Pekka Puupää
Encyclopedia
Pekka Puupää is a Finnish
comic and film character, created by Ola "Fogeli" Fogelberg. The character appeared 1925–1975 in the popular comic Pekka Puupää and 1952–1960 in thirteen films (Pekka ja Pätkä
) produced by Suomen Filmiteollisuus
. Pekka Puupää is one of the most well-known and beloved characters in the Finnish popular culture.
During its first years Pekka Puupää was mainly humorously depicted propaganda for the Elanto cooperative
: Pekka was beaten up by Justiina, because he wouldn't go to the cooperative store during rain but visited a private store instead. Later Fogeli quit advertising, though, and changed Pekka Puupää into a conventional joke series, at the same time moving the scene from Helsinki
to a small rural locality Savikylä. This let the comic develop into a more diverse one.
The weekly comic was composed of six-panel strips. It didn't have any speech balloon
s, but instead the texts were under the panels; this was common practice in European comics even after World War II. Apparently Fogelberg drew some strips with balloons as an experiment, but these remained single cases. The drawing style was at the same time caricaturing
and realistic: Pekka Puupää and other characters were caricatures, but the settings were realistically and often very carefully drawn, offering a peephole into the early 20th century Finnish rural life.
Pekka Puupää wasn't the first Finnish comic series, but it was the first significant one and at the same time a pioneer. In the 1930s, albums composed of the newspaper strips sold more than any other Finnish literature. After Ola Fogelberg's death in 1952 his daughter, Toto Fogelberg-Kaila, continued the comic until 1975.
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...
comic and film character, created by Ola "Fogeli" Fogelberg. The character appeared 1925–1975 in the popular comic Pekka Puupää and 1952–1960 in thirteen films (Pekka ja Pätkä
Pekka ja Pätkä
Pekka and Pätkä is the name of several comedy films produced by Suomen Filmiteollisuus in the 1950s in Finland, based on the popular Finnish comic characters Pekka Puupää and Pätkä , who can be said to be the Finnish version of Stan and Ollie...
) produced by Suomen Filmiteollisuus
Suomen Filmiteollisuus
Suomen Filmiteollisuus , lit. Finland's Film Industry, is a Finnish film production company founded by Erkki Karu in 1933 after financial problems with Suomi-Filmi. The CEO, director, producer and writer T.J. Särkkä was a central figure in Suomen Filmiteollisuus. Among others, the film director...
. Pekka Puupää is one of the most well-known and beloved characters in the Finnish popular culture.
Characters
Pekka Puupää is a kind but simple and somewhat foolish man. Other characters are his battleaxe wife Justiina and his subtle friend Pätkä (lit. Stub), which Fogeli had picked from his earlier comic, Herra Pätkä. Minor characters include Pätkä's wife Mrs. Pätkä, Pekka's adopted son Otto, and sometimes a baby called Pulu.Themes
Conventional plot subjects are Pekka's failed attempts in various professions and housework, his eccentric solutions to problems he faces in the normal life and other mishaps he encounters due to his foolishness and benevolence. Another constant subject are Pekka's and Pätkä's attempts to run away from their wives to play at cards and have fun.History
The first appearance of Pekka Puupää was in the Elanto cooperative's magazine Kuluttaja in 1925, when it started to publish a comic of the same name. The series was drawn by graphic designer Ola Fogelberg, who signed his comics using the pseudonym Fogeli.During its first years Pekka Puupää was mainly humorously depicted propaganda for the Elanto cooperative
Consumers' cooperative
Consumer cooperatives are enterprises owned by consumers and managed democratically which aim at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of their members. They operate within the market system, independently of the state, as a form of mutual aid, oriented toward service rather than pecuniary profit...
: Pekka was beaten up by Justiina, because he wouldn't go to the cooperative store during rain but visited a private store instead. Later Fogeli quit advertising, though, and changed Pekka Puupää into a conventional joke series, at the same time moving the scene from Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
to a small rural locality Savikylä. This let the comic develop into a more diverse one.
The weekly comic was composed of six-panel strips. It didn't have any speech balloon
Speech balloon
Speech balloons are a graphic convention used most commonly in comic books, comic strips and cartoons to allow words to be understood as representing the speech or thoughts of a given character in the comic...
s, but instead the texts were under the panels; this was common practice in European comics even after World War II. Apparently Fogelberg drew some strips with balloons as an experiment, but these remained single cases. The drawing style was at the same time caricaturing
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
and realistic: Pekka Puupää and other characters were caricatures, but the settings were realistically and often very carefully drawn, offering a peephole into the early 20th century Finnish rural life.
Pekka Puupää wasn't the first Finnish comic series, but it was the first significant one and at the same time a pioneer. In the 1930s, albums composed of the newspaper strips sold more than any other Finnish literature. After Ola Fogelberg's death in 1952 his daughter, Toto Fogelberg-Kaila, continued the comic until 1975.