ArmeniaArmenia.

A short history you can leaf through. Click a page, use the arrow keys, or press Turn the page to read on.

1. 1880

   to 1920

   Chapter 01

   Caricature in the Armenian press

   Armenian caricature began in the nineteenth-century Armenian press of Constantinople, in periodicals published by Harutyun Svajian and Hakob Paronyan, with early drawings by V. Surenyants in the 1880s. The satirical monthly Saprich appeared in St Petersburg in 1906 and 1907, and Alexander Mirzoyan, Garegin Yeritsyan and Garegin Levonyan drew caricatures for the Tiflis satirical magazine Khatabala.

2. 1920

   to 1991

   Chapter 02

   Soviet satirical magazines

   In Soviet Armenia the satirical weekly Karmir Mojak appeared in Yerevan in 1926 and 1927, one of several 1920s satirical papers, with caricatures by Mikayel Arutchyan and Vahram Gayfejyan. From 1954 the illustrated satirical magazine Vozni became the main home of caricature, with Sergey Arutchyan as chief artist until 1964 and contributors such as Valentin Podpomogov, Georgi Yaralyan and Haik Ter-Ghazaryan. Levon Khachatrian drew picture stories for the Soviet children's magazine Misha in the 1980s.

3. 1992

   to 2007

   Chapter 03

   The first Armenian comics

   Tigran Mangasaryan published the comics newspaper Sev, Spitak (Black, White) in 1992, described as the first comics newspaper in Armenia, and co-founded the Comix publishing house with Samvel Gasparyan in 1995. He drew two graphic novels commissioned by Catholicos Garegin I in 1995 and Silence, a graphic novel about the Armenian Genocide written by R. Tsaturyan, in 2005. Caricaturists including Arayik Ohanyan (Arzo) founded an Armenian cartoonists' association in 2004.

4. 2008

   to today

   Chapter 04

   Festivals, workshops and webcomics

   Jean Mardikian, co-founder of the Angouleme festival, and Varoujan Sirapian set up the Association for the Promotion of Comics in Armenia (APBDA) in 2008; it held comics festivals in Yerevan in 2008, 2009 and 2012 and trained young Armenian illustrators with French professionals. Newer Armenian comics appear mostly online, such as the social-issue webcomics of Comics.am and Edgar Soghomonyan's Maral The Art Lover (2023).

• VozniՈզնի1954 · comics magazineHrachya Kochar (first editor); chief artist Sergey Arutchyan. Illustrated satirical magazine published in Yerevan from 1954.
• Karmir MojakԿարմիր մոծակ1926 · comics magazineAramayis Yerznkyan and Eduard Khojik (editors). Soviet Armenian satirical weekly, 1926 to 1927.
• SaprichՍափրիչ1906 · comics magazineB. Galstyan (editor). Armenian literary and satirical illustrated monthly published in St Petersburg in 1906 and 1907, 12 issues.
• Sev, SpitakՍև, սպիտակ1992 · comics magazineTigran Mangasaryan. Described as the first comics newspaper in Armenia.
• SilenceԼռություն2005 · graphic novelR. Tsaturyan (writer) and Tigran Mangasaryan (artist). Graphic novel about the Armenian Genocide.

• Tigran MangasaryanՏիգրան ՄանգասարյանBorn 1959Founder of the comics newspaper Sev, Spitak (1992) and author of Armenian graphic novels.
• Sergey ArutchyanՍերգեյ Արուտչյան1912 to 1986Chief artist of the satirical magazine Vozni from 1954 to 1964.
• Georgi YaralyanԳեորգի Յարալյան1927 to 2011Soviet and post-Soviet caricaturist who drew for Vozni and later for the daily Azg.
• Arayik Ohanyan (Arzo)Արայիկ Օհանյան1965 to 2025Caricaturist and co-founder of the Armenian cartoonists' association in 2004.
• Tsolak GhandilyanՑոլակ Ղանդիլյան1943 to 2025Graphic artist and caricaturist for Vozni and other Yerevan periodicals.

• Edgar Soghomonyancartoonist
• Valentin PodpomogovՎալենտին Պոդպոմոգով1924 to 1998 · caricaturist
• Levon Khachatriancomics artist
• Harutyun ChalikyanՀարություն ՉալիկյանBorn 1943 · caricaturist
• Haik Ter-GhazaryanՀայկ Տեր-ՂազարյանBorn 1924 · caricaturist
• Mariam PetrosyanՄարիամ ՊետրոսյանBorn 1969 · cartoonist
• Agnes AvagyanԱգնես ԱվագյանBorn 1980 · caricaturist

• Minchev hogineri achurdeՄինչև հոգիների աճուրդը2008 · graphic novel
• Comics.amwebcomic
• Maral The Art Lover2023 · webcomic
• I khavare i luysԻ խավարե ի լույս1995 · graphic novel