Serbian comics
In 1932 Veseli četvrtak (Merry Thursday), an illustrated magazine for children, appeared in Belgrade; an unusually large amount of space was allotted to cartoons.
Although he died at the age of 27,[2] Navojev was a prolific author who created a number of characters for Strip, of which jungle girl Tarcaneta (Tarzanette) is best-known today.
[3] In 1935, inspired by the adventures of Alex Raymond's X-9, Vlastimir Belkić created the first original character in Serbian comics named Hari Vils.
[4] Similarly, other two Russian immigrants, artist Đorđe Lobačev and writer Vadim Kurganski, began working on their first comic, called Krvavo nasledstvo (Bloody Heritage), serialized in the illustrated periodical Panorama.
In order to boost sales in the western parts of Yugoslavia (today's Croatia and Slovenia), some publications were printed not only in the Serbian Cyrillic but also Latin alphabet.
Some of the titles were reprinted in French and Turkish magazines,[10] while Zigomar was also published in Bulgaria, Italy, Brazil, Argentina and more recently in Australia.
After World War II some authors were executed as collaborators by the new communist regime or forced to emigrate because of their work in collaborationist newspapers or on propaganda posters.
[23] Nevertheless, back in the 1950s comic magazines like Robinzon (Robinson) and Veseli zabavnik were still censored, but even the Yugoslav People's Army started publishing some.
[25] It was launched by Borba in 1957, featuring French comics such as Lucky Luke, Smurfs and Chlorophylle, but also domestic titles, including the works of "the second generation" of creators, like Aleksandar Hecl of Vinetu (Winnetou) fame.
[27] The title was serialized in the Nikad robom comic book series, which also printed works by Petar Radičević (Mystery Knight), Radivoj Bogičević (Akant), Božidar Veselinović (Dabiša) and Živorad Atanacković (Hajduk Veljko), all inspired by the history of the South Slavs.
The same publisher launched a number of other magazines, including Zenit and Biblioteka Lale (which first reprinted Marvel comics in Yugoslavia) and Eks almanah (which introduced DC superheroes, among others).
In 1968 Dnevnik launched Zlatna serija and Lunov magnus strip, featuring Italian comic books such as Tex and Zagor.
[38] The list included artists Branko Plavšić, Goran Đukić, Miodrag Ivanović, Pavel Koza, Marinko Lebović, Petar Meseldžija, Milan Miletić, Sibin Slavković and Dragan Stokić Rajački.
A frequent contributor was Miodrag Milanović, a prolific author who also co-created series such as Izvidnik Rod, Larami, Franjo Kluz, El Vertigo and Barba Plima.
Also, authors worked for publishers outside Serbia, e.g. artists Dušan Reljić, Bojan Đukić, Ratomir Petrović, Zdravko Zupan, Nikola Maslovara, Zoran Kovačević and Askanio Popović,[40] as well as writer Lazar Odanović collaborated on the licensed Tom and Jerry comics for Vjesnik.
Darko Perović collaborated with writer Enrique Abuli before he started working on Magico Vento (written by Gianfranco Manfredi) for Sergio Bonelli Editore.
[44] In 1998 Aleksa Gajić graduated with Technotise (graphic novel written by Darko Grkinić) from the University of Arts in Belgrade and went on to work for Soleil Productions as the illustrator on Scourge of the Gods.
Before he started working for Dupuis, artist Milan Jovanović (of Carthago and Jason Brice fame) teamed up with Croatian writer Darko Macan to produce La Bête Noire in 2002;[52] the five-part series was published by Zlatko Milenković, editor of the pioneering Strip vesti web portal, and reprinted in France in 2018 by Inukshuk Éditions.
[57] Forum's successor Marketprint revamped Stripoteka after an eight-year break in 1999[58] and introduced Akira in 2002,[59] officially the first manga title in Serbia.
A decade later, authors like Danilo Milošev Wostok, Saša Mihajlović, Danijel Savović, Radovan Popović, Nikola Vitković, Lazar Bodroža and many others gathered around self-published editions and managed to create original and authentic works.
[64] Some authors would eventually try their hand at mainstream, like Leonid Pilipović[65] and Tihomir Čelanović,[66] or turn to illustration, like Neda Dokić,[67] Milan Pavlović [68] and Boban Savić.
As of 2018, the best-selling graphic novel in recent history has been Sat (Watch), a WW1 story written by Dragan Lazarević De Lazare and drawn by Vujadin Radovanović Vuja with colors by Rade Tovladijac; it was distributed in 120,000 copies via daily Večernje novosti to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice of 11 November 1918,[83] similar to the Front Lines series.
In 2019 a text-based video-game[84] loosely based on Miloš Slavković's Lightstep Chronicles comic was developed by Eipix Entertainment; the book itself was funded on Kickstarter in 2017[85] and published by Dark Horse a year later.
[86] It was not the only Serbian comic that inspired a video game, as Cruciform: Defiance by Vitković and Rajšić served as a prequel to 2007's Genesis Rising: The Universal Crusade.
[87][88] In 2018 Radio Television of Vojvodina aired Kvadrati i oblačići (Panels and word-balloons), a documentary series featuring interviews with local authors.
