''Dikan'' (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...

: ''Дикан'') is a Yugoslav

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

. The comic follows the adventures of the title character and his uncle Vukoje as they travel around the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

early Slavic The early Slavs were a diverse group of Tribe, tribal societies who lived during the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages (approximately the 5th to the 10th centuries AD) in Central and Eastern Europe and established the foundations for th ...

scouts during the 6th century. During the 1970s, ''Dikan'' was one of the most popular comics in Yugoslavia.Saša Rakezić, "Buzdovan i meko srce", vreme.com
/ref> ''Dikan'' was originally created in 1969 by artist Lazo Sredanović for '' Politikin Zabavnik'' magazine. Since that date, 24 Dikan stories were published in the magazine.D. Stošić, "Dikan ponovo šeta Balkanom", danas.rs
/ref>

History

The creation of ''Dikan'' is linked to the changes in '' Politikin Zabavnik'' magazine. In 1968, ''Politikin Zabavnik'' switched from newspaper to magazine format, and the magazine's editor-in-chiefs, Nikola Lekić, thought that the magazine should, beside foreign comics, publish a domestic comic based on national history, perhaps modeled after ''

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...

''. Lekić asked several artists to send their ideas about an

hero to the magazine. The working title of the comic was ''Bikan''. On the editorial staff meeting, the drawings of painter Lazo Sredanović, who was a graduate from the

University of Arts in Belgrade The University of Arts in Belgrade ( sr-cyr, Универзитет уметности у Београду, Univerzitet umetnosti u Beogradu) is a public university in Serbia. It was founded in 1957 as the Academy of Arts to unite four academies. ...

and until then had little contact with the Yugoslav comics scene, gained most attention. The suggestion to change the name of the character to Dikan came from translator Krinka Vitorović. First part of the first ''Dikan'' story, entitled "Buzdovanske igre" ("

Morning Star Morning Star, morning star, or Morningstar may refer to: Astronomy * Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise ** See also Venus in culture * Morning star, a name for the star Siri ...

Games"), was published in 903rd issue of ''Politikin Zabavnik'' on April 18, 1969. ''Dikan'' stories were, during the years, written by a number of writers: Ninoslav Šibalić, Milenko Maticki, Branko Đurica, Slobodan Ivkov, and Lekić himself. Last three ''Dikan'' stories, published in 2004, 2009 and 2014 respectively, were written by Sredanović himself. In ''Politikin Zabavnik'', ''Dikan'' was published in sequels, usually a page per issue. Until today, 24 Dikan stories were published. In 1973, ''Politikin Zabavnik'' appeared in Slovene, and in Slovenian issues ''Dikan'' was renamed to ''Tilen''. In 2013, Serbian publisher Everest Media published first out of four planned books with collected ''Dikan'' stories.

List of episodes

#"Buzdovanske igre" ("Morning Star Games", 1969) #"Bitka u Crnoj Šumi" ("Battle of the Black Forest", 1969) #"Tajne Singidunuma" ("Secrets of

Singidunum Singidunum ( sr, Сингидунум/''Singidunum'') was an ancient city which later evolved into modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The name is of Celts, Celtic origin, going back to the time when Celtic tribe Scordisci settled the area in ...

", 1969/1970) #"Zovite me Zokan" ("Call me Zokan", 1970) #"Mis Papričica" ("Miss Pepper", 1970) #"Gospodar Dioklecijanove palate" ("The Master of

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

's Palace", 1970) #"Uzbudljiva plovidba" ("Exciting Sail", 1970/1971) #"Dikan i car Justinijan" ("Dikan and

Emperor Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

", 1971) #"Velika trka" ("The Big Race", 1971) #"Put u Sirimijum" ("The Road to

Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians an ...

", 1971) #"U zemlji Gepida" ("In the Land of

Gepids The Gepids, ( la, Gepidae, Gipedae, grc, Γήπαιδες) were an East Germanic tribe who lived in the area of modern Romania, Hungary and Serbia, roughly between the Tisza, Sava and Carpathian Mountains. They were said to share the religion a ...

", 1971/1972) #"Dikan i poslednje Frruke" ("Dikan and the last Frrrukas", 1972) #"Dikan i prvi reli" ("Dikan and the First

Rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

", 1972/1973) #"Dikan i turistička zver" ("Dikan and the Touristic Beast", 1973) #"Dikan i lokalni tiranin" ("Dikan and the Local Tyrant", 1973) #"Dikantrop i Vesna Sapiens" ("Dikantrope and Vesna Sapiens", 1973/1974) #"Dikan i špijuni" ("Dikan and the Spies", 1974) #"Dikan i stari Sloveni" ("Dikan and the

Early Slavs The early Slavs were a diverse group of tribal societies who lived during the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages (approximately the 5th to the 10th centuries AD) in Central and Eastern Europe and established the foundations for the S ...

", 1975) #"Dikan i pretnja sa Oriona" ("Dikan and the Threat from Orion", 1982/1983) #"Dikan i Hazari" ("Dikan and the

Khazars The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...

", 1993) #"Dikan i Atlantida" ("Dikan and the

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

", 1993/1994) #"Plava špilja" ("Blue Cave", 2004) #"Praznik mimoze" ("

Mimosa ''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 590 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word (''mimos''), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -''osa'', "resembl ...

Days", 2009) #"Dikan i Vukoje" ("Dikan and Vukoje", 2014)

Synopsis and characters

Dikan and his uncle Vukoje are Slavic scouts, traveling around the Balkans. Originally, the comic was set in the 6th century, before the migration of the Slavs to the Balkans, but some of the later stories are set in the ancient and more recent past. Dikan, armed with a

morning star Morning Star, morning star, or Morningstar may refer to: Astronomy * Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise ** See also Venus in culture * Morning star, a name for the star Siri ...

, is very strong, but is also sensitive. His uncle Vukoje is wise and has the experience which Dikan lacks. Dikan's talking horse Zokan and Vesna, a girl Dikan is in love with, appear occasionally. Various Yugoslav celebrities were caricatured in ''Dikan'':

comedy duo A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases fo ...

Pavle Vujisić Pavle ( Macedonian and sr-cyr, Павле; ka, პავლე) is a Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian and Georgian male given name corresponding to English Paul; the name is of biblical origin (cf. Saint Paul). People known mononymously as Pavle inc ...

and Miodrag Petrović "Čkalja", TV host Mića Orlović, TV commentator

Milivoj Jugin Milivoj Jugin (22 August 1925, Kikinda - 20 January 2013) was a Yugoslav and Serbian aeronautical engineer, constructor, publicist and popularizer of science. History Under influence of family friend Kosta Sivčev, an aircraft designer, Jugin gr ...

, members of the pop group One i Oni, and others.

Influence in popular culture

*Dikan was used as a

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

for some of

youth work actions Youth work actions (Serbo-Croatian: ''Omladinske radne akcije'', often abbreviated to ''ORA'', Slovenian: ''Mladinske delovne akcije'') were organized voluntary labor activities of young people in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The ...

in Yugoslavia. *Dikan appeared in the commercial for BIP's

kvass Kvass is a fermented cereal-based Alcohol by volume, low alcoholic beverage with a slightly cloudy appearance, light-brown colour and sweet-sour taste. It may be flavoured with berries, fruits, herbs or honey. Kvass stems from the northeastern ...

. *In 1993, Dikan was the mascot of

Belgrade Marathon The Belgrade Marathon is a marathon race held annually in Belgrade since 1988. It is typically held in mid-April and also features a half marathon and a fun run for the public. The Belgrade Marathon is one of the biggest sporting events i ...

.Pavle Zelić, "DIKAN: PRAZNIK MIMOZE - Lazar Sredanović: Ponos i Dikan", popboks.com
/ref>

Legacy

In 2009, in order to mark ''Politikin Zabavniks 70th anniversary,

Pošta Srbije Pošta Srbije ( sr-Cyrl, Пошта Србије, lit=Post of Serbia) is the national postal service of Serbia, with the headquarters in Belgrade. Public postal service was first introduced in Serbia in 1840. The first stamp was printed in 1866. ...

issued a

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

with Dikan and Vukoje on it.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Serbian comics titles Yugoslav comics titles Serbian humour comics Humor comics Adventure comics Historical comics Comics set in the Middle Ages Serbian comics characters Male characters in comics Comics characters with superhuman strength Comics characters introduced in 1969 1969 comics debuts Fictional Serbian people