In 2007 Egmont bought all the rights to the entire Petzi universe, including all the original illustrations. Since then Per Sanderhage has been fully occupied dreaming up and drawing Petzi’s countless adventures – a job that entails both preserving and developing the universe.

 

Petzi started as a comic strip of short tales told in just four picture frames. Since then, the bear has been given his own comic album. The short, succinctly told adventures that befall Petzi and his friends remain the mainstay of all the stories, whether told as cartoon strips or in magazines.

 

Per Sanderhage feels sticking to the original narrative style is important. “The narrative style of Petzi closely reflects the way a child recounts a sequence of events. A child often tells a story as a catalogue of activities. A piece of layer cake and a trip to a theme park can easily be equally momentous experiences,” he points out.

 

In 2000 the attitude on the international cartoon market was that tobacco smoking was unacceptable in a children’s comic, and the Petzi character Skæg had to kick the habit. In sympathy with his character, Per Sanderhage also decided to quit smoking his pipe.