History Trivia / Jucika

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: One of the most prominent real life stories surrounding the comic is that all of the original strips and other Jucika artwork were destroyed in anger by Pusztai's jealous widow. Only one half-finished strip remained. With Pusztai having left no heirs and ''Ludas Matyi'' having folded and then relaunching as a forgettable crossword puzzle magazine sometime in the 90s, Jucika's copyrights have reverted to the Hungarian state who still own her today. Outside of the few dozen strips found in the books ''Fondorlatos Jucika'' (see below) and the Chinese comic compilations ''Life Love Humour'' and ''尤茜卡小姐'' (whose legal status is entirely unclear), it was through helpful vintage magazine collectors and online newspaper archives that we can see them at all. The series may finally be rescued however, with the announcement of an official, higher quality Hungarian re-release of the '57-'59 strips.

** A different magazine named ''Magyar Ifjúság'' ("''Hungarian Youth''") considered continuing the comic after the creator's passing by having their artists mimic his art style, but the idea went nowhere.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: One of the most prominent real life stories surrounding the comic is that all of the original strips and other Jucika artwork were destroyed in anger by Pusztai's jealous widow. Only one half-finished strip remained. With Pusztai having left no heirs and ''Ludas Matyi'' having folded and then relaunching as a forgettable crossword puzzle magazine sometime in the 90s, Jucika's copyrights have reverted to the Hungarian state who still own her today. Outside of the few dozen strips found in the books ''Fondorlatos Jucika'' (see below) and the Chinese comic compilations ''Life Love Humour'' and ''尤茜卡小姐'' (whose legal status is entirely unclear), none have been reprinted in modern times. It's through helpful vintage magazine collectors and online newspaper archives that we can see them at all.

* MissingEpisode: Nearly all original strips have been destroyed, but they at least exist as reprints and magazine scans. But Jucika also made various appearances outside her usual magazines, either as an advertising mascot for different companies, on pocket calendars or special strips published for other newspapers. Other artists at the time also created their own Jucika art, either as collaborations with Pusztai, respectful tributes or vulgar parodies. Since there is no comprehensive list or archive for Jucika's appearances outside ''Érdekes Újság'' and ''Ludas Matyi'', there is no telling how many images have been lost. She also starred in a TV ad for a cloth material manufacturing company that was last seen in the 60s.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Readers at the time praised Jucika's character for always being modern and timeless, but many cultural and technological references around her date the comic to the mid-20th century Soviet Bloc. Her name has also become something of a derogatory shorthand for the stereotype of old, superficial, simple minded, working class Hungarian women. In a pair of deeply politically charged articles, authors and reporters László Domonkos and Julianna Szűcs claimed Jucika typifies weak willed, stuck-in-the-past, anti-nationalist proletarians and is a despicable relic from the Socialist age. Both labeled the comic shallow, pandering state approved propaganda with no "bite".\\
Art historian Gyula Rózsa, in his essay "''Jucika's Curse''", observed the comic more positively, arguing that it marked a turning point in Hungarian cartoon history because it was the only comic that successfully combined relevant social satire with inoffensive humor and pleasant eroticism -- most previous and later magazine cartoons were either too abjectly political, vulgar, explicit or [[FanDisservice just unpleasant to look at]]. He thinks ''Jucika'' represented a period of balance that shied away from these extremes.

* AuthorExistenceFailure: Creator Pál Pusztai was taken by a sudden heart failure while on a swimming trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia in late 1970. He was only 51. [[OrphanedSeries The magazine retired the comic.]] Tragically, the reason he had gone to Dubrovnik in the first place was to preserve his health by swimming in the Adriatic Sea. According to his colleagues, Pusztai collapsed as he was stepping out of the water and even his personal doctor, who had accompanied him, could do nothing.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: One of the most prominent real life stories surrounding the comic is that all of the original strips and other Jucika artwork were destroyed in anger by Pusztai's jealous widow. Only one half-finished strip remained. With Pusztai having left no heirs, Jucika's legal issues have since resided in limbo, and outside of the few dozen strips found in the books ''Fondorlatos Jucika'' (see below) and the Chinese comic compilations ''Life Love Humour'' and ''尤茜卡小姐'' (whose copyright status is entirely unclear), none have been reprinted in modern times. It's through helpful vintage magazine collectors and online newspaper archives that we can see them at all. As ''Ludas Matyi'' has essentially folded and became a forgettable crossword puzzle magazine sometime in the 90s, it's unknown whether ''Jucika'''s copyrights will ever be cleared up.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: Supposedly, the artist had a jealous spouse who hated Jucika so much that she tossed the original strips into a fire after Pusztai died. This has been mentioned numerous times by his colleagues and acquaintances. A less substantiated story holds that Jucika herself might have been based on an actual person from Pusztai's life, either a young relative or a comic inker who readied the strips for the presses. If this is true, it could explain why Mrs. Pusztai had felt angry over her husband's obsession with the character.

** Pusztai didn't intend to end the series despite making less strips each year. One half-finished strip was even found in his work desk.

* AuthorExistenceFailure: Creator Pál Pusztai was taken by a sudden heart failure while on a trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia in late 1970. He was only 51. [[OrphanedSeries The magazine retired the comic.]]

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: Did the artist have a jealous spouse who hated Jucika so much that she tossed the original strips into a fire after Pusztai died? His colleagues, such as magazine editor László Dluhopolszky, have [[{{Troll}} both spread and denied this story]] at different times. Another legend holds that Jucika herself might have been based on an actual person from Pusztai's life, either a young relative or a comic inker who readied the strips for the presses. If this is true, it could explain why Mrs. Pusztai had felt angry over her husband's obsession with the character.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: A different magazine named ''Magyar Ifjúság'' ("''Hungarian Youth''") considered continuing the comic after the creator's passing by having their artists mimic his art style, but the idea went nowhere.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The character's legal issues reside in limbo, and outside of the few dozen strips found in the books ''Fondorlatos Jucika'' (see below) and the Chinese comic compilations ''Life Love Humour'' and ''尤茜卡小姐'' (whose copyright status is entirely unclear), none have been reprinted in modern times. It's through helpful vintage magazine collectors and online newspaper archives that we can see them at all. As ''Ludas Matyi'' has essentially folded and became a forgettable crossword puzzle magazine sometime in the 90s, it's doubtful ''Jucika'''s copyrights will ever be cleared up unless her elusive right holders step forward and they may not even be alive by this point.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: Did the artist have a jealous spouse who hated Jucika so much that she tossed the original strips into a fire after Pusztai died? His colleagues, such as magazine editor László Dluhopolszky, have [[{{Troll}} both spread and denied this story]] at different times.

Art historian Gyula Rózsa, in his essay "''Jucika's Curse''", observed the comic more positively, arguing that it marked a turning point in Hungarian cartoon history because it was the only comic that successfully combined relevant social satire with inoffensive humor and pleasant eroticism -- most previous and later magazine cartoons were either too abjectly political, vulgar, explicit or [[FanDisservice just unpleasant to look at]]. He thinks ''Jucika'' represented a period of balance that shied away from these extremes.

Art historian Gyula Rózsa, in his essay "''Jucika's Curse''", observed the comic more positively, arguing that it marked a turning point in Hungarian cartoon history because it was the only comic that successfully combined relevant social satire with inoffensive humor and pleasant eroticism -- most previous and later magazine cartoons were either too abjectly political, vulgar, explicit or just unpleasant to look at. He thinks ''Jucika'' represented a period of balance that shied away from these extremes.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The character's legal issues reside in limbo, and outside of the few dozen strips found in the books ''Fondorlatos Jucika'' (see below) and the Chinese comic compilations ''Life Love Humour'' and ''尤茜卡小姐'' (whose copyright status is entirely unclear), none have been reprinted in modern times. It's through helpful vintage magazine collectors and online newspaper archives that we can see them at all. As ''Ludas Matyi'' has essentially folded and became a forgettable crossword puzzle magazine sometime in the 90s, it's doubtful ''Jucika'''s copyrights will ever be cleared up unless her elusive right holders step forward and they may not even be living by this point.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The character's legal issues reside in limbo, and outside of the few dozen strips found in the books ''Fondorlatos Jucika'' (see below) and the Chinese comic compilations ''Life Love Humour'' and ''尤茜卡小姐'' (whose copyright status is entirely unclear), none have been reprinted in modern times. It's through helpful vintage magazine collectors and online newspaper archives that we can see them at all. As ''Ludas Matyi'' has essentially folded and became a forgettable crossword puzzle magazine sometime in the 90s, it's doubtful ''Jucika'''s copyrights will ever be cleared up unless her elusive right holders step forward.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: Did the artist have a jealous spouse who hated Jucika so much that she tossed the original strips into a fire after Pusztai died? Maybe, maybe not, but such a claim has been brought up in relation to the comic, allegedly stemming from a comment made by one of ''Ludas''' later editors, László Dluhopolszky.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The character's legal issues reside in limbo, and outside of the few dozen strips found in the book ''Fondorlatos Jucika'' (see below), none have ever been reprinted in modern times. It's through helpful vintage magazine collectors and online newspaper archives that we can see them at all. As ''Ludas Matyi'' has essentially folded and became a forgettable crossword puzzle magazine sometime in the 90s, it's doubtful ''Jucika'''s copyrights will ever be cleared up.

* ReferencedBy: In 1961, the Kossuth Radio station played tribute to the comic with their half hour long musical segment ''Levelek Jucikához'' ("''Letters to Jucika''"). In 2018, there was a temporary museum exhibit about the products of Socialist-era commerce titled ''Mit vásárolt Jucika?'' ("''What Did Jucika Buy?''").

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Readers praised Jucika's character for always being modern and timeless, but many cultural and technological references around her date the comic to the mid-20th century Soviet Bloc. Her name has also become something of a derogatory shorthand for the stereotype of old, superficial, simple minded, working class Hungarian women. In a deeply politically charged 2011 article, author and reporter László Domonkos went as far as to claim Jucika typifies weak willed, stuck-in-the-past, anti-nationalist proletarians and is a despicable relic from the Socialist age. Art historian Gyula Rózsa, in his essay "''Jucika's Curse''", observed the comic more positively, arguing that it marked a turning point in Hungarian cartoon history because it was the only comic that successfully combined relevant social satire with inoffensive humor and pleasant eroticism -- most previous and later magazine cartoons were either too abjectly political, vulgar, explicit or just unpleasant to look at. He thinks ''Jucika'' represented a period of balance that shied away from these extremes.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The character's legal issues reside in limbo, and outside of the few dozen strips found in the book ''Fondorlatos Jucika'' (see below), none have ever been reprinted in modern times. It's through helpful vintage magazine collectors and online newspaper archives that we can see them at all. As ''Ludas Matyi'' has essentially folded and became a forgettable crossword puzzle magazine sometime in the 90s, it's doubtful ''Jucika'''s copyrights will ever be cleared up.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Readers praised Jucika's character for always being modern and timeless, but many cultural and technological references around her date the comic to the mid-20th century Soviet Bloc. Her name has also become something of a derogatory shorthand for the stereotype of old, superficial, simple minded, working class Hungarian women. In a deeply politically charged 2011 article, author and reporter László Domonkos went as far as to claim Jucika typifies weak-willed, stuck-in-the-past, anti-nationalist proletarians and is a despicable relic from the Socialist age.

* [[ChannelHop Magazine Hop]]: ''Jucika'' was the first ongoing comic published in ''Érdekes Újság'' ("''Noteworthy News''") from 1957 until the paper's merger with the then-relaunched ''Ország-Világ'' ("''Country and World''") in '59. The series then moved to the comedy magazine ''Ludas Matyi'' ("''Mattie the Goose-boy''"), which was even referenced in one of the strips where Jucika tries to charm the magazine mascot Matyi to get hired, only to get foiled by his goose.

* AuthorExistenceFailure: Creator Pál Pusztai was taken by a sudden heart failure while on a trip to Dubrovnik, Serbia in late 1970. He was only 51. [[OrphanedSeries The magazine retired the comic.]]