Georgi Chepilev: Formation of the Bulgarian Comics Genres in the Period 1890-1980 II

Първа част: 28 май 2022

The first realistic Bulgarian comics are from the field of history , fairytale and adventure (naive exoticism). The editors do not abandon the narrative form, but as poets seek out subjects that are appropriate for the time. Even today, when we consider Alexander Denkov's "Brave Eskimo", which presents the idea that it is noble to fight for food among the icy wasteland, we reasonably think - how much more important is the issue for people who struggle for food among the abundance.

6. Page from the comic “Hrabriyat eskimos” ("The Brave Eskimo") from the “Chuden svyat” ("The Wonderful World") magazine by Aleksandur Denkov

Socialist comic book

After this golden classic period, an unfortunate episode descended on the Bulgarian comics, interrupting continuity through socialism and turning them into a propaganda educational tool of full state budget support. During totalitarianism, comics were published under strict scrutiny and largely centralized only in the capital. In addition, the availability of documentary materials for research into the history of Bulgarian comics was difficult, and most of the children's comics for ideological reasons were on the banned and burned list. Even today, pre-socialist comics are still difficult to find in Bulgaria. They remained hidden here and there by the predatory eye of enemies and rivals of the comics, the remains of old Bulgarian comics, but during socialism for fear of a concentration camp, they were not mentioned. It is unknown whether today there is a collector in Bulgaria who has full anniversaries of these newspapers. Even libraries do not have some comic books.