Dikan


Dikan is a Yugoslav comic strip. The comic follows the adventures of the title character and his uncle Vukoje as they travel around 6th century Balkans as early Slavic scouts. Dikan was originally created in 1969 by artist Lazo Sredanović for Politikin Zabavnik magazine; 24 Dikan stories were published in the magazine since. During the 1970s, Dikan was one of the most popular comic titles in Yugoslavia.

History

The creation of Dikan followed the late 1960s changes in Politikin Zabavnik magazine. In 1968, Politikin Zabavnik switched from newspaper to magazine format, and the magazine's editor-in-chiefs, Nikola Lekić, believed that the magazine should, alongside foreign comics, publish a domestic comic based on national history, perhaps modeled after Asterix. Lekić asked several artists to send their ideas about an early Slavic hero to the magazine. The working title of the comic was Bikan. On the editorial staff meeting, the drawings of painter Lazo Sredanović—who was a graduate from the University of Arts in Belgrade and up to that point had little contact with the Yugoslav comics scene—gained most attention. The suggestion to change the name of the character to Dikan came from translator Krinka Vitorović. First part of the first Dikan story, entitled "Buzdovanske igre", was published in 903rd issue of Politikin Zabavnik on April 18, 1969.
Dikan stories were, during the years, written by a number of writers: Ninoslav Šibalić, Milenko Maticki, Branko Đurica, Slobodan Ivkov, and Lekić himself. Last three Dikan stories, published in 2004, 2009 and 2014 respectively, were written by Sredanović himself. Dikan was originally published in sequels, usually a page per issue of Politikin Zabavnik. Up to date, 24 Dikan stories were published.
In 1973, Politikin Zabavnik appeared in Slovene, and in Slovenian issues of the magazine Dikan was renamed to Tilen.
In mid-2010s, Serbian publisher Everest Media published four books with collected Dikan stories.

List of episodes

  1. "Buzdovanske igre"
  2. "Bitka u Crnoj Šumi"
  3. "Tajne Singidunuma"
  4. "Zovite me Zokan"
  5. "Mis Papričica"
  6. "Gospodar Dioklecijanove palate"
  7. "Uzbudljiva plovidba"
  8. "Dikan i car Justinijan"
  9. "Velika trka"
  10. "Put u Sirimijum"
  11. "U zemlji Gepida"
  12. "Dikan i poslednje Frruke"
  13. "Dikan i prvi reli"
  14. "Dikan i turistička zver"
  15. "Dikan i lokalni tiranin"
  16. "Dikantrop i Vesna Sapiens"
  17. "Dikan i špijuni"
  18. "Dikan i stari Sloveni"
  19. "Dikan i pretnja sa Oriona"
  20. "Dikan i Hazari"
  21. "Dikan i Atlantida"
  22. "Plava špilja"
  23. "Praznik mimoze"
  24. "Dikan i Vukoje"

    Synopsis and characters

Dikan and his uncle Vukoje are Slavic scouts, traveling around the Balkans. Originally, the comic was set in the 6th century, in the period predating the migration of the Slavs to the Balkans, but some of the later stories are set in the ancient and more recent past. Dikan, armed with a morning star, is very strong, but also sensitive. His uncle Vukoje is wise and has the experience which Dikan lacks. Dikan's talking horse Zokan and Vesna, a girl Dikan is in love with, appear occasionally.
Various Yugoslav celebrities were caricatured in Dikan: comedy duo Pavle Vujisić and Miodrag Petrović "Čkalja", TV host Mića Orlović, TV commentator Milivoj Jugin, members of the pop group One i Oni, and others.

Appearances in popular culture

Dikan was used as a mascot for some of youth work actions in Yugoslavia. The character appeared in the commercial for BIP's kvass. and was, in 1993, the mascot of Belgrade Marathon.

Legacy

In 2009, in order to mark Politikin Zabavnik's 70th anniversary, Pošta Srbije issued a postage stamp with Dikan and Vukoje on it.