Prokon, one of the oddest and most unique (for better or for worse) graphic novels in Norwegian history has just been published in French by Éditions Matière. It was written and drawn by German-Norwegian art scholar Peter Haars (1940-2005), and published for the first time in 1971. While the graphic novel was considered to have a cult status, it was not reprinted until as recently as 2013.
What makes this publication stand out is that it’s an entire graphic novel drawn in pop art style, with big spacious panels and simple dialogue. Storywise, it’s a heavy political piece criticising the capitalist and consumer society: PRO is for produksjon (= production), KON is for konsumering (= consumerism). Some sources has descibed it as a superhero comic, but that’s a bit misleading. In reality, it’s a political fable, borrowing a few elements from the superhero and science fiction genre.
(As a curious bit of trivia on the side, it can be mentioned that Marvel Comics changed their name to Marvel Pop Art Productions for a few months in 1965. Of course, this did not mean that Marvel were making their comics in actual pop art style at the time; it was merely an attempt to pass off comic books as “pop art”, and it didn’t really work. Which is why they quickly changed it back.)
Prokon has never been publised in English yet, but editor of the 2013 edition, Svein Christian Størksen, is hoping that maybe the release of a French edition could lead to that.
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