Marjan Manček is a popular Slovenian children's author and illustrator, mostly known for his humorous comic strips about a prehistoric Slovenian couple, Dajnomir and Miliboža, who eventually give birth to a child, Milimir. The series of comic strips Hribci (Hillies), published mostly throughout the 1980s and 1990s, also includes short language learning books titled What Kind? (on adjectives); What are you doing, Dajnomir? (Verbs); What? Who? (nouns); Who? Whose? (pronouns); Where? When? How? (adverbs and propositions); and, How Many? Which? (numerals and ordinals).
The last comic book on the Hribci was published in 2011 by Stripburger, and sold out a few years later. Most of the books, however, can be found in libraries and second-hand book stores and here is a look into one of them.
ALL TOGETHER
– Ah, it is nice to be in solitude.
– What are you saying, Dajnomir?
– I'm saying how nice it is in a couple.
– What is it nice to be in, dad?
– Aaagh! You are here too!? As I am saying, it is nice if all of us are together!
– “In solitude”, he said.
– Because you can never know where a beast will show up from.
– It's good I found a friend. Gregor isn't afraid of anyone.
Hribci, representing the first Slovenian prehistoric family, are also regulars of the Cerknica carnival, one of the events that is more responsive to recent trends in the Slovenian folk culture.
Hribci at Cerknica carneval, Photo: Valter Leban
