M is a Norwegian comic strip, written by Mads Eriksen. It was published in daily newspapers such as Dagbladet, as well as in its own monthly magazine M, until December 2012. Initially published as a guest strip in Pondus magazine, it established its own dedicated magazine near the end of 2006. The strip gained a large fan base in Norway, much due to its quirky humour and numerous pop-cultural references. To this day, reprints are regularly published by Kollektivet Synopsis A surreal, semi-autobiographical, strip, its events revolve around Mads Eriksen and The Madam, his live-in girlfriend. The Madam is always drawn with asterisks for eyes, because, Eriksen claims, it is impossible to know what is on her mind (in one strip, Eriksen states that The Madam is drawn with asterisks because "she mixes pills and alcohol"). One characteristic of the comic is the unique T-shirts the characters wear for every strip, often containing pop-culture references. Allegations of blasphemy In November 2006, a 94-year-old woman from Selbu brought blasphemy charges against Adresseavisen, a Trondheim-based newspaper that published M, over the content of two strips. In both, Jesus Christ is seen advertising for different products, such as "Pilate's crucifixion cream for manly men". The woman who pressed charges stated that "this has nothing to do with freedom of speech. This is much worse than the Muhammad cartoons." Eriksen responded that M is a strip that pokes fun at all sorts of myths, both old and new. A few days later, Dagbladet published a strip in which Mads wins a boxing match against God on a walkover. No further action was taken, and there has been no censorship in Norway over charges of blasphemy content since Life of Brian was banned from cinemas in 1979. Pop-cultural references Pop cultural phenomena are frequently cited. Among these are: Alien—Eriksen gets attacked by an alien that hatched from an expired egg. Douglas Adams and his The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy science fiction novel and radio show. Firefly—M refuses to breathe before the cancelled TV-show is brought back on the air. However, the character of Mal is incorrectly referred to as Mel in one strip. Gremlins—M brings a Mogwai home and wants to feed it after midnight... Hunter S. Thompson—Following the demise of Eriksen's coffee pot, it was blown out of a cannon, while Eriksen was wearing a T-shirt that read gonzo, mimicking Hunter S.