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The success and development of the Swedish comic book is actually directly linked to the popular Swedish kiosk. At this time, the kiosk is a social meeting place and meeting point in almost every town in Sweden. It is also an excellent showcase for comic books. The publishers are aware of this and did everything to make the covers as sellable as possible.

During the post-war period, there is a US-friendly atmosphere in Sweden and many American comics are successful. Comics with a Wild West theme are particularly popular. Even popular comics such as Fantomen sell better with a cowboy on the cover. Wild West and Prairieserien are nostalgic classics from this period. This time is also characterized by a naive view of the world and comics that today would be seen as grossly racist are not reacted to at the time.

Comics with a bush tradition also become popular. For example, Torsten Bjarre's 113 Bom, created in 1941, and Oskar, created in 1952, are published for a few decades. Other comics from this period survive longer. Åsa-Nisse and Kronblom are some examples. Kronblom is also today one of the world's oldest still existing comics drawn by the same family. The first real comic book in Sweden that had similarities to a modern comic book is Mickey Mouse.

But it will be until 1948 before Sweden gets its first real comic book in the modern sense. That's when the publisher Hemmets Journal publishes the first issue of Kalle Anka & Co. The content is largely taken from Walt Disney's Comics and Stories and it immediately becomes the best-selling comic book in Sweden. The first issue of Kalle Anka & Co from 1948 is a very rare and sought-after one. The exhibition here at the Stockholm Toy Museum contains one of the finest preserved copies.

Around the same time as Kalle Anka & Co, another Swedish comic classic, Seriemagasinet, is launched. By mixing different types of westerns and adventure comics, it quickly becomes a success. From the beginning, the jungle series Kilroy dominated the magazine, but detective series such as Kerry Drake and Steve Roper were soon added. A Swedish feature was the joke series Mickel and Mackel by Nils Egerbrandt.

In 1949, Stålmannen got its own comic book in Sweden and in 1950 the Swedish version of Batman – Läderlappen och Fantomen was published. Kalle Anka & Co, the series magazine, Stålmannen och Fantomen set the standard in Sweden and they were given the format, 17x25 cm with about 32 pages, plus cover. And this format is still largely used today.