Finnish artist JP Ahonen is ready to launch the animated series “Belzebubs” to the unsuspecting world.
The show, based on his successful webcomic, will premiere at Helsinki International Airport. Film Festival – Love and Anarchy. Banijay Kids & Family is handling distribution. Terhi Väänänen serves as producer for Pajama Films, Samppa Kukkonen serves as director and Lassi Vierikko is responsible for the script.
Stills from the series’ debut type.
“It started as a self-treatment program over ten years ago. I was exhausted and suffering from depression,” Ahonen told me type.
“My wife and I had just given birth to our first child after several miscarriages. I wanted to be at home with our baby, but I also needed to work. I thought about this: ‘I need to pack my pencils away and change careers.'”
The Inktober challenge, which encouraged artists to create an ink painting every day in October, changed everything.
“The first thing that came to my mind was these two black metal guys. I started thinking about this stay-at-home dad, Sløth, who wants to be a good husband and a role model for his kids, but he’s also trying to fulfill his dream of making a living through music. It’s funny because in the black metal scene, it’s basically impossible to make it big. If you do, they’ll tear you apart and call you a poser. So either way, Sløth said what he said.
JP Ahonen
Ahonen ultimately juxtaposes black metal and satanic imagery with family dynamics. Sloth married Lucifer and they raised Lilith and Leviathan.
“They do strange things, but they stick together. It’s a story of not judging a book by its cover. On the one hand, you have God, asceticism and conservatism, and then you have Satanism, which is addiction to life,” he said.
“One fan said it was like ‘The Addams Family’ meets ‘Modern Family.’ That’s it in a nutshell.”
It is also a call for tolerance.
“I’m a firm believer in creating stories that resonate, and this story is about liberal values. There’s a lot of prejudice against these characters, but they’re open to whatever you like,” he points out.
“Grandma is an old-school Satanist and the kids are more liberal. They don’t mind dressing up as angels for the school play. But in the end, they all have each other’s backs.”
In upcoming episodes, he will “really dive into their personal stories.”
“Even if you’re familiar with the comics, there’s a lot more going on.”
JP Ahonen
The show also allowed him to return to music videos, as the Belzebubs were also a functioning band.
“We made the first album in 2019 and it charted in Finland. The second album is already ready,” he said.
“A musician friend and I were playing around with some ideas that included animation and music, and then the comic suddenly took off. We needed a proper music video, and that’s when Pajama Films got involved. Things snowballed from there, and like our ‘Cathedral of Mourning’ music video, we started planning an animated series adaptation.”
He’s already working on the show’s second season.
“I hope we can do a few. Obviously there’s a lot more we can do with these characters. The comics are still the core of the story, but the series brings everything together.”
He hopes it goes global — after all, his fans have.
“This fan base is not limited to Finland. If I look at the numbers, I think it’s the United States first, then Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Italy. Finland is actually in fifth place.”
He’s still surprised that what started as a deeply personal project resonated with so many people.
“They know my history with depression and suicidal thoughts – all very tragic things. Now I can help them through my art, which is amazing.”
JP Ahonen