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''. Lekić asked several artists to send their ideas about an Early Slavs, early Slavic 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 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 (weapon), Morning Star 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 language, 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", 1969/1970) #"Zovite me Zokan" ("Call me Zokan", 1970) #"Mis Papričica" ("Miss Pepper", 1970) #"Gospodar Dioklecijanove palate" ("The Master of Diocletian's Palace", 1970) #"Uzbudljiva plovidba" ("Exciting Sail", 1970/1971) #"Dikan i car Justinijan" ("Dikan and Justinian I, Emperor Justinian", 1971) #"Velika trka" ("The Big Race", 1971) #"Put u Sirimijum" ("The Road to Sirmium", 1971) #"U zemlji Gepida" ("In the Land of Gepids", 1971/1972) #"Dikan i poslednje Frruke" ("Dikan and the last Frrrukas", 1972) #"Dikan i prvi reli" ("Dikan and the First Rallying, Rally", 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", 1975) #"Dikan i pretnja sa Oriona" ("Dikan and the Threat from Orion", 1982/1983) #"Dikan i Hazari" ("Dikan and the Khazars", 1993) #"Dikan i Atlantida" ("Dikan and the Atlantis", 1993/1994) #"Plava špilja" ("Blue Cave", 2004) #"Praznik mimoze" ("Mimosa 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 (weapon), morning star, 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'': Double act, comedy duo Pavle Vujisić and Čkalja, Miodrag Petrović "Čkalja", TV host Mića Orlović, TV commentator Milivoj Jugin, members of the pop music, pop group One i Oni, and others.Influence in popular culture
*Dikan was used as a mascot for some of youth work actions in Yugoslavia. *Dikan appeared in the commercial for BIP Brewery, BIP's kvass. *In 1993, Dikan was the mascot of Belgrade Marathon.Pavle Zelić, "DIKAN: PRAZNIK MIMOZE - Lazar Sredanović: Ponos i Dikan", popboks.comLegacy
In 2009, in order to mark ''Politikin Zabavniks 70th anniversary, Pošta Srbije issued a postage stamp with Dikan and Vukoje on it.References
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