Mandel Karlsson, also known as 91:an Karlsson or 91:an, 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 ...

comic book character and the main

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

in the comic strip series '' 91:an'' (Eng: ''

№ The numero sign or numero symbol, (also represented as Nº, No̱, No., or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, the ...

91''). He was created in 1932 by

Rudolf Petersson Rudolf Petersson (17 June 1896 – 17 April 1970) was a Swedish comic creator and the father of one of the most popular Swedish comics of all time: '' 91:an''. Petersson performed national service at the I 16 regiment in Halmstad, Halland, betw ...

. The series is now published in its own bi-weekly comic book, '' 91:an'', and also as a single strip in the popular weekly women's magazine ''

Året Runt ''Året Runt'' (Swedish language, Swedish: ''All Year Around'') is a weekly women's and family magazine published in Malmö, Sweden. Founded in 1946 it is one of the longest-running magazines in the country. History and profile ''Året Runt'' wa ...

''.

Mandel's personality

Mandel Karlsson is based on two people Rudolf Petersson met during his national service in the

Halland Regiment The Halland Regiment (), designations I 16 and I 16/Fo 31, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the provinces of Västergötland and Dalsland, ...

. He based his characters 91:an Karlsson and 87:an Axelsson on a man named

Småland Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...

ian. Mandel Karlsson is written as a

sympathetic character A sympathetic character is a fictional character in a story whom the writer expects the reader to identify with and care about, if not admire. Protagonists, almost by definition, fit into the category of a sympathetic character; so, however, do ...

. During the first three decades, Mandel was fond of fighting, but became a less aggressive, gentler character during the highly successful period of Nils Egerbrandt's work, starting in the 1960s. Mandel Karlsson is a young man, aged perhaps 20 or 21, who is a

military conscript Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

in the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

. He is attached to the fictional Klackamo Regiment. His number is "91", thus he is widely known in Sweden as "91:an Karlsson", although in the comic strip itself he is almost always referred to as Mandel (English: ''

Almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...

''), or simply 91:an. Mandel is the son of Mandolina and Johan Karlsson. From a working-class rural background, he often uses colloquial dialect expressions and vocabulary and possesses a connection to animals. He is a well-known

accordionist Accordions (from 19th-century German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed in a frame). The es ...

. Previously, he was also a heavy smoker. He is very keen on his love interest Elvira Olsson, although they have regular fall-outs. Elvira often has to take the initiative in romantic matters. His

sidekick A sidekick is a close companion or colleague who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to those whom they accompany. Origins The first recorded use of the term dates from 1896. It is believed to have originated in pickpocket slang of ...

, Lars Fjodor Axelsson, is a brasher, naughtier character, and has frequently tried to compete with Mandel for the attentions of Elvira. Mandel has been known to express a lively interest in other young ladies who meet his acquaintance, but less so than other conscripts at the Klackamo Regiment. Mandel is well liked by the senior officers at the regiment and is quickly forgiven for his frequent transgressions of the rules. He often does chores for Överste Gyllenskalp at home, for example walking his

Great Dane The Great Dane is a German list of dog breeds, breed of large mastiff-sighthound, which descends from hunting dogs of the Middle Ages used to hunt bears, wild boar, and deer. They were also used as guardian dogs of German nobility. It is one o ...

, Caesar.

Media adaptations

The comics were adapted into a theatrical play and a series of films.

References

Maurice Horn Maurice Horn (June 28, 1931 – December 30, 2022) was a French-American comics historian, author, and editor, considered to be one of the first serious academics to study comics. He was the editor of ''The World Encyclopedia of Comics'', ''The ...

(1983).
The World encyclopedia of comics, Volume 4
'. Chelsea House Publishers. . pp. 519–521. {{DEFAULTSORT:Karlsson, Mandel Swedish comics Swedish comics characters 1932 comics debuts Fictional Swedish Army personnel Fictional Swedish people Humor comics Military comics Comics characters introduced in 1932 Male characters in comics Swedish comics adapted into films Comics adapted into plays Comics set in Sweden no:91:an Karlsson sv:91:an Karlsson

Mandel's personality

Media adaptations

See also

References