Tytus, Romek i A'Tomek (eng. Tytus, Romek, and A'Tomek) is the longest-published and one of the most popular Polish comic book series, created by Henryk Jerzy Chmielewski (aka Papcio Chmiel) 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.
It's considered one of the classic Polish children's comics and one of the most popular Polish comic book series.
The strip debuted in Polish magazine Świat Młodych in 1957, and the first book was published in 1966. [1] In 2006 the series was described as the longest-running Polish comic book series. [2]
Henryk Jerzy Chmielewski announced in May 2009 that the main Tytus, Romek i A'Tomek series will no longer be published, but special thematic albums, with new adventures, were still published periodically until the author's death in 2021. [1] [3] By 2017 the series consisted of 31 volumes, and six special albumes, as well as a number of episodic short strip and media tie-ins, some of which were collected into dedicated albums. [4]
The story centers on Romek and A'Tomek, two Boy Scouts, and Tytus de Zoo, a chimpanzee with the ability of human speech. The trio is aided by two adults, Professor T. Alent - a friendly mad scientist, and personification of Chmielewski himself, comic book author Papcio Chmiel. The boys participate in various adventures, some embedded in the realities of Poland at that time, others completely unrealistic. As scouts, they go to camps, take part in joint ventures organized by the Polish Scouting Association, and even participate in military exercises; at other times they travel through mysterious, existing or non-existent lands, sometimes funny and ridiculous to the point of absurdity; often they travel in time and witnesses important events. [4]
Many adventures in Tytus, Romek i A'Tomek have speculative or science fiction elements, some are outright parodies of the established genre. The subjects and background themes in all of the books reflect the culture and atmosphere of the time they were drawn and printed. For instance, the early books are dominated by Scouting-related themes and community service, while the 1990s-era books subtly point out the social, economic and cultural changes that occurred in Poland at that time. [1] [4] The dialogues often feature a unique mix of youth slang, slang from the pre-World War II Poland, words from other European languages as well as Chmielewski's humorous neologisms which contain political themes and satire.
The books are educational, but won its intended young audience because they are also full of adventure, humor, mystery and even subversive anarchism. This, together with the main character, a monkey that tries to become human, made them popular among kids and teenagers. The popularity of the series was also helped by the artistic design - they were very colorful, and more vibrant than the black and white TV or most of the other media Polish children were exposed in the early second half of the 20th century. [1] Over the years, the series became less rigid, as Chmielewski was able to go beyond a number of constrains imposed on him by the publisher. [4]
The books have been described as having lasting popularity larger than many other Polish comics, and one of the reasons for that is that while Chmielewski had to follow some dictates of propaganda and censorship, and include some, mostly educational, themes, he was able to do it in a way that was subtle and not overbearing. In fact, some of the humor in the series can be interpreted as a veiled critique of the community authorities. Nonetheless some elements of propaganda, such as critique of capitalism and the United States, can be found in early books. [5] [1] [4]
It's considered one of the classic Polish children's comics [6] and one of the most popular Polish comic book series. [4] It has been described as one of the most important achievements of Polish comics already in 1979. [7] : 142
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There are 31 published albums called "books" and 8 collective books entitled: "The Gold Book of Adventures", as well as "Book Zero" and "Book of the 80s" containing reprints from "Youth's World" and other newspapers, The TVP (Television Poland) Book, and a collector's release "Tytus, Romek, and A'Tomek as Warsaw insurgents of 1944, drawn from the imagination of Papcio Chmiel".
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.
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Henryk Jerzy Chmielewski, also known under his pseudonym Papcio Chmiel, was a Polish comic book artist and journalist.
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Notable events of 2021 in comics. See also List of years in comics.
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