Original title | Kajko i Kokosz |
---|---|
Country | Poland (origin) |
Language | Polish (original) |
Genre | |
Published | 1972 |
Published in English | 2019 |
Kajko and Kokosz or Kayko and Kokosh (Polish: Kajko i Kokosz) is a Polish comic book series by Janusz Christa that debuted in Poland in 1972 and was published primarily until 1992. [1] Mixing history and fantasy tropes it is centered on light-hearted and often comedic adventures of two Slavic warriors named Kajko and Kokosz, loosely resembling both Asterix and Obelix, as well as two personalities from Christa's earlier series on Kajtek i Koko (set in the contemporary and science-fiction background). The series consists of 20 comic albums, as well as a number of shorter stories published in various magazines. In 2006, a short 3D animated movie was made.
Since 2016 two books by new authors have been published, containing collections of short stories focusing mainly on secondary characters from Kajko and Kokosz series (Breakbone, Miluś, Knavenknights etc.). The first long Kajko and Kokosz story in almost 30 years "Królewska Konna" ("The Royal Mounties") was released in spring 2019 written by Maciej Kur (who did most of the previous short stories) and drawn by Sławomir Kiełbus, with colors by Piotr Bednarczyk. The plot was based on an unused idea by Christa himself, taken from his notes. The book met with massive positive reactions from the fans. [2] [3] [4]
Main characters in the series include castellan Mirmił, hypochondriac ruler of the village of Mirmiłowo, where Kajko and Kokosz serve as warriors; Lubawa, dominating wife of Mirmił; small dragon Miluś; benevolent witch Jaga; her husband, the good robber Breakbone (Łamignat) and the antagonists of the series: military knight order of Knaveknights (Zbójcerze), based on the Teutonic Knights, led by Hegemon, with his second in command, Hitler-like Corporal and Schweik-like Loser (Oferma). [5] [1] The stories are written in a tongue-in-cheek manner and contain light satirical elements, usually puns concerning the reality of living in Communist-ruled Poland with characters sometimes mentioning labour unions, bureaucracy, commodity shortages, and similar themes.
By Janusz Christa:
By other authors since:
The series was largely popular in Poland and has been reprinted several times. It was also the basis of several computer games, with the first one published in 1994. [6] It's considered one of the classic Polish children's comics. [7]
In the 2010s several albums were translated into other languages including Kashubian and Silesian, as well as a dialect used by highlanders from Podhale, as well as an English edition of two of the albums, Flying School and The big Tournament, translated by Michael Kandel. [5] and French translation by Pascale Peeters in 2018. [8]
For years fans accused the series of plagiarism, referencing its similarities to the series Asterix and vice versa. The titles share a similar art style, character designs and archetypes, and even employ similar jokes. While the main characters had debuted in Kajtek and Koko years before Asterix's first publication, the characters' incarnations as Slavic warriors Kajko and Kokosz post-dated Asterix's success (Kajtek and Koko plotline featured characters as modern-day sailors or space explorers). For years Christa maintained that the similarities were a coincidence, while Albert Uderzo (the co-creator of Asterix) never addressed the matter. Some have described as significant the fact that the last "Kajko and Kokosz" book was published the same year as the first Polish translation of an Asterix book appeared. [9] [10] [11] [12]
The first version of the debut title (Kajko i Kokosz) appeared on Amiga computers; a short time later a PC version was released, published under the title Kajko i Kokosz w krainie borostworów. The author of the Kajko and Kokosz comics, Janusz Christa, took part in the creation of the first game, creating storyboards. [6] In mid-2000s, two simple platform games (Szkoła Latania and Cudowny Lek) were published, aimed at kids, and in 2012, a new adventure game was released, composed of three stand-alone titles (Rozprawa z Hodonem, Podstęp Kaprala, and Mirmiłowo Wielkie) later combined into a complete edition (Twierdza Czarnoksiężnika). [6]
The following video games have been published:
In 2019 the bandit Breakbone was added to the indie Go All Out video game. [20]
An animated series based on the comics was released on December 1, 2021, [21] [22] but it premiered on February 28 in selected territories ahead of its global debut.
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