Pyton Magazine

Pyton was a Norwegian comic book series produced by the companies Gevion and later Bladkompaniet, spanning from 1986 to 1996. As an anthology magazine lacking a central main character, its humor style primarily revolved around satire and toilet humor, encompassing themes such as sexual innuendos, bathroom humor, and fart jokes. While the majority of Pyton’s content was created in-house by the magazine’s staff, a few foreign comics were also featured, including works by Gary Larson such as The Far Side, and the German comic Werner.

The name ‘Pyton’ translates to python in Norwegian, which in Scandinavia also carries a slang connotation of “disgusting” or “sick”. The magazine adopted a python snake as its mascot, replacing its original polar bear, and occasionally featured the mascot in its own comic strips.

The escalating rivalry between the Norwegian MAD and Pyton reached its climax in 1988 when Pyton published a counterfeit MAD cover on its back page, aiming to attract readers from MAD. This led to a legal dispute, with Gevion (Pyton’s publisher) being ordered to pay damages totaling 80,000 Norwegian Kroner. By the late 1980s, Pyton emerged victorious in the battle as the sales of Norwegian MAD began to decline sharply while Pyton’s circulation numbers surged. The Norwegian MAD magazine eventually ceased publication in late 1994.

The Pyton series ran for 131 issues from 1988 to 1990. The Phantom made appearances on 5 covers as a parody.