Myrkky spesiaali #2/1993
Myrkky spesiaali #2/1993 stands as one of the first Finnish-language appearances of Hunt Emerson's British satirical strip Firkin, marking the debut of that strip's Finnish run in a special-edition format — a relationship that would grow into a full-series presence from 1997 onward. The issue also gathers a broad cross-section of the Myrkky universe's regular cast in a single bumper package, making it a concentrated document of what Finland's only regularly published adult-humor comics anthology looked like at its early-1990s peak. For the generation of Finnish readers who grew up with the magazine between 1989 and 2009, the 1993 Spesiaali issues represent the format at full creative stride, blending domestic Finnish strips with translated Scandinavian material under one roof. As a special edition of a series that Yle and comics historians have described as a genuine generational touchstone of 1990s Finnish youth culture, the issue carries cultural weight well beyond its humor-anthology category.
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Myrkky launched in 1989 as a Finnish-language adaptation of the Norwegian toilet-humor anthology Pyton, brought to Finland by Semic Kustannus (later Egmont) publishing director Marjaana Tulosmaa, and was edited throughout its entire run by Antti Marttinen. The Spesiaali spin-off series began in 1991 as a way to publish extra-length special editions alongside the regular monthly, and by 1993 the series had expanded to three Spesiaali issues per year. The second 1993 special is notable for being among the first Finnish appearances of Hunt Emerson's Firkin — the Birmingham-born cartoonist had only just been brought into the Myrkky fold that year. Several characters in this issue, including Rhesus Miinus and Tommy Tussi, are Finnish localizations of strips created for the original Norwegian Pyton by writer Rolf Håndstad and artist Tommy Sydsæter, while Palle Runqvist originated in the Swedish Pyton edition.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published by Egmont Kustannus (then operating as Semic Kustannus) in Finland in 1993 as the second special-edition issue of the Myrkky spesiaali series, which launched in 1991.
- Represents one of Hunt Emerson's first appearances in the Myrkky family of publications — the British cartoonist was recruited to the magazine in 1993, with SP2 being among his earliest Finnish credits.
- Features Firkin, Hunt Emerson and writer Tym Manley's sexually satirical cat strip, which had been running in the UK adult magazine Fiesta since the 1980s before its Finnish localisation.
- Rhesus Miinus and Tommy Tussi — two of the issue's indexed characters — are the Finnish-language versions of the Norwegian Pyton strip 'Rhesus Minus og Tommy Tusj,' created by writer Rolf Håndstad and artist Tommy Sydsæter, who began collaborating in 1986.
- Kokonainen ('Whole') and Puolikas ('Half') are a Finnish-original Myrkky duo described in collector sources as a 'boozing pair,' representing the domestically produced side of the anthology.
- Opaskoira Adolf ('Guide Dog Adolf') is the Finnish rendering of a recurring Pyton character, demonstrating the issue's mix of translated Scandinavian material alongside homegrown Finnish content.
- Myrkky was, according to contemporary Finnish critics and comics historians, the only Finnish comic magazine of its era to publish this style of explicit adult humor on a regular schedule, giving the Spesiaali issues outsized cultural reach among 1990s Finnish teenagers.
- Antti Marttinen served as editor-in-chief for the entire Myrkky run (1989–2009); the 'Päätoimittaja' character indexed in this issue is a self-referential editorial persona consistent with the Pyton tradition of placing the editor as a comic character within the magazine itself.