The Natural Comedy by Ulla Donner nominated for the Urhunden Prize by the Swedish Comics Association

Ulla Donner’s The Natural Comedy has been nominated for the Urhunden Prize, the most prestigious award given by the Swedish Comics Association. This is the latest of several nominations for this graphically stunning, sharp, and funny title.

The Natural Comedy (Den Naturliga Komedin, 2023)

The Natural Comedy by Ulla Donner continues to receive accolades: the title has been nominated for the Urhunden Prize, the most prestigious award given by the Swedish Comics Association, Seriefrämjandet.

The Urhunden Prize was established in 1987 and has since been awarded to one domestic and one translated title each year. The prize owes its name to a comics series by Oskar Andersson in the early 1900s that features a dog-like dinosaur named Urhunden (“prehistoric, ancient dog”). In 2021 the prize was put on hold as the organisers planned on renewing and enlarging its structure and this year it is finally back with a blast and lists The Natural Comedy as one of the nominees.

The Urhunden nomination of The Natural Comedy (source: Ulla Donner’s Instagram @ulladonner)

The Natural Comedy is Ulla Donner‘s third graphic novel, and it has been received with wide critical acclaim. Born as a twist on Dante’s The Divine Comedy, the work follows Birch, a leaf who makes a crash landing on Candy after falling off a tree on the way to the Great Autumn Party. The reluctant duo embark on a roadtrip through the forest, which has been destroyed by mankind, and encounter a string of weird characters along the way. Donner’s pencil stuns readers with vivid illustrations rich in blues, whites and yellows that bring the forest to life and give the main characters rounded, human-like and extremely cute features.

The Natural Comedy has previously been nominated for the Finlandia Comics Award and the Most Beautiful Book of the Year Award.

We are delighted with the accolades, and fingers crossed!