An underground comic book displays the zeitgeist of Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia · Global Voices
Macedonian edition of the book “Streetdog and Rat” (Џукела и Пацоф) by <PERSON>. Photo by <PERSON>, CC BY 3.0.
The comic book “Streetdog and Rat” (“Džukela i Pacof” in Macedonian) was published in October 2021. The author <PERSON> has given Global Voices permission to publish several pages translated from Macedonian into English.
The satirical comics “Streetdog and Rat” comments on life in Skopje during the decade of the 2010s. It consists of 40 short stories, one page each, presenting anecdotes from the life and times of two pals, Streetdog and Rat, and a host of other anthropomorphic animals (Crow, Bat, Kitty, Poodle, Frog).
It can be considered underground both stylistically and literally, as it takes place on the city streets, and below them in its sewers.
The main characters <PERSON> and <PERSON> live on the margins of society, barely making ends meet, akin to these two kinds of animals that live in cities, adapting to all the cruelty the urban environment. 278
At the same time, the city protects them from dangers they would encounter in nature.
In a conversation published by the online magazine Okno.mk, the writer <PERSON> asked <PERSON> whether there's any optimism in the characters of <PERSON> and Rat, whom she described as “cute losers, both heroes and villains at the same time.” He replied:
Тие дури не се ни негативци. Некој тип на антихерои можеби, но тие немаат лоши намери, што обично ги карактеризира негативците. Тие се апатични, а опортунисти, мрзливи се и пасивни. Не им е сеедно кога им се засегнати интересите, но нивните реакции се пасивно агресивни. Сепак, понекогаш нивните интереси се во спротивност со вообичаените норми, како на пример за нив е лошо кога контејнерите се празнат на време бидејќи така остануваат без храна. 278