Två lösa Boy och Rekordmagasinet (which translates to Two Loose Boys and the Record Magazine) is a book published by Atlantis in Stockholm, Sweden in 1981. The book was created by Swedish artist, filmmaker, and graphic designer Lasse Åberg, focusing on 1940s and 1950s nostalgia, featuring images of old comic books, vintage advertisements and collectible.
Lasse Åberg is a titan of Swedish popular culture, best known as a filmmaker, musician, artist, and one of the country’s most prolific collectors of 20th-century memorabilia. He gained national legendary status through his “Sällskapsresan” film series, where he wrote, directed, and starred as the awkward but endearing protagonist Stig-Helmer Olsson. These films, which satirized the habits of Swedish tourists, remain some of the most-watched cinematic works in Sweden’s history. His creative reach also extends to music as a founding member of the Electric Banana Band, a group that combined humorous, nature-themed lyrics with professional-grade rock and funk, becoming a multi-generational staple of Swedish childhood.
Beyond the screen and stage, Åberg is a highly regarded visual artist whose work often blends pop art sensibilities with a deep reverence for graphic history. His artistic style frequently features puns and visual metaphors, most notably his long-standing obsession with Mickey Mouse, whom he reimagines in various classical and modern art contexts. This passion for iconic imagery led him to found Åbergs Museum in Bålsta, which houses one of the world’s most significant collections of Disneyana and early comic book art. The museum serves as a physical manifesto of his belief that “low-brow” commercial art, like fanzines, toys, and early strips, holds immense cultural and historical value.
As a scholar of nostalgia, Åberg’s influence on the preservation of Swedish media history is profound. His books and curated exhibitions often focus on the “everyday” treasures of the 1940s and 50s, such as the Alfa-bilder cards and early pulp magazines that shaped the imagination of a generation. By treating these mass-produced items with the same academic and artistic respect as fine art, he has helped legitimise the study of comic culture and physical media in Scandinavia. Whether through his films or his museum, Åberg’s career is defined by a unique ability to find the extraordinary within the ordinary, making him a central figure in the documentation of modern Swedish identity.
Två lösa Boy och Rekordmagasinet was produced with a hardcover containing 81 full color pages measuring 28.5cm x 21.5cm with Swedish text. The book is structured as a series of short, prose-poem style reflections accompanied by lush, detailed photographs of vintage memorabilia. Key areas of focus include:
- Comic & Pulp Heritage: It explores the impact of early Swedish comic magazines. Since Fantomen began its iconic run with Semic/Serieförlaget in 1950, Åberg highlights the specific “look and feel” of these early publications.
- Collectible Culture: The cover features Alfa-bilder (collectible cards found in Alfa pastille boxes). The card visible on the cover is of Johnny Weissmuller, iconic for his portrayal of Tarzan, a character often linked to the Phantom in the lineage of jungle heroes.
- Nostalgia as Art: Åberg uses these objects (marbles, toy planes, candy wrappers, school photos) to critique modern commercialism while celebrating the genuine wonder these items provided to post-war children.
The front and back cover of Två lösa Boy och Rekordmagasinet can be seen below. The front cover contains a collage of typical 1950s Swedish memorabilia, including a Alfa Pastill box, a Boy Blend Cigarettes box, Lennart “Nacka” Skoglund Card and more.
An interior page from Lasse Åberg’s book showcases a vibrant, overlapping collage of vintage Swedish comic books, primarily from the 1950s, highlighting the era’s fascination with American comic book characters. Dominating the arrangement are several early issues of Fantomen (the Phantoms title in Sweden) comic books published in Sweden in 1951 and 1953.
Surrounding these are multiple issues of Läderlappen (the Swedish name for Batman), including a 1951 issue featuring Robin and various late-50s editions. Other notable titles include Blixt Gordon (Flash Gordon), Mandrake (Mandrake the Magician), Kalle Anka & C:o (Donald Duck), and Spud, illustrating the diverse range of titles published by companies like Serieförlaget and Centerförlaget. The top of the page features a brief Swedish quote from Birgitta Lilliehöök’s comic strip Spara och Slösa (Save and Waste), which adds a layer of moralistic social history to this visual celebration of colorful, collectible entertainment.
A sample of pages found in Två lösa Boy och Rekordmagasinet can be seen below.
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