Pondus
Pondus is a comic strip created by the Norwegian cartoonist Frode Øverli. Since its start in 1995, it has become one of the most successful comic strips in Scandinavia. It has been translated to several languages, including Danish, English, German, Finnish, French, Icelandic, Latin, Sami, Swedish and Esperanto. In 2000 it inspired its own magazine. Publication history. Øverli initially developed a strip titled "A-laget" (A-team) in 1995, prior to leaving the magazine "Pyton". This early version focused on three characters who were fanatical football-supporters. By the time the strip in its earliest form was first published  in a small local newspaper "Vest-Nytt" of Sotra on October 28, 1995, it had taken the name "Pondus". In 1996 it began a four-year run as a supporting strip in the Norwegian magazine devoted to Bud Grace's "Ernie", leading to its breakthrough on April 2, 1997, when it was taken on as a daily strip in national distribution newspaper "Dagbladet". On July 4, 2000, it began publication in its own "Pondus" magazine, as the first Norwegian strip to ever carry its own monthly publication. This was followed on June 6, 2001 with the launch of a Swedish  sister magazine. The strip runs daily in more than 80 Norwegian newspapers, and is syndicated to several international publications, most notably Swedish "Dagens Nyheter", Danish "Berlingske Tidende", and Icelandic "Frettabladid". As of 2007's first issue, "Pondus" magazine left publisher Schibsted to continue its run with publisher Egmont. In a simultaneous event, the character Pondus quit his job as a bus driver, and bought a pub. Frode Øverli has twice received the Sproing Award for Pondus, in 1998 and 2003, and the Adamson Award in 2006. Publications. Pondus magazine. The Pondus magazine has been a monthly publication since 2000. The  line-up of past and current guest strips are: Pondus albums. There have so far been 9 digest albums, all but the seventh given football-related titles. English translations appended: