Belarus.
комікс
Belarus
1945
комікс
Belarusian comics began in Soviet humour and children's magazines, above all the satirical Vozhyk, which grew out of a 1941 wartime poster and was published in Minsk from 1945.
A short boom followed in 1991 and 1992, when local publishers printed science fiction and horror comic books in runs of up to 200,000 copies and the youth magazine Biarozka ran comics in Belarusian. Since then new Belarusian comics have mostly appeared in small runs, while writers such as Alexei Zamsky have found work with Russian publishers.
13
14
1945
1990s
Artists from Belarus in the archive.
Comics from Belarus in the archive.
Vozhyk, the earliest comic from Belarus in the archive.
The decade when the most new comics from Belarus began.
комікс
Belarus in 3 chapters
A short history you can leaf through. Click a page, use the arrow keys, or press Turn the page to read on.
Belarus.
комікс
3 chapters
Chapter 1
1941
to 1988
Vozhyk and Soviet magazines
1941
to 1988
Chapter 01
Vozhyk and Soviet magazines
Vozhyk began in July 1941 as the propaganda poster Razdavim fashystskuyu gadzinu and became Minsk's satire and humour magazine in August 1945, printing caricatures by artists such as Anatol Volkau and Askold Churkin. Picture stories also appeared in children's magazines such as Vyasyolka, although comics as such were viewed as a Western influence.
1989
to 1996
Chapter 02
The comics boom
Biarozka published comics in Belarusian from 1989, including Adam Globus and Uladzimir Sciapan's 1991 version of Uladzimir Karatkevich's Dzikae palyavanne. In 1991 and 1992 publishers in Minsk and Maladzechna issued comic books such as Planeta Geya, Dze zhyli Bursoniki and Chorny labirynt in print runs of 100,000 to 200,000 copies.
1997
to today
Chapter 03
Small presses and new readers
Later in the 1990s kiosks filled with translated comics. New Belarusian titles came in small runs: the satire Andrei Trasianok (2011, 300 copies), Pra Kastusia (2013) from the Union of Belarusian Writers and FuryLion Studios' DreadCore: Anamnesis (2014), while the children's magazine Asciarozhna: dzieci! has built each issue around a comic since 2019.
The comics to know
- VozhykВожык1945 · comics magazineVarious caricaturists. Minsk satire and humour magazine, independent until the end of 2021.
- Planeta GeyaПланета Гэя1991 · graphic novelUladzimir Tsviatkou and Aliaksandr Karshakevich. Space adventure collection printed in 200,000 copies.
- Dzikae palyavanne1991Adam Globus and Uladzimir Sciapan. Comic after Uladzimir Karatkevich, published in Biarozka.
- Dze zhyli BursonikiДзе жылі бурсонікі1992 · graphic novelKanstancin Hardzeeu, Uladzimir Tsviatkou and Aliaksandr Karshakevich. Probably the first comics collection in Belarusian.
- Chorny labirynt1992Various. Horror and science fiction collection printed in 100,000 copies.
- Pra KastusiaПра Кастуся2013 · graphic novelUnion of Belarusian Writers. Comic after Karatkevich's play about Kastus Kalinouski.
The people to know
- Anatol VolkauАнатоль Валянцінавіч Волкаў1908 to 1985Satirical artist of Vozhyk from 1945 to 1980.
- Askold ChurkinАскольд Мікалаевіч Чуркін1930 to 1985Art editor of Vozhyk from 1959 to 1973.
- Piatro KozichПётр Серафімавіч КозічBorn 1950Vitebsk-region caricaturist with more than 5,000 cartoons.
- Adam GlobusАдам ГлобусBorn 1958Writer and artist behind an early Belarusian-language comic.
- Uladzimir TsviatkouУладзімір ЦвяткоўCo-author of the early-1990s comic books.
- Aliaksandr KarshakevichАляксандр Пятровіч КаршакевічBorn 1956Caricaturist and co-author of the early-1990s comic books.
- Alexei ZamskyАлексей ЗамскийBelarusian writer of the Russian series Igor Grom.
More artists from Belarus
More comics from Belarus
- Asciarozhna: dzieci!Асцярожна: дзеці!2019 · comics magazine
- Andrei Trasianok and the Riddle of Kalinouski SquareАндрэй Трасянок і загадка плошчы Каліноўскага2011 · graphic novel
- Storm CloudsГрозовые облака1991 · graphic novel
- The Wild HuntДзікае паляванне1991 · comic strip
- DreadCore: Anamnesis2014 · graphic novel
- Dzurrai!Дзуррай!1991 · graphic novel
- Tarzan comic cycle1990 · comic book series
- PoslantsyПосланцы1992 · graphic novel
- Klyaksa-Vaksa i Yanka z DzivnahorskaКлякса-Вакса і Янка з Дзіўнагорска1994 · comic strip
- The Black LabyrinthЧерный лабиринт1992 · graphic novel