Rocky is a Swedish autobiographical comic strip created by Martin Kellerman, focusing on an anthropomorphic dog, Rocky, and his friends in their everyday life in Stockholm.

Overview

Rocky is based on Kellerman's own life. According to Kellerman, "My friends are just such perfect cartoon characters. A lot of times they say things and all I have to do is write it down. Their personalities match and complement each other so well, it's impossible not to write it down. If I wait a while, even the upsetting stuff they can still laugh about."

Some of the humor draws from hip hop culture, and the dialogue sometimes incorporates English phrases. Kellerman states that "when a Swede says something like Jay-Z would say, that's automatically funny. It's still white here, but in Sweden, it's funnier. Most of my friends have grown up on hip-hop, but it's like a joke—we're so not gangsta." The strip was picked up by the free newspaper Metro and moved from publication to publication because multiple newspapers canceled the strip in response to reader complaints over its profanity and sexual content. Kellerman also publishes Rocky as a magazine, featuring comic strips and other material, including interviews with hip hop artists such as 50 Cent, M.I.A. and The Game drawn in comic form.

References

  • Rights: Strand Comics