 | ||
91:an (Eng: № 91) is a popular Swedish comic strip, first created in 1932 with the title En beväringsmans upplevelser och äventyr ("A military man's experiences and adventures"). This name soon changed to 91:an Karlsson, by Rudolf Petersson. It is now published in its own bi-weekly comic book, 91:an, and also as a single strip in the popular weekly women's magazine Året Runt.
Contents
The principal character in the strip is Mandel Karlsson, a young man (aged perhaps 20 or 21) doing conscript military service in the Swedish Army, based at the fictional Klackamo Regiment. His number is "91", thus he is widely known in Sweden as "91:an Karlsson", although in the comic strip itself he is almost always referred to as Mandel (Eng: Almond, a very unusual first name), or simply 91:an.
Several of the officers are based on real people Rudolf Petersson met during his national service at the I 16 regiment in Halmstad, Halland between 1916-1918. The premises of Klackamo Regiment, and the small town hosting it, Klackamo, are assumed to also be loosely based on the real regiment I 16, plus a quaint depiction of small-town and rural Sweden loosely based on places in Halland.
Originally all the characters wore the blue uniform with brass buttons (possibly a late 19th-century model), but when it was replaced by a more modern uniform in 1939 the new uniform was applied to all characters but 91:an, who kept the outdated version. Since then the uniform of the Swedish army has been changed in 1959 and 1990, but has not resulted in any changes in the uniforms used in the comic strip.
91:an cartoonists
Conscripts
