2 Euro Proof

Nikolaj “Miki” Muster was a Slovenian cartoonist, illustrator and animator. He studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana, but professionally devoted himself primarily to comics and animated films. When he began his career, Slovenia did not yet have a well-developed animation industry. At the same time, comics were initially regarded in socialist Yugoslavia in part as Western-influenced entertainment. Muster helped establish them as an independent form of popular storytelling in the Slovenian-speaking world.

His best-known stories appeared over extended periods in newspapers and magazines from the 1950s onwards. They focus on a trio of anthropomorphized animals: Zvitorepec is an inventive fox, Lakotnik a constantly hungry wolf, and Trdonja a rather sedate turtle. Their differing characteristics provide the starting point for comic conflicts and shared adventures. The stories combine slapstick and wordplay with motifs from crime fiction, Westerns, science fiction and fairy tales. As a result, the characters became familiar to several generations of Slovenian readers.

In addition to his work as a comic artist, Muster produced animated films, commercials and television features. In the 1970s, he moved to Germany, where he worked in animation for many years. Among other things, he adapted drawings by the cartoonist Mordillo into animated short films. Muster later lived and worked in Slovenia again. He died in 2018.

Slovenia’s tribute to him can be explained by Muster’s position in the history of comics and animation there. His characters are among the best-known creations of 20th-century Slovenian popular culture and are closely associated with the development of indigenous, Slovenian-language illustrated stories. The round anniversary therefore provided an obvious occasion not only to commemorate the artist, but also this form of everyday and media culture.