Herman Hedning (lit. Herman the Heathen, known as Marwin Meathead in English editions) is a Swedish humorous comic strip, drawn and written by Jonas Darnell. [1] [2]
Herman Hedning first appeared in 1988 in Fantomen , the Swedish edition of The Phantom. Since then Jonas Darnell has written over 700 strips, and a number of longer stories, typically 8-10 pages. About 680 have been translated into English. The first of 20 albums was released in 1990, and the first magazine in 1998. Since 1998 there have been 130 issues, eight per year, except for 1998 and 1999, with 2 and 6 issues respectively, and a few years where nine issues were published.
Herman Hedning is published in Sweden, Norway and Finland, and is a steady seller, outlasting many of its contemporaries.
The comic has three main protagonists, Herman Hedning (Marwin Meathead), Gammelman (Oldhead) and Lilleman (Shorthead).
Marwin Meathead is fat, sadistic, greedy, lazy and self-important, and possesses all the bad qualities imaginable in a human being. He always wears his helmet and carries a wooden club with a large nail through it, made of the core wood of an Arch-oak. He is continuously plotting against his two acquaintances, Oldhead and Shorthead. Despite his sadism, brutal nature and professed lack of intelligence, he is shown to be quite intelligent when it comes to certain subjects, as well as sometimes extremely cunning when it comes to making money, often by taking advantage of the trusting nature of others.
Shorthead is a kind, naive, nature-loving soul who wants to be everybody's friend, and is often the target for Marwin's sadistic plans. At times, however, he can be just as malicious towards Marwin, switching between pitying him and despising him, and being willing to let him suffer from the consequences of his actions.
Oldhead, who has glasses and a beard, is grumpy and blasé, and is usually happy to simply sit and watch Marwin and Shorthead exerting violence against each other. He often does so from his laboratory, where he invents various machines and devices to reform the world. Like the others, he is capable of extreme greed, malice and violent outbursts, putting others in danger if it benefits his research. Like Shorthead, however, he can also be very compassionate and kind, even towards Meathead. These instances are few and far between, though.
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