Earliest publications 1930s Languages Czech
Slovak | Publishers BBart
Netopejr
Crew | |
Publications Mladý Hlasatel
Čtyřlístek
Muriel a andělé Creators Jaroslav Foglar
Kája Saudek
Štěpán Kopřiva
Jaroslav Weigel Series "Rychlé šípy"
"Lips Tullian" | ||
Czech comics are comics written in the Czech or Slovak language or by Czech-speaking creators, for the comic markets in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (the former Czechoslovakia).
Contents
History
The beginnings of the comics genre in Czechoslovakia are connected with the popular magazine Mladý hlasatel ("Young Herald"), published in the 1930s. In 1938, the magazine began publishing a popular comic series, Rychlé šípy, written by Jaroslav Foglar and drawn by Jan Fischer. The publishing of Rychlé šípy continued up to 1989, with interruptions imposed by the Nazis, and later by the Communist regime of Czechoslovakia. Among other significant personalities of the early Czech comics are Josef Lada and Ondřej Sekora.
Comics in Czechoslovakia whilst under communist rule were seen as bourgeois. As an alleged part of bourgeois propaganda, the genre was displaced from the public sphere. However, the generation of the 1960s managed to acquire a more tolerant attitude from the communists. Following disputes with the critics of the official communist newspaper Rudé právo, some comic artists were allowed to publish during that time.
Čtyřlístek, one of the most popular comic books for children in Czechoslovakia, has been published continuously since 1969. Another important personality in Czech comics, Kája Saudek, began his career in the 1960s. Saudek was the most persecuted comic artist during the Communist era.
After Communist rule ended in 1992, numerous publishing houses began to publish comics across the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including Thorgal and Funky Koval (which had started already in the early 1980s). Many magazines specializing in comics were published, amongst them Bublinky and Jánošík. However, this quantity flooded the market, leading to small sales for individual titles. This saw the bankruptcy of almost all the magazines. By 2007, however, the Czech comics market had rebounded, with several full-time publication houses, amongst them BBart, Netopejr and Crew.
Notable comics
In 2009, the Czech comics server Komiksarium organized a poll to determine the most significant Czech comics. Sixty members of the board included comic publishers, creators and collectors. They selected what the believed were the ten most important works in the history of Czech comics:
- Muriel a andělé (Muriel and Angels) - Miloš Macourek, Kája Saudek (1967–1969)
- Rychlé šípy - Jaroslav Foglar, Jan Fischer, Marko Čermák (1938–1989)
- Lips Tullian - Jaroslav Weigel, Kája Saudek (1972–1985)
- Voleman Jiří Grus (2007)
- Arnal a dva dračí zuby - Ondřej Neff, Kája Saudek (1988)
- Velké putování Vlase a Brady - František Skála (1989)
- Nitro těžkne glycerínem - Štěpán Kopřiva, Jiří Grus (2006)
- Příhody malého boha - Vlastislav Toman, František Kobík (1973–1974)
- Vzpoura Mozků - Václav Šorel, František Kobík (1977–1979)
- Čtyřlístek - Jaroslav Němeček, Ljuba Štíplová (since 1969)