''Peräsmies'' is a Finnish

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comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

drawn by Timo Kokkila that appeared in the

Pahkasika ''Pahkasika'' ( Finnish for "warthog") was a Finnish adult humour magazine, edited by Markku Paretskoi and published from 1975 to 2000. Unlike the British adult humour comic '' Viz'' and the Nordic adult humour magazine ''Pyton''/'' Myrkky'', '' ...

magazine from 1983 to 2000. The strips were initially written by Kokkila together with Sami Laitala. Other scriptwriters have also occasionally participated in the comic. The comic depicts the adventures of Peräsmies, a Finnish

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

and a

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

. The name ''Peräsmies'' literally means "Butt Man" and is a play off ''Teräsmies'' ("Steel man") which is the Finnish name for Superman. The "official" English name of Peräsmies, according to Kokkila, is "Phartman", although "Pooperman" might better capture the essence of the original pun. Peräsmies, whose real name is Kalervo Peränne, is a middle-aged, severely

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

homeless man living in a

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, whose only superpower is the ability to

fart Flatulence is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environmental air, ...

supernaturally hard. He gained this power as a result of consuming a can of

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pea soup Pea soup or split pea soup is soup made typically from dried peas, such as the split pea. It is, with variations, a part of the cuisine of many cultures. It is most often greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of pea ...

, pea soup being the stereotypical flatulence-inducing dish in Finland. Peräsmies uses farting primarily as a

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, which enables him to fly. On some occasions Peräsmies has used farts as a

chemical weapon A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as ...

. His farts have also had more esoteric uses such as melting holes in ice. Despite his alcoholism and lack of any semblance of personal

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, he has good intentions and often manages to save the world in the end. One notable ''Peräsmies'' strip set the hero against his

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counterpart, Toveri Pieru ("Comrade Fart"). They first competed against each other by saving people from disasters, but finally Peräsmies challenged Toveri Pieru to a drinking competition, which Peräsmies won. The strip ended with a

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lesson: :''Remember, children —

violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...

is not a solution to problems, but

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

is.'' Peräsmies was killed when he was run over by a

drunk driver Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

in the last issue of Pahkasika. He had been drinking in a bar with the driver and he asked the driver to hand over the car keys, saying that he would also walk home instead of flying due to both of them being seriously intoxicated. He was unaware that the driver had spare keys and still decided to go with the car, running over Peräsmies. His body was later incinerated in a waste incineration center, classified as hazardous waste. This information was announced in the last issue of Pahkasika (3/2000). His son, whose real name is Pera Ilmala later inherited his father's powers and continued his legacy as Peräspoika. A sequel titled ''Peräsmiehen poika'' ("Son of Peräsmies") has been appearing in the Koululainen magazine since 2003. The

Finnish Film Foundation The Finnish Film Foundation (, ) is an independent Foundation (charity), foundation with the task of supporting and developing Finland, Finnish film production, distribution and exhibition. It is supervised by the Department for Cultural Policy i ...

has agreed to support the Finnish film studio Helsinki-filmi to make a film about Peräsmies. He was featured in the 1998 CD-ROM game Minä Peräsmies.

References

External links

The home page of Timo Kokkila
1983 comics debuts Comics characters introduced in 1983 2000 comics endings Finnish comic strips Humor comics Flatulence in popular culture Parody superheroes Fictional alcohol abusers Male characters in comics {{Comic-strip-stub