Originally an Italian comic book created in 1969 by Max Bunker and Magnus, soon after its translation in Serbo-Croatian Alan Ford became hugely popular in Yugoslavia. Its ironic take on the genre of espionage, combined with surreal black humour and a satirical critique of Italy and the West in general, evidently brilliantly translated as an ironic depiction of not only Yugoslav party politics of the period, but contemporary politics in post-Yugoslav countries as well. The article thus deals with the comic aspects of the Yugoslav Alan Ford, concentrating on its specific irony and tautology since both provide a direct link between the spheres of comedy and ideology.
|