively child-friendly. Some of the jokes in the magazine were almost indistinguishable from articles in a mainstream magazine.
Recurring strips in Pahkasika included:
The magazine also featured irregular articles such as photomanipulations and a course in foreign languages, with all the example phrases having a subtly different (and more humorous) meaning. The magazine also featured regularly lists of one-liner pun
s. Parodies of different mail-order catalogues were also popular. The mail order catalogues usually had a common theme for all the stuff that was offered. For example, computer games for the elderly -catalog had a molotov cocktail
joystick for Winter War
veterans. Recurring theme was also imaginary magazines, couple of pages laid out in a way to resemble some other magazine than Pahkasika. These usually made fun of a particular theme. Examples of the sub-magazines include "Kakka" ("poop" in Finnish), parodying zombies as a popular culture theme and "Luksus" ("luxury" in Finnish), making fun about fashionable high society lifestyle magazines. The latter featured a most likely fictitious short interview with the rock singer Juice Leskinen
.
A conscious policy of the authors was to avoid making fun of Russians, the Soviet regime, or their influence on Finland, which all would have been sitting ducks for the particular style of humour.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
adult humour magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, edited by Markku Paretskoi and published from 1975 to 2000.
Unlike the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
adult humour comic Viz
Viz (comic)
Viz is a popular British comic magazine which has been running since 1979.The comic's style parodies British comics of the post-war period, notably The Beano and The Dandy, but with incongruous language, crude toilet humour, black comedy, surreal humour and either sexual or violent storylines...
and the 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...
adult humour magazine Pyton
Pyton
Pyton was a Norwegian comic book series which was produced by the company Gevion, and afterwards Bladkompaniet, between the years 1986 until 1996...
/Myrkky
Myrkky
Myrkky was a comic book published by the Finnish branch of the Nordic publisher Egmont. The comic dealt mainly with toilet humour, including sexual, toilet, and fart jokes...
, Pahkasika did not include much pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
despite sometimes very ribald jokes. Instead it focused more on such things as alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, family crises, xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
and other negative aspects of adult life, all presented in a humorous way that appeared deceptively child-friendly. Some of the jokes in the magazine were almost indistinguishable from articles in a mainstream magazine.
Recurring strips in Pahkasika included:
- Miihkali, a kindergartenKindergartenA kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
-aged boy whose parents are nearly always having a crisis, either with him or with each other, but usually Miihkali doesn't understand what is going on at all. - Pahkeinen, an old man with a nihilisticNihilismNihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
attitude to life, and his alcoholic dog who sometimes acts as a guide dog. - PeräsmiesPeräsmiesPeräsmies is a Finnish underground comic strip drawn by Timo Kokkila that appeared in the Pahkasika magazine from 1983 to 2000. The strips were initially written by Kokkila together with Sami Laitala. Other scriptwriters have also occasionally participated in the comic.The comic depicts the...
, a parodyParodyA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of SupermanSupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
(called Teräsmies in Finland), a superheroSuperheroA superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
who could fly by fartingFlatulenceFlatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The medical term for the mixture of gases is flatus, informally known as a fart, or simply gas...
loudly due to eating canned pea soupPea soupPea soup or split pea soup is soup made, typically, from dried peas. It is, with variations, a part of the cuisine of many cultures. It is greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of peas used; all are cultivars of Pisum sativum.Pea soup has been eaten since antiquity; it...
contaminated by an explosion at a nuclear plant. - Vanhat herratVanhat herratVanhat herrat is a Finnish comic strip drawn by Pauli Heikkilä and written by him and Markku Paretskoi. It was frequently featured in the popular humour magazine Pahkasika, Paretskoi being the magazine's executive editor for its entire run...
, two men engaging on adventures, accompanied with relatives and friends all dressed up in black suits or in similar fashion as the two men. - Hemmo Paskiainen, a wildchild in his early teens who hangs out with his friends Stegu & Löka drinking beer, smoking cigarettes and terrorizing other people, especially his father Armas and characters like priests and fine ladies.
- Armas Paskiainen, father of Hemmo Paskiainen. These strips take place in the same universe with Hemmo Paskiainen, but perspective is the father's. Common themes include unsuccessful attempts of fatherhood, cheating Hemmo's mother, eating pills, drinking alcohol, committing suicide and dying.
- Hyvä sinä, short and absurd strips drawn with a distinctive style by Teemu Suviala with a signature "Mies Suviala".
- Kolme Rumaa Teroa, ("Three Ugly Teros") three-frame strips of three guys causing pain and harm to people in various ways. Their usual victims are best categorized as being "politically correctPolitically CorrectPolitically Correct may refer to:*Political correctness, language, ideas, policies, or behaviour seeking to minimize offence to groups of people-See also:*Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, book by James Finn Garner, published in 1994...
" people.
The magazine also featured irregular articles such as photomanipulations and a course in foreign languages, with all the example phrases having a subtly different (and more humorous) meaning. The magazine also featured regularly lists of one-liner pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s. Parodies of different mail-order catalogues were also popular. The mail order catalogues usually had a common theme for all the stuff that was offered. For example, computer games for the elderly -catalog had a molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
joystick for Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
veterans. Recurring theme was also imaginary magazines, couple of pages laid out in a way to resemble some other magazine than Pahkasika. These usually made fun of a particular theme. Examples of the sub-magazines include "Kakka" ("poop" in Finnish), parodying zombies as a popular culture theme and "Luksus" ("luxury" in Finnish), making fun about fashionable high society lifestyle magazines. The latter featured a most likely fictitious short interview with the rock singer Juice Leskinen
Juice Leskinen
Juhani Juice Leskinen , better known as Juice Leskinen , was one of the most prominent Finnish singer-songwriters of the late 20th century. From the early 1970s onward he released nearly 30 full-length albums, as well as writing song lyrics for dozens of Finnish artists...
.
A conscious policy of the authors was to avoid making fun of Russians, the Soviet regime, or their influence on Finland, which all would have been sitting ducks for the particular style of humour.