Tarmo Koivisto
Encyclopedia
Tarmo Koivisto is a Finnish
comics
artist and writer, cartoonist
, and graphic artist. He is best known for his ongoing comic strip Mämmilä
. Koivisto is also known by his artist name Tape.
in 1974. He has also participated in Will Eisner
's "mastership class" in 1990.
Koivisto is one of the best known comics artists in Finland. His main work, Mämmilä, has achieved country-wide fame. Made in co-operation with Osuuskunta Käyttökuva, the strip was first continuously published in Me magazine from 1976 to 1983. After this, the strip was published on the back page of the Helsingin Sanomat
monthly supplement. The newspaper published it for 13 years, up until 1996.
Since 1997, the monthly supplement has published Koivisto's political satire
comic strip Pääkaupunki
.
Koivisto has received many awards, including the Puupäähattu in 1978, the Krokodil statue in 1980, the Strippi-Lempi in 1989, the Lempi Grand Prix in 1991, the State Arts Awards in 1992 and the Orivesi Cultural Award in 1996. He received a 5-year artist's allowance from the state in 1997.
Koivisto has taught comics classes in Africa
and India
, bringing aid to the developing countries through comics. The project includes Comics with an Attitude, published both as a book and on the Internet.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
artist and writer, cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, and graphic artist. He is best known for his ongoing comic strip Mämmilä
Mämmilä
Mämmilä is a full-page comic strip by Finnish cartoonist Tarmo Koivisto and co-written by Hannu Virtanen.Mämmilä is a fictional small country municipality, supposedly in the Häme region, and was originally modeled on the municipality of Orivesi...
. Koivisto is also known by his artist name Tape.
Biography
Koivisto graduated from the Academy of Fine ArtsAcademy of Fine Arts (Finland)
The Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki, Finland provides the highest university-level theoretical and practical training in the country in fine arts....
in 1974. He has also participated in Will Eisner
Will Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
's "mastership class" in 1990.
Koivisto is one of the best known comics artists in Finland. His main work, Mämmilä, has achieved country-wide fame. Made in co-operation with Osuuskunta Käyttökuva, the strip was first continuously published in Me magazine from 1976 to 1983. After this, the strip was published on the back page of the Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. In 2008, its daily circulation was 412,421 on weekdays and 468,505 on Sundays...
monthly supplement. The newspaper published it for 13 years, up until 1996.
Since 1997, the monthly supplement has published Koivisto's political satire
Political satire
Political satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly...
comic strip Pääkaupunki
Pääkaupunki
Pääkaupunki is a Finnish political satire comic strip drawn by Tarmo Koivisto. It is published on the back page of the Helsingin Sanomat monthly supplement....
.
Koivisto has received many awards, including the Puupäähattu in 1978, the Krokodil statue in 1980, the Strippi-Lempi in 1989, the Lempi Grand Prix in 1991, the State Arts Awards in 1992 and the Orivesi Cultural Award in 1996. He received a 5-year artist's allowance from the state in 1997.
Koivisto has taught comics classes in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, bringing aid to the developing countries through comics. The project includes Comics with an Attitude, published both as a book and on the Internet.
Comics published in magazines and newspapers
- Jumaluut! (Helmiä sioille 2. 1972)
- Viimeiset viheltäjät (Sarjis 1/1972)
- Pako (Sarjis 3/1972)
- Riku Rokuli & Co. (Sarjis 2/1973, 4/1973)
- Konttori (Sarjis 2/1974)
- Paluu alkuun (Sarjis 4/1974 and Mammut 3/1981, SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
) - Unto Uneksija, created by Joonas (Pellervo 1972-1975)
- Mämmilä (Suomen Sanoma, Me 1976-1983 and Helsingin Sanomat monthly supplement 1983-1996)
- Tää kaupunki/Pääkaupunki (Helsingin Sanomat monthly supplement 1997-, written by Esa Keron, Jouni K. Kemppainen and Mikko Vienonen)
- Apina Kapina (Kauppa ja koti 1973-1986, syndicated together with WalluHarri VaalioHarri Sakari Vaalio , also known by his artist name Wallu, is a Finnish cartoonist. He is known of his "Punaniska" comic albums and his strips in Finnish magazines such as the "Mikrokivikausi" strip in the computer magazine MikroBitti...
1987-1990) - Parteam (Partek tänään/i dag/today 1994-)
- Meno päällä (Caravan 1990-1993)
- Laatikko (Kulttuurivihkot 1979 and Kupla 1981)
- Hyvä tietää (Me 1980-1981)
- Sallila (Terveydeksi 1997-)
Albums
- Several Mämmilä albums
- ApinaKapina, produced by Jussi Karjalainen (Jalava, 1994)
- Tää pääkaupunki (OtavaOtavaOtava Publishing Company Ltd. is a major Finnish publisher of books. It was founded in 1890 and now is the second largest in Finland. It publishes fiction, non-fiction, books for teenagers and children, multimedia and teaching materials. The number of new titles a year exceeds 400...
, 2003)
Illustrations and children's books
- Seitsemän myyttiä hashiksesta, valistus-ja keskusteluaineisto nuorille (Seven myths about hashish, education and discussion for the young), edited by Heikki Jokinen (Bourgeois abstinence foundation, 1988)
- Hei, juna tulee! (Hey, the train is coming!) (Children's centre, 1991)
- Hei, kaikki toimii! Lasten energiakirja (Hey, everything works! Children's energy book) (Children's centre 1995, also published in IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, and Sweden) - Ranskanperunapotku (French fry kick), Lauri Törhönen (Otava, 2002)