Keegan the Animator and The Return of Jucika
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Jucika is a Hungarian silent comic strip created by Pál Pusztai that ran from 1957 to 1970. The titular character is a young, attractive woman who gets into a variety of comedic situations, often risqué and suggestive. The series satirizes and parodies sexism, with many of the strips involving Jucika navigating unwanted attention from men and her efforts to get the better of it.
According to that Wikipedia entry Jucika experienced a resurgence of popularity in the last decade and now Keegan the Animator is using the character, with the racy edges tamped down, in comic strips and animation.
Jamie Lang at Cartoon Brew profiles Keegan the Animator aka: KiwisBurntToast.
For an animator who never went to art school and (as of yet) cannot/has not monetized his work, Keegan the Animator has built an impressive indie following on social media with his distinct European comic strip aesthetic and classic Hollywood flair.
Under the handle KiwisBurntToast, his best-known short-form looping clips and still comics that channel mid-century Hungarian strips (specifically the unflappable and ultra-chic Jucika), silent-film timing, and a tactile, imperfect print aesthetic that feels miles away from the over-polished sheen dominating a lot of today’s feeds.
The result is work that feels both archival and contemporary, like something pulled from a dusty library shelf and made to move again. That’s probably not a coincidence, given his background.
According to Jamie Lang Keegan the Animator’s background of a “hybrid foundation helps explain why his clips feel distinct. They are not chasing contemporary animation trends but instead are built on older visual logic and feel particularly lively for it.”
The international popularity of Keegan’s pantomime comic strip Jucika is not producing a financial windfall:
Despite the attention, Keegan’s current work sits in a legally and financially gray area. He is not monetizing the Jucika work, in part because the character’s copyright status remains unclear. “At this current moment in time, I am essentially making no money off of what I’m posting,” he says with a chuckle.
More of Jucika by KiwisBurntToast and cartoonist Keegan’s other work, still and animated, at his Instagram.
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