Serbian comics are
comics produced in
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 Hung ...
. Comics are called ''stripovi'' in
Serbian
Serbian may refer to:
* someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe
* someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people
* Serbian language
* Serbian names
See also
*
*
* Old Serbian (disambiguat ...
(singular ''strip'') and come in all shapes and sizes, merging influences from
American comics to
bandes dessinées Bandes may refer to:
* BANDES, The Venezuelan Economic and Social Development Bank
* Susan Bandes
Susan Bandes is an American lawyer and the current Centennial Distinguished Professor Emeritus at DePaul University. Bandes is considered one of ...
.
Comics started developing in Serbia in the late 19th century, mostly in
humor and
children's magazines
A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger t ...
. From the 1920s to the end of the 1980s, Serbian comics were part of the larger
Yugoslav comics scene; a large number of titles was published from 1932 to 1991, mainly in
Serbo-Croatian language
Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...
. After
the breakup of Yugoslavia and the crisis in the 1990s, Serbian comics have experienced a revival.
History
"The Golden Age" (1932-1941)
In 1932 ''Veseli četvrtak'' (''Merry Thursday''), an illustrated magazine for children, appeared in
Belgrade; an unusually large amount of space was allotted to
cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...
s. The magazine featured foreign works such as ''
The Katzenjammer Kids
''The Katzenjammer Kids'' is an American comic strip created by Rudolph Dirks in 1897 and later drawn by Harold Knerr for 35 years (1914 to 1949).[Felix the Cat
Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer during the silent film era. An anthropomorphic black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, he was one of the most recognized cartoon characte ...]
'', but also ''Doživljaji Mike Miša'' (''The Adventures of Mika the Mouse''), a
Mickey Mouse pastiche
A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...
by Serbian authors. Other
weeklies and dailies such as ''Vreme'' and ''Pravda'' followed suit.
In 1934, one whole page of ''
Politika
''Politika'' ( sr-Cyrl, Политика; ''Politics'') is a Serbian daily newspaper, published in Belgrade. Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F. Ribnikar, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans.
Publishing and owne ...
'' newspaper was devoted to ''
Secret Agent X-9
''Secret Agent X-9'' is a comic strip created by writer Dashiell Hammett ('' The Maltese Falcon'') and artist Alex Raymond (''Flash Gordon''). Syndicated by King Features, it ran from January 22, 1934 until February 10, 1996.
Premise and publ ...
''. In addition to adventure comics,
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 ...
's
cartoon animal
Talking animals are a common element in mythology and folk tales, children's literature, and modern comic books and animated cartoons. Fictional talking animals often are anthropomorphic, possessing human-like qualities (such as bipedal walkin ...
s were also popular at the time, especially Mickey Mouse, whose name would be used in the titles of a number of Yugoslav comic publications: ''Mika Miš'', ''Mikijeve novine'' (''Mickey's Newspapers''), ''Mikijevo carstvo'' (''Mickey's Realm''). An editor named Dušan Timotijević named the new art form "strip", after English "
comic strip".
In 1934, the first two specialized
comic magazine Comic magazine may refer to:
* Comics anthology
* '' Comic Magazine'', a 1986 Japanese film
* Comic Magazines, the parent company of Quality Comics
* Franco-Belgian comics magazines
* Japanese manga magazines
* A periodical containing comic strip ...
s appeared - ''Strip'' and ''Crtani film'' (''Cartoon''). Their appearance and content were influenced by the Italian magazines ''
Topolino
''Topolino'' (from the Italian name for Mickey Mouse) is an Italian digest-sized comic series featuring Disney comics. The series has had a long running history, first appearing in 1932 as a comics magazine. It is currently published by Pa ...
'', ''
L'Audace
''L'Audace'' (Italian for "The Bold") was a weekly children and comic magazine published in Italy from 1934 to 1944.
History and profile
Founded by Lotario Vecchi in January 1934, the magazine was published by S.A.E.V, except for a short time in ...
'' and ''
L'Avventuroso
''L'Avventuroso'' (Italian for "The Adventurer") was a weekly comic magazine published in Italy from 1934 to 1943. It was the first Italian comics magazine which explicitly aspired to have a more mature audience than infancy, and it is regarded a ...
'', as well as French magazines ''
Le Journal de Mickey
''Le Journal de Mickey'' is a French weekly comics magazine established in 1934, featuring Disney comics from France and around the world. The magazine is currently published by Unique Heritage Media. It is centered on the adventures of Mickey Mo ...
'' and ''Hop-là!''.
Russian immigrant Nikola Navojev
Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek ''Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος). It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Monteneg ...
debuted in the pages of ''Strip'' with his works. Although he died at the age of 27, Navojev was a prolific author who created a number of characters for Strip, of which
jungle girl
A jungle girl (so-called, but usually adult woman) is an archetype or stock character, often used in popular fiction, of a female adventurer, superhero or even a damsel in distress living in a jungle or rainforest setting. An alternate depictio ...
Tarcaneta (''Tarzanette'') is best-known today. In 1935, inspired by the adventures of
Alex Raymond
Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr. (October 2, 1909 – September 6, 1956) was an American cartoonist who was best known for creating the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip for King Features Syndicate in 1934. The strip was subsequently adapted into many ...
's X-9, Vlastimir Belkić created the first original character in Serbian comics named Hari Vils. Similarly, other two Russian immigrants, artist
Đorđe Lobačev
Đorđe Lobačev ( sr-cyr, Ђорђе Лобачев) or Yuriy Lobachev (russian: Юрий Лобачев; 1909–2002) was a Soviet Russian and Serbian- Yugoslavian comic strip author and illustrator. He was one of the pioneers of the comic str ...
and writer Vadim Kurganski, began working on their first comic, called ''Krvavo nasledstvo'' (''Bloody Heritage''), serialized in the illustrated periodical ''Panorama''.
Not only was it the first successful modern comic produced in Serbia, but also the first title set in Yugoslavia.
Most of the Golden Age artists were Russian immigrants, collectively known as the Belgrade Circle and gathered at first around the ''Mika Miš'' magazine. Soon enough it was transformed into a real comic magazine, reprinting foreign classics like ''
Prince Valiant
''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'', often simply called ''Prince Valiant'', is an American comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stret ...
'',
''Phantom'' and ''
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' ad ...
'', but also publishing comics by the local authors. ''Mika Miš'' lasted from 1936 to 1941, when it ended with issue 505. Its domination would not be questioned until 1939 and the emergence of ''Mikijevo carstvo'' and ''
Politikin Zabavnik''. The key figures behind all three publications were editors Aleksandar J. Ivković and Milutin Ignjačević.
From 1935 to 1941 about twenty comic magazines were launched in Serbia, published weekly and bi-weekly, mostly in black-and-white. They were sold throughout Yugoslavia. In order to boost sales in the western parts of Yugoslavia (today's
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
and
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
), some publications were printed not only in the
Serbian Cyrillic
The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...
but also
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the ...
. Comics were distributed through
convenience stores,
newsstands
A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency ( Australian English) or newsstand ( American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of l ...
and
newsboys
Newsboys (sometimes stylised as newsboys) are a Christian rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia, by Peter Furler and George Perdikis. Now based in Nashville, Tennessee, the band has released 17 studio albums, 6 of whi ...
, with an average print run of 10,000 - 30,000 copies.
The notable works were inspired by cultural classics and
Serbian folklore
Serbian folklore is the folk traditions among ethnic Serbs. The earliest examples of Serbian folklore are seen in the pre-Christian Slavic customs transformed into Christianity.
Roots and characteristics
Folklore
The Apostles of the Slavs, Cy ...
. The shortlist includes
Ivan Šenšin
Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgar ...
's ''Hrabri vojnik Švejk'' (an adaptation of
Jaroslav Hašek
Jaroslav Hašek (; 1883–1923) was a Czech writer, humorist, satirist, journalist, bohemian and anarchist. He is best known for his novel '' The Fate of the Good Soldier Švejk during the World War'', an unfinished collection of farcical in ...
's novel ''
The Good Soldier Švejk
''The Good Soldier Švejk'' () is an unfinished satirical dark comedy novel by Czech writer Jaroslav Hašek, published in 1921–1923, about a good-humored, simple-minded, middle-aged man who pretends to be enthusiastic to serve Austria-Hungary ...
'') and ''Zvonar Bogorodičine crkve'' (an adaptation of
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
's novel ''