Branislav Kerac (; born September 7, 1952,

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

) is a

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

creator, known best for his series '' Cat Claw''. In the US he also published under his

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

H.M. Baker. Credits in American comics include '' The Black Pearl'' and ''

Ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'' for

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

. He was a drummer for the heavy metal band GeroMetal.

Professional career

Kerac fell in love with comics reading ''

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

'', '' Prince Valiant'' and '' Chlorophylle'' in the Yugoslav ''Kekec'' magazine, but what inspired him to pursue a professional career was the first appearance of Romita’s ''Daredevil'' in ''Zenit''. Kerac debuted in 1975 with ''Lieutenant Tara'', a WW2 comic he co-created with his childhood friend, comic book writer Svetozar Obradović. The duo went on to produce '' Kobra'', the most popular Yugoslav title of the 1980s. Kerac’s super-heroine Cat Claw reached even greater success abroad. In addition, he spearheaded teams of writers and artists that worked on the licensed ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

'' and ''Blek'' comics. Kerac was also involved in the production of ''

Ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

'' and '' Lun, kralj ponoći'' comics, titles based on the Yugoslav pulp novels. In between professional assignments, Kerac worked on his labor of love, Billy the Spit. Finally, he created or co-created a number of

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, war, fantasy, noir and humorous shorts, published in various anthologies. In the 1990s the local comic book industry collapsed with the breakup of Yugoslavia. Kerac turned to music and

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

, doing occasional work-for-hire for foreign publishers. After the local scene experienced a revival in the 2000s, he returned to drawing, mostly working for publishers in France and Italy. Kerac was a member of the editorial board of revamped '' Stripoteka'' from 1999 to 2015. In 2005 Kerac was awarded Special Award to General Contribution to Serbian Comics, a lifetime achievement award at the International Comics Festival in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. Kerac’s influences include

Silver Age The Ages of Man are the historical stages of human existence according to Greek mythology and its subsequent interpretatio romana, Roman interpretation. Both Hesiod and Ovid offered accounts of the successive ages of humanity, which tend to pr ...

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comics as well as bandes dessinées, but also

and action movies. His comics often feature a number of cameos of his friends and celebrities, humorous self-portraits, references to heavy metal music, and other

Easter eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are Egg decorating, decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter ...

. The character of Cameron Hill in ''Cat Claw'' was modeled after the artist. Kerac played him in a TV short titled ''City Cat'' in 1992. In 2022 Youth Theatre Novi Sad staged a play based on Cat Claw comics. It was written by Uglješa Šajtinac and Nikola Davić, directed by Michael Helmerhorst and starring Ivana Vukčević as the titular heroine.

Personal life

Kerac’s surname is toponymic and denotes a person from Ker (presently the village of Zmajevo in Serbia). Kerac lives with his family in Novi Sad. He studied stomatology but dropped out because he decided it was “better to become a good artist than a bad dentist.” He met his wife Ljiljana when she was hired as a letterer. She also featured as minor characters in a few of his comics. Their son Tara was named after Kerac’s character Lt Tara. The boy in a Tarzan episode called “The Boy from Stars” was modeled after him. Both the father and the son play music. From 1992 to 2000 Kerac was a drummer for GeroMetal, who released two

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

albums - ''Der rauch am waßer'' in 1993 and ''Cat Claw'' in 1996. He has also done

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product, such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game ( box art), music album ( album ar ...

for a number of other bands. His other son, Nebojša, was named after Daredevil and is also a musician and graphic designer.

Bibliography

*''Lieutenant Tara'', written by Svetozar Obradović *''Kobra'', written by Svetozar Obradović *''Cat Claw'', written by Svetozar Obradović, Slavko Draginčić and Branislav Kerac *''Blek'', written by Branislav Kerac et al. *''Tarzan'', written by Branislav Kerac et al. *''Billy the Spit'', written by Branislav Kerac et al. *''Balkan Express'', with Branko Plavšić, written by Gordan Mihić *''Ghost'', written by various *''The Black Pearl'', written by Eric Johnson and Mark Hamill *'' Zagor'', written by Moreno Burattini *''

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The char ...

,'' written by Jens Hansegård

Sources

External links

Brief Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerac, Bane Serbian cartoonists 1952 births Living people Artists from Novi Sad Serbian comics artists Serbian comics writers Comics colorists Comics inkers Serbian magazine illustrators 20th-century Serbian illustrators 21st-century Serbian illustrators Serbian rock drummers Serbian heavy metal musicians Musicians from Novi Sad