Centrala

When Norbert asked me to write an introduction to his comic I was honoured, but also a little lost. I have never attempted something like that before and I didn't know where to start? With a wise quote? Cultural reference? How to tie it all together? Right now I am literally just a few minutes after visiting Casa Batlló, probably the most complex realisation of Antonio Gaudi, the famous modernist architect and visionary from Catalonia. I am going to tell you one thing- this comic is like this building. Via its subtly bent doors it invites [you] into its remarkable interior full of intricately twisted lines, how very pedestrian in their application. Because, all appearances aside, Casa Batlló is a regular tenement building. There is probably nothing more prosaic then that for a building. But for its inhabitants, living in the interiors inspired by the sea flora and fauna, must have been a real adventure. Likewise "Staring from the Hill" simply talks about the every-day reality of a group of friends, who above all cherish their mutual company, music and juice. And similar to Gaudi's works all of that is served with a handful of surrealism, love of colour, light and form, and gigantic dose of vision. Flipping the pages is like climbing up a twisted staircase - you never know what might lurk around the next bend. There are only two things which are certainone, that shortly you will reach yet another astounding floor, and the other, that at the end of it you will be lead to the rooftop adorned with a ceramic dragon, where you can see a really beautiful panorama of Barcelona. This comic really is like Gaudi's architecture. You will find out yourselves. Just let the rhythm of the staircase carry you. The only remaining thing is to wish the author that, like the architect of La Sagrada Familia, he may be appreciated by us - his contemporaries. And that thanks to this he obtains the means necessary to allow us to climb the stairs of his imagination towards the sky, which, as you will find out after reading "Staring from the Hill", will never be the same again. Jan Sidorownin

Wage Slaves is a comic book where the question: 'What idiot said that with just a little bit of work everyone can succeed?' resonates with the protagonist Daria. She has neither hope nor prospects for a great career. She does not have the time nor energy to draw, let alone sleep. This reality is contrary to that of the hipster's life in Malmo. Their Facebook photos and the late night curries she serves them are the only excitement for the 25 year old Daria.

An anthology of Polish women's comics. Blood illustrates the range of meanings that blood bears, from its mythological aspect (the magical powers attributed to menstrual blood), through the symbolism of heredity - the inevitable genealogical continuity, through revenge and violence, to strong connotations with physical pain. Blood also touches upon various layers in terms of art, not limiting itself to comics. In this anthology, there are references to Frans Masereel's and Lynd Ward's woodcut pre-comics; subtle portraits; the simplicity of cartoon art; photomontage and psychedelic references to science-fiction.

Over 120 works where received for Comic Cookbook competition during 6th international comics culture festival Ligatura, Poznań, Poland. The anthology includes 93 works by artists from Australia, Austria, Argentina Sweden, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, UK, USA.

In a small town there lives a lady astronomer. Every evening she looks at the moon through her telescope. She knows it like the back of her own hand. Even in her sleep she can name all the mountains, the craters and the oceans of the silvery globe. One night she makes an amazing discovery. Can it be that there's an elephant living on the moon? The members of the Moon Society refuse to believe her. Elephant on the Moon is a richly illustrated tale of courage, passion and determination. Although it is directed mainly at younger readers, it refers to serious events. Sir Paul Neal in the seventeenth century - one of the astronomers of the Royal Society - is supposed to have been the first to observe an elephant on the moon. At the time, his discovery provoked much confusion and fired the imaginations of many writers. Thanks to Samuel Butler's satirical account, the story reached France. Fontaine himself wrote a tale about it - "Un animal dans la lune." Almost 350 years later Gosia Herba and Mikolaj Pasiński have come back to this story of the moon, and out of it they have spun a new tale full of adventure.

The semi-autobiographical graphic novel about young girl facing bullying and struggling for acceptance by Anja Dahle Overbye won the Norwegian Comic of the Year award in 2016. It is an impressive debut book that has drawn inspiration from North-Western Norway where she grew up. Dog days are a phenomenon taking place in late summer. According to folklore, the dog days are extremely hot, muck floats up to the surface of water, food goes bad and dogs may more easily go mad. It is at this time of year we meet Anne, who is mid-way between childhood and adolescence. The intensely stifling, sultry weather that summer affects her relationships with both her friends and family. Her best friend Marielle wants to hang out with slightly older Carrie. When the two of them strike up a friendship, Anne is left out. She is too young to go to the youth club, and too restless to find anything else to do. Can she and Marielle become close friends again? And what is she willing to do to make that happen? The images are sensitively portrayed in detailed pencil drawings and display keen insight into human nature. The scenery of Western Norway plays a central role in the story.

"Sorina Vazelina's fun and poignant cartoons about ageing makes for compelling reading. She is a talented artist taking on very serious issues and subjects with a wonderfully quirky yet thoughtful approach. Very much worth thumbing through." -- Ginanne Brownell Mitic, arts journalist and founder of insidefullofcolor.com, a website focused on arts and culture in central and eastern Europe "It is a book that straddles many styles and approaches to communicating ideas and stories. Some moments appear like sketchbook watercolours and others like clean and intellectual New Yorker Magazine cartoons. The personality on display changes from story to story but retains that experimental edge throughout." -- Antony Esmond, downthetubes.net