Zoran Janjetov ( sr-cyr, Зоран Јањетов; born 23 June 1961) is a

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

. Janjetov is among most prominent comics creators of

former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

, published worldwide. He is best known as the

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complic ...

of '' Avant l'Incal'' and ''

The Technopriests ''The Technopriests'' is an eight-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alejandro Jodorowsky, artist Zoran Janjetov, and colorist In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the ...

'', written by

Alejandro Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French avant-garde filmmaker. Best known for his 1970s films ''El Topo'' and '' The Holy Mountain'', Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work ...

. During the mid-1980s, Janjetov was a vocalist for the Yugoslav

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ...

band Heroina, with which he recorded one album.

Biography

Early biography

Janjetov started to draw at very early age with strong support from his parents. His father, an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

by profession, gave him the knowledge needed to start his career. Young Janjetov was influenced by the works of

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

, and had already made his first short comic at age seven. After finishing high school, he continued his education at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, where he graduated.

Career in comics

From 1981 to 1995, Janjetov worked on the ''Bernard Panasonik'', published in magazines ''Yu strip magazin'' and ''

Vreme zabave ''Vreme zabave'' ( sr-cyr, italic=yes, Време забаве, trans. ''Time of Entertainment'') was a Serbian popular culture magazine. History ''Vreme zabave'' was launched in 1993 by newspaper company ''Vreme ''Vreme'' ( Serbian for ''Time ...

''. In 1986, Janjetov was chosen by Alejandro Jodorowski to finish the colour art in ''

The Incal ''The Incal'' (; French: ''L'Incal'') is a French graphic novel series written by Alejandro Jodorowsky and originally illustrated by Jean Giraud. ''The Incal'', with first pages originally released as ''Une aventure de John Difool'' ("A John Di ...

''.Janjetov biography on Lambiek Comiclopedia
/ref>

Musical career and cover design

In 1983, Janjetov became a vocalist for the

band Heroina. With the band he recorded one self-titled album, produced by

Mitar Subotić Mitar Subotić "Suba" ( sr-Cyrl, Митар Суботић Суба; June 23, 1961 – November 2, 1999), also known as Rex Ilusivii (Latin for ''The King of Illusions''), was a Serbian-born musician and composer who was set to become one of Braz ...

and released in 1985. Janjetov designed the album artwork for Heroina along with artwork for a number of other Yugoslav acts, including Oktobar 1864, Viktorija, Angel's Breath, but also for international world music acts, like

Zuco 103 Zuco 103 is a Dutch musical ensemble which plays music chiefly in the styles of the music of Brazil. The ensemble was initially founded under the name Rec.a in 1989 by students at the Rotterdam Conservatory. Three members of the ensemble SfeQ (s ...

Konono Nº1 Konono Nº1 is a musical group from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are known for their DIY aesthetic, combining electric likembé (a traditional instrument similar to the mbira) with vocals, dancers, and percussion instrument ...

Bebel Gilberto Isabel Buarque de Hollanda Gilberto de Oliveira (born May 12, 1966), known as Bebel Gilberto, is an American-born Brazilian popular singer often associated with bossa nova. She is the daughter of João Gilberto and singer Miúcha. Her uncle i ...

Celso Fonseca Celso Fonseca (born November 15, 1956) is a Brazilian composer, producer, guitarist and singer. He is noted as part of the Música popular brasileira since the 1980s, initially as accompanist and composer, then producer, and since the mid–1990s a ...

Tartit Tartit (meaning "union") are a band from the Tombouctou Region of Mali. The group consists of five women and four men, all of whom are Tamasheq-speaking Tuareg. They formed in 1992 in a refugee camp in Mauritania. Imharhan, an expanded group that ...

, Taraf de Haïdouks, Mahala Raï Banda,

Kasai Allstars Kasai Allstars are a 25-piece musical collective based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The musicians originally come from the Kasai region, but originating from five different ethnic groups: the Songye, Lulua, Tetela, Luba, and ...

, Kočani Orkestar and other acts.Zoran Janjetov at Discogs
/ref>

Bibliography

* ''Bernard Panasonik'', series (1981-1995) ''Yu strip magazin'' and ''

''; collected in album (2003), System Comics, Serbia * '' Avant l'Incal'', written by

Alexandro Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French avant-garde filmmaker. Best known for his 1970s films ''El Topo'' and '' The Holy Mountain'', Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work ...

Les Humanoïdes Associés Les Humanoïdes Associés (or simply Humanoïdes) is a Franco-American publishing house specializing in comics and graphic novels, founded in December 1974 by comic artists Mœbius, Jean-Pierre Dionnet, Philippe Druillet, and financial directo ...

, France # ''Les Deux Orphelins'' (1988), republished under the title ''Adieu le père'' (2002) # ''Détective privé de classe “R”'' (1990) # ''Croot'' (1991) # ''Anarco-psychotiques'' (1992) # ''Ouisky, SPV et homéoputes'' (1993) # ''Suicide Allée' (1995) *'' Les Technopères'' written by Alexandro Jodorowsky, colored by Fred Beltran, Les Humanoïdes Associés, France # ''La Pré-école techno'' (1998) # ''L’École pénitentiaire de Nohope'' (1999) # ''Planeta Games'' (2000) # ''Halkattraz, l’étoile des bourreaux'' (2002) # ''La Secte des Techno-évêques'' (2003) # ''Les Secrets du Techno-Vatican'' (2004) # ''Le Jeu parfait'' (2005) # ''La Galaxie promise'' (2006) *'' Les armes du Méta-Baron'' : Vol. 1 (2004), written by Alexandro Jodorowsky, co-drawn with Travis Charest, Les Humanoïdes Associés, France *''El Gladiator contre Mango'' (2010), written by

Jerry Frissen Jerry Frissen (born Thierry Frissen in Brussels, on June 2, 1964) is an American comic book writer and a toy designer from Los Angeles, California. He has written the anthology comic book series ''Lucha Libre'', '' The Zombies That Ate The Worl ...

, drawn by 38 artists, Les Humanoïdes Associés, France * ''L'Ogregod'', written by Alexandro Jodorowsky, Delcourt, France # ''Les Naufragés'' (2010) # ''Sans futur'' (2012)

Discography

With Heroina

*''Heroina'' (1985)

References

External links

Interview with Zoran Janjetov
by Christophe Labussière, ''Premonition Magazine''
International bibliography at Comic books database
(partial)
Zoran Janjetov bio-bibliography at Les Humanoïdes Associés
official page of the publisher
Comics Culture in Yugoslavia: World-Class Innovators & Remarkable Visionaries
by Paul Gravett {{DEFAULTSORT:Janjetov, Zoran 1961 births Living people Serbian comics artists Serbian comics writers Serbian illustrators Album-cover and concert-poster artists Serbian rock singers Yugoslav rock singers Artists from Subotica Musicians from Subotica