Journals Showcase (Witryna Czasopism.pl)

The problem of picture publications of apparently popularising character is, however, that it is easy to fall into a black-and-white creation of the world, not demanding any thinking and to repeat the clichés of communist Poland’s comic books. It is not difficult when we take into consideration the fact that the young generation authors were brought up on the comic strips, and the 90-ties practically brought no new Polish comic books onto the market. The authors born in the 70-ties and 80-ties are readers of Kloss, Tytus or difficult-to-get Relax, the recipients of the old and unworthy comics’ tradition. Many of today’s maniacs and collectors of comic books were in their youth similar to Stanisław Barańczak’s son recalled in a sarcastic and intelligent essay Blurp! from the collection of essays Książki najgorsze (The Worst Books) (primarily published in an underground magazine “Zapis” (Entry) – footnote by the editors of “Lampa”). The later author of Chirurgiczna precyzja (Surgical Precision) examined the propaganda mechanism on the example of a cult comics magazine “Relax” to show how it influenced the mind of a little child. Today we can easily unmask that manipulation, but when one read “Relax” the Polish-Soviet friendship was obviousness, there was no evidence of the Katyń issue or Auschwitz concentration camp as its presence might have been crushing for an immature reader.