The country of Yugoslavia existed from 1918 until 1991 and had a population of roughly 21 million people in 1978. Yugoslavia was ruled by Josip Tito from 1943 until his death in 1980. The United States and Yugoslavia had a tentative relationship due to Yugoslavia's independence from the Soviet Union, so it does not surprise me that Western comics made their way to this communist nation. Denis is a magazine published by Politikin Zabavnik in Yugoslavia. The title ran for 272 issues and was named after the star feature, Dennis the Menace. These magazines are 68 pages and the first 10 Marvel Comics Star Wars (Ratovi Zvezda) issues were published in this title.
Denis #96a - Politikin Zabavnik, Yugoslavia (1978) Star Wars #1Denis #97a - Politikin Zabavnik, Yugoslavia (1978) Star Wars #2Denis #98a - Politikin Zabavnik, Yugoslavia (1978) Star Wars #3Denis #99a - Politikin Zabavnik, Yugoslavia (1978) Star Wars #4Denis #107a - Politikin Zabavnik, Yugoslavia (1978) Star Wars #5Denis #108 - Politikin Zabavnik, Yugoslavia (1978) Star Wars #6Denis #117a - Politikin Zabavnik, Yugoslavia (1978) Star Wars #7Denis #118a - Politikin Zabavnik, Yugoslavia (1978) Star Wars #8Denis #119a - Politikin Zabavnik, Yugoslavia (1978) Star Wars #9Denis #120a - Politikin Zabavnik, Yugoslavia (1978) Star Wars #10
Of the 10 issues that Star Wars appeared, Star Wars was only on the cover for 4 issues. The first issue uses the cover from Star Wars #2. Foreign editions of Star Wars comics make for strange pairings and this is one of the more interesting pairings; Star Wars is included in a magazine with westerns, Dennis the Menace, and the Phantom! The Star Wars comics are published in color, but the color palette is interesting as can be seen on the back of Denis #97 and 98.
Denis #97a - Politikin Zabavnik, Yugoslavia (1978) back coverDenis #98a - Politikin Zabavnik, Yugoslavia (1978) back cover
In one panel Luke Skywalker has a green tunic and blue pants, Obi-Wan Kenobi is wearing a blue robe, and R2-D2's body is mauve and in another panel a red Millennium Falcon is flying through a yellow colored space on the back of Denis #97! On the back of Denis #98, Princess Leia is adorned in a red dress and our heroes are being attack by light blue Stormtroopers wearing yellow helmets! These same garish colors are seen throughout the issues and set these magazines apart from other foreign Star Wars editions.
I see the publisher Politikin Zabavnik is still around, though I don't suppose their reach extends beyond Serbia's borders these days (let alone if the other former Yugoslav republics have managed to keep up with a similar comic magazine in its absence). History does have a way of showing how different things were before they changed forever.
I see the publisher Politikin Zabavnik is still around, though I don't suppose their reach extends beyond Serbia's borders these days (let alone if the other former Yugoslav republics have managed to keep up with a similar comic magazine in its absence). History does have a way of showing how different things were before they changed forever.
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