History
One of the first and most famous Polish comics was Koziołek Matołek (Matołek the Billy-Goat), created by Kornel Makuszyński (story) and Marian Walentynowicz (art) in 1933. It became a cult classic, still popular today, and is an important part of the canon of Polish children's literature.
In the People's Republic of Poland the term comic (komiks) was discouraged as a "demoralising Western influence," and the terms "graphic stories" (historyjki obrazkowe) or "color books" (kolorowe zeszyty) were preferred instead; they were actually illegal and forbidden from 1947 to 1957. In modern Poland those terms have largely been forgotten, and the formerly discouraged English loanword "comics" (Polish "komiks") is now the main term for the medium.
One of the most notable series created in 1957 (and concluded in 2009) was Tytus, Romek i A'Tomek (eng. Tytus, Romek, and A'Tomek), which became the longest-published and one of the most popular Polish comic book series. Created by Henryk Jerzy Chmielewski (aka Papcio Chmiel), it centers on Romek and A'Tomek, two Boy Scouts, and Tytus de Zoo, a chimpanzee with the ability of human speech.
Over the past few years, the market for comics in Poland has grown rapidly; there is an increasing number of Polish comic books and magazines. Japanese manga has been introduced, and the first Polish manga-style publications have appeared. As throughout the world, webcomics have also become increasingly popular.
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and written narrative, usually, dialogue contained in word balloons emblematic of the comics art form.
Grzegorz Rosiński is a Polish comic book artist, illustrator and painter. He is best known for providing the artwork for the series Thorgal. His other notable work includes art drawn in the Hans and Chninkel series of comic books.
A tankōbon is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as shinsho and bunkobon. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that was previously published in a serialized format. Manga tankōbon typically contain a handful of chapters, and may collect multiple volumes as a series continues publication.
Henryk Jerzy Chmielewski, also known under his pseudonym Papcio Chmiel, was a Polish comic book artist and journalist.
Zbigniew Nienacki was a pen name of Polish writer, Zbigniew Tomasz Nowicki. He was most known for his popular Pan Samochodzik series of adventure novels.
Funky Koval is a Polish science fiction/detective story/political fiction genre comic book series published in Poland from the 1980s, collected in four volumes. The story was written by Jacek Rodek and Maciej Parowski, with art drawn by Bogusław Polch. The resulting science fiction comic gained a cult following in Poland and is recognized as one of the best Polish comics. It debuted in 1982 in Fantastyka, a Polish sci-fi magazine, and was later released in color albums. The final instalment was published in 2010.
Children's comics are comics intended primarily for children.
Philippine Comics have been popular throughout the nation from the 1920s to the present. Comics scholar John A. Lent posited that the Philippine comics tradition has "the strongest audience appeal, best-known cartooning geniuses, and most varied comics content" in Asia after Japan and Hong Kong.
Jakub Wędrowycz is the protagonist of a number of short stories by Andrzej Pilipiuk, a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer. Wędrowycz is an antihero, an elderly alcoholic, moonshine producer, poacher, amateur exorcist and fighter against all sorts of supernatural forces dwelling around his village, from aliens to vampires, demons and devils, as well as more mundane threats such as Russian mafia, policemen and tax inspectors.
Science fiction and fantasy in Poland dates to the late 18th century. During the latter years of the People's Republic of Poland, a very popular genre of science fiction was social science fiction. Later, many other genres gained prominence.
Koziołek Matołek is a fictional character created by Kornel Makuszyński (story) and Marian Walentynowicz (art) in one of the first and most famous Polish comics back in 1933. It became a cult classic, popular since its creation till today, and becoming an important part of the canon of Polish children's literature.
Tomasz Kołodziejczak is a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer, screenwriter, publisher and editor of books, comics and role-playing games.
Świat Młodych was a youth magazine in Poland, published from 1949 to 1993. Part of the magazine was dedicated to scouting, but it is most remembered for its last page comics, where many leading Polish comic books artists and titles debuted or significants parts of them were published there.
Pacanów, sometimes referred to as the European Capital of Fable, is a town in Busko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in south-central Poland. It is the seat of Gmina Pacanów. It had a population of 1137 in 2003. In modern times the village is partly noted for its connection to the fictional character Koziołek Matołek. It lies in historic Lesser Poland, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of Busko-Zdrój and 62 km (39 mi) south-east of the regional capital Kielce.
Captain Boom is a Filipino comic book character who fights crime that was created by Mars Ravelo and illustrated by his son Ric Ravelo. Captain Boom first appeared in United Komiks of PSG Publishing House in 1966. When the character was first introduced in television, his character is renamed to Kapitan Boom. Kapitan is a Tagalog word for "captain."
Tytus, Romek i A'Tomek is the longest-published and one of the most popular Polish comic book, created by Henryk Jerzy Chmielewski in 1957 and concluded in 2009. It centers on Romek and A'Tomek, two Boy Scouts, and Tytus de Zoo, a chimpanzee with the ability of human speech.
Marian Walentynowicz was a Polish graphic artist, architect, teacher, writer and a precursor to the comic book in Poland.
Bogusław Polch act. Połch was a Polish comic book artist. His most notable works include the series The Gods from Outer Space, Funky Koval and Wiedźmin. He also illustrated the covers of the first editions of most of Sapkowski's books in The Witcher series.
The Gods from Outer Space is a science fiction comic book series, published in the years 1978–1982 by German publishing house Bastei Verlag, written and drawn by Polish artists. The authors of the script Arnold Mostowicz and Alfred Górny, and the drawings were made by Bogusław Polch. The story was based on the views of Erich von Däniken, a proponent of the fringe theory that in ancient times the Earth was visited by ancient astronauts – representatives of an extraterrestrial civilization.
