Jan Lööf (born 30 May 1940 in

Trollhättan Trollhättan () is the 23rd-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Trollhättan Municipality, Västra Götaland County. It is situated by Göta älv, near the lake Vänern, and has a population of approximately 50,000 in the city proper. It is loc ...

) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

illustrator, author, comic creator, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician. Lööf studied at

Konstfack Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design, is a university college for higher education in the area of art, crafts and design in Stockholm, Sweden. History Konstfack has had several different names since it was founded in 1844 by the eth ...

in Stockholm in the early 1960s. From 1967 until 1973 he created his most famous comic strip ''Felix'', which soon gained popularity into many parts of the world. Mixing humor and adventure, ''Felix'' has sometimes been described as a more naivistic or underground style version of ''Tintin'', in terms of the drawing style, but in its themes and morale it is also somewhat

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

. Later, Lööf created other comics, such as ''

Bellman Bellman may refer to: * Town crier, an officer of the court who makes public pronouncements * Bellhop, a hotel porter * Bellman (surname) * Bellman (diving), a standby diver and diver's attendant * Bellman hangar, a prefabricated, portable aircraft ...

'' (a humor strip about a

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

hobo A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps, and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; a bum neither travels nor works. Et ...

) and ''Ville'' (1975–76), a "comedic adventure" about an unemployed Stockholm author, teaming up with

Olof Palme Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until as ...

and

Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...

to fight the bad guys. This was originally serialized in the Swedish periodical Vi. In the early 1970s, Lööf participated as an actor in a few productions, among them the Swedish cult children's TV show ''Tårtan'' (The Cake, 1972) about three incompetent and filthy sailors-turned-bakers. His children's books are continually popular, both in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

and elsewhere. Among them are ''

The Story of the Red Apple ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' ...

'' (Sagan om det röda äpplet, 1974) and '' Uncle Louie's Fantastic Sea Voyage'' (Morfar är sjörövare, 1966 – lit. Grandpa is a Pirate). Based on these books Lööf produced his own children's show, the animated ''Skrot-Nisse och Hans Vänner'' (Scrap-Nisse and his Friends), for Swedish National Television in 1985. He has also illustrated children's books written by his friend and colleague

Carl Johan De Geer Baron Carl Johan Louis De Geer af Finspång (born 13 July 1938) is a Swedish artist, writer, musician and '' friherre'' (baron) of the De Geer noble family. De Geer was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He grew up in a castle in Skåne, in s ...

Awards

Jan Lööf has received a number of awards. *2011:

Astrid Lindgren Prize The Astrid Lindgren Prize () is a Swedish literary award for children's literature named after the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren. The prize was instituted by the publishing house Rabén & Sjögren in 1967 to honour Lindgren on her 60th birthda ...

*2010:

Selma Lagerlöf Prize The Selma Lagerlöf Prize is a Swedish literary prize awarded to an author writing in the spirit of Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The prize was founded by the Sunne Municipality in Värmland County in 1983 ...

*2009: "Urhunden" *2005: Bokjuryn ( :sv:Bokjuryn) *1985:

Golden Antenna Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

( :sv:Guldantennen) *1977:

Elsa Beskow Plaque The Elsa Beskow Plaque, established in 1958 by the Swedish Library Association (), is a Swedish award given to the artist who has created the best Swedish picture book for children or the best illustrated Swedish children's book during the previo ...

( :sv:Elsa Beskow-plaketten) *1976: 91:an Scholarship Award( :sv:91:an-stipendiet) *1974: Expressen's Heffalump ( :sv:Expressens Heffalump) *1968:

Adamson Award Adamson Awards is a Swedish award awarded to notable cartoonists, named after the famous Swedish comic strip "Adamson" (Silent Sam). There are two award categories: International and Swedish cartoonist. They have been presented by the Swedish A ...

References

External links

– About the creation of the series Felix, and its leftism (in Swedish)11hj1 * []` {{DEFAULTSORT:Loof, Jan Swedish comics writers Swedish comics artists 1940 births Swedish comic strip cartoonists 20th-century Swedish writers 21st-century Swedish writers 20th-century Swedish illustrators 21st-century Swedish illustrators Swedish humorists Swedish political artists Swedish satirists Swedish satirical comics artists Swedish children's writers Swedish children's book illustrators Writers who illustrated their own writing Living people People from Trollhättan Recipients of the Astrid Lindgren Prize