Over six hundred items from Wojciech Jama’s collection dating from 1871 until the present day, meetings with authors and publishers, lectures, film screenings, workshops, conferences – the Main Building of the National Museum in Krakow hosts the exhibition Comics Now!. The gallery of cartoon characters which have accompanied generations of Polish fans is opened by the now-forgotten protagonist of pre-war newspaper comic strips Jobless Froncek and the immortal Koziołek Matołek. Professor Filutek and his dog Filuś step down from the back cover of “Przekrój”, and we’ll be taking a peek into the studio of Papcio Chmiel where the story of Tytus, Romek and A’Tomek started sixty years ago. We’ll also visit the Slavic village of Mirmiłowo, home of Kajko and Kokosz, and join Jonek, Jonka and Kleks on a quest for a dragon’s egg and Alaskan gold, while Kudłaczek and Bąbelek take us to the soda water spring. More recent characters include the skateboarding Jeż Jerzy and Wilq battling neighbourhood crime.
This is the first time Polish comics step into the usually more serious museum salons. And it’s not just an opportunity to meet your favourite characters – you can also see how culture evolved during the last century through the prism of the medium. The exhibition opening coincides with the Kraków Comic Book Festival. (dd)
