The Norwegian Comics Museum -- at Brandbu!

[Lunnan & Hjort]

The Norwegian Comics Museum (Tegneseriemuseet) 
has existed before, in Langes gate in Oslo, where it led 
several fruitful years, until about two years ago, when its
manager Jan Petter Krogh gave in to various difficulties 
and obstacles related to its location. Many Norwegians 
will fondly remember visits to this place, which served 
as a museum, a comics & fanzines shop, a bookshop 
for (mainly) used books (and some music), and finally 
a place which could stage comics related events. Don
Rosa and other "comics stars" have been specially 
invited guests on such occasions. This was a place where 
you could browse through issues of "Carl Barks & Co" 
and "Der Donaldist", find the "Donald Duck" you 
needed from 1963, and then buy the sheet music to 
Grieg's Op. 72 for 30 NOK at the other corner of 
the store. 

Luckily and inspiringly, the museum's reported death was 
a premature announcement and its sickbed stay a relatively 
short one. The Norwegian Comics Museum has magically 
been reincarnated, at Brandbu, an hour's train drive north 
of Oslo, again with Jan P. Krogh (also an avid Donaldist 
and once-upon-a-time publisher of "Donaldisten") as chief.
Today, on the digital date 01-10-01, the museum was 
officially opened, with a select group of invitees. Work is 
still going on in the house, and the comics-shop part of it 
will have its opening Thursday this week. Opening hours 
will be 12--17 Thursdays to Sundays. 

The house, formerly the headquarters of the region's
main newspaper, is built in the style of spacious villas anno 
1930 or so, and emits a generous two-storeys 
atmosphere. One can have a coffee and a snack upstairs,
be a museum visitor for half an hour, and then spend time
at the store, buying yourself a fanzine or The Carl Barks 
Index made by Barks-Friends or an old "Fantomet" for 
your parents. The museum has potential for becoming a 
real success. They also plan "events" which will draw 
people from Oslo and surroundings, also featuring guest 
artists of international renown. 

Several invited people gave small congratulation speeches,
among them Tove Bakke (Norwegian Council for Cultural 
Affairs, with a special responsibility for following comics
affairs and some comic affairs; also known for her 
translation of Lorca into "new Norwegian"), Reidun  
Sørensen and Kirsten Jåvold Hagen (from the local Gran 
kommune, representing both politics and official cultural 
support projects), Nils Lid Hjort (professor at the 
department of mathematics, University of Oslo, 
occasionally involved with comics projects), Morten 
Harper (president of the Norwegian Comics Association, 
also an active writer of comics and graphical novels 
stories), Njål Gulbrandsen (new chief editor of TEGN), 
Håkon Aasnes (prolific comics artist), and Hege Høiby 
(Egmont company, chief editor of "Fantomet"). Journalists, 
photographers and an NRK reporter were also present. 

As the visitor from the Academy of Sciences ventured,  
one must hope that the Brandbu region now will be noted
and remembered not only for the 8 World Championships 
its speedskaters once captured over 13 years 
(Ivar 17.14.4 Ballangrud '26, '32, '36, '38, Mikael 2.14.9 
Staksrud '30, '35, '37, Hans 41.8 Engnestangen '33) and 
for the two world records set down-the-road by Synnøve 
Lie in 1932, and for its association with Aasmund 
Olavsson Vinje (who fled from an Oslo hospital when 
he understood he was fatally ill in 1870, refusing to die 
in the city, and walked to Gran) --  but, also, for 
The Norwegian Comics Museum. 

May the Brandbu Comics Museum become to 
Norwegian comics life what the six Brandenburger 
Concertos became for chamber musicians. 

Nils Lid Hjort