Oulu Comics Association

The Oulu Comics Association (Oulun Sarjakuvaseura ry) is a Finnish registered association founded in 1980 with the purpose of supporting and enlivening the comics culture of Oulu. It is a community of comics enthusiasts, artists, and researchers that works to advance the appreciation and critical reading of comics and to improve the standing of comics from Northern Finland. Its core activities are funded by the City of Oulu and the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taiteen edistämiskeskus). The association's most visible annual event is the Oulu Comics Festival, held each November, which is its largest recurring event. In early 2014, the association established the Oulu Comics Centre (Oulun sarjakuvakeskus) to maintain and run its ongoing activities, including comics meetings, reading circles, comics workshops, and exhibitions. The association also publishes comics and related materials, and it awards the Skrew You recognition prizes for work done on behalf of comics. Over the decades the association has published comics magazines and albums. It published 12 issues of the Kupla comics magazine between 1980 and 1984, and 13 issues of the Ruuvari comics magazine together with the Student Union of the University of Oulu between 1988 and 1995. For five years it published the Ruutukaava online comics magazine, which appeared roughly six times a year; its first issue came out in March 2011 and its most recent issue in November 2016. Among its best-known album publications is André Franquin's Mustat sivut, which went through three printings. Membership is open to supporters, with an annual membership fee of 15 euros for 2025 and a supporting membership fee of 100 euros. The association is governed by a board; the 2025 board includes M. A. Moilanen as chair and Tessa Astre as vice-chair, alongside Soile Hirvasniemi and Jaana Potkonen. The association operates primarily in Finland, with a focus on Oulu and Northern Finland.

The Oulu Comics Association (Oulun Sarjakuvaseura ry) was founded in 1980 as a registered association with the aim of supporting and keeping alive the comics culture of Oulu. From its early years it was a community of comics enthusiasts, artists, and researchers, and it set out to promote knowledge and critical reading of comics and to improve the position of comics from Northern Finland. In its first decade the association was active as a publisher. It released 12 issues of the Kupla comics magazine between 1980 and 1984. In 1984 it published André Franquin's Mustat sivut, which became one of its best-known album publications and was reprinted in 1988 and 1992. In the late 1980s and mid-1990s it published 13 issues of the Ruuvari comics magazine together with the Student Union of the University of Oulu, between 1988 and 1995. It also published translated albums such as Jose Munoz and Carlos Sampayo's Alack Sinner 1 (1989) and Alack Sinner 2 (1990), and Charles Burns's El Borbah (1991). In the 2000s the association continued to publish and to document comics culture. It issued the exhibition catalogue Oulu sarjakuvassa – sarjakuvain Oulussa in 2005 and Marlene Hyyppä's Supersankareita, Oulussako? in 2009. In March 2011 it launched the Ruutukaava online comics magazine, which appeared about six times a year and published Finnish comics, mainly by creators from Oulu or Northern Finland. The magazine ran until November 2016. A print compilation, Ruutukaava 2011, was published in 2012, and Ruutukaava 2 followed in 2013, gathering material from the 2012 online issues. At the start of 2014 the association founded the Oulu Comics Centre (Oulun sarjakuvakeskus) to maintain its ongoing activities. The centre organises comics meetings, reading circles, comics workshops, and exhibitions. The association's largest annual event, the Oulu Comics Festival, is held each November. The association also awards the Skrew You recognition prizes for work done on behalf of comics. In 2012, at the Oulu Comics Festival, it published a memorial album for Mika Svensk (1961–2009), Johannes – poliittisesti epäkorrekti Mika Svensk, edited by Reijo Valta and Harri Filppa. It published Pisin yö in 2014 and Kauhun nälkä in 2015, both collections of comics from the Oulu Nordic comics competition, and Sarjakuvapaja hyppysiin! – Sarjisopen oppimateriaali by Veli-Matti Ural and Harri Filppa in 2018. The association's basic activities are financed by the City of Oulu and the Arts Promotion Centre Finland. It is a membership organisation: the 2025 membership fee is 15 euros, and the supporting membership fee is 100 euros. Members decided that most of the 2022 membership fees would be used for scholarships for comics publishing. The association is led by a board; the 2025 board has M. A. Moilanen as chair, Tessa Astre as vice-chair, and Soile Hirvasniemi and Jaana Potkonen as members.

• 2018

  Publication of Sarjakuvapaja hyppysiin! – Sarjisopen oppimateriaali.

• 2016

  Last issue of Ruutukaava online comics magazine (November).

• 2015

  Publication of Kauhun nälkä, comics from the Oulu Nordic comics competition.

• 2014

  Oulu Comics Centre established to maintain activities.

• 2014

  Publication of Pisin yö, comics from the Oulu Nordic comics competition.

• 2013

  Publication of Ruutukaava 2.

• 2012

  Publication of Ruutukaava 2011 and the Mika Svensk memorial album Johannes.

• 2011

  First issue of Ruutukaava online comics magazine (March).

• 2009

  Publication of Marlene Hyyppä's Supersankareita, Oulussako?.

• 2005

  Publication of exhibition catalogue Oulu sarjakuvassa – sarjakuvain Oulussa.

• 1991

  Publication of Charles Burns's El Borbah.

• 1990

  Publication of Alack Sinner 2.

• 1989

  Publication of Alack Sinner 1 by Jose Munoz and Carlos Sampayo.

• 1988

  Ruuvari comics magazine begins, published with the Student Union of the University of Oulu (13 issues until 1995).

• 1984

  Publication of André Franquin's Mustat sivut (reprinted 1988, 1992).

• 1980

  Oulu Comics Association founded.

• 1980

  Kupla comics magazine begins publication (12 issues until 1984).

A non-profit association and cultural hub for comics in Oulu and Northern Finland, supported by public funding and membership fees.

• Kupla

• Ruuvari

• Ruutukaava

• 1984

  Mustat sivut

• 1989

  Alack Sinner 1

• 1990

  Alack Sinner 2

• 1991

  El Borbah

• 2005

  Oulu sarjakuvassa – sarjakuvain Oulussa

• 2009

  Supersankareita, Oulussako?

• 2012

  Ruutukaava 2011

• 2012

  Johannes – poliittisesti epäkorrekti Mika Svensk

• 2013

  Ruutukaava 2

• 2014

  Pisin yö

• 2015

  Kauhun nälkä

• 2018

  Sarjakuvapaja hyppysiin! – Sarjisopen oppimateriaali

1. 1Oulun Sarjakuvaseura – Oulu Comics Centeroulucomics.com
2. 2Oulun sarjakuvaseura – Wikipediafi.wikipedia.org
3. 3Oulu Comics Association – Wikidatawikidata.org