Visit-Montenegro.com: Comic Strip Artists from the Region

Herceg Novi- Despite numerous financial difficulties, the third comic strip festival was opened in the theater in Herceg on Friday night. The visitors could see comic strips created last year, in the workshop of the Festival, and attend DJ party, as well.
The participants of the festival are comic-strip artists from Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Within six days of the festival, numerous exhibitions and workshops will be organized and the visitors will have a chance to watch films and theater performances.
The film “Oda Edi” (“Ode to Edo”) and comic strip exhibition will mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Edo Buković- a famous Croatian comic-artist. It will be held in “Dvorana Park”. His first comic “Dokaz” (“The Proof”) was published at his eighteenth birthday in 1987 in the comic book magazine “Patak”, where he created his famous character “Salvatore”. It tells a story of a little leper, who constantly loses parts of his body. Occasionally, Edo Buković worked for the German magazine called “Gespenster”.
He created the stories for this magazine together with Darko Macan. Their other stories were published in “Citati” (“Quotes”), in two parts, in 1993 and 2000. From 1992 to 1994 he worked for ”Modra lasta” and during this period he created the comic strip “Koko”, based on the popular novels of Ivan Kušan. From 1993 he mostly worked for US publishers.
The exhibition of Aleksa Gajić, the creator of the comic strip “Bič bozji” (“The Scourge of God”) will be organized in the gallery “Sue Ryder”. This comic was created in France eleven years ago, and it is one of the best-selling comics. Marko Vujosevic will present his alternative comic strip on Kanli kula (“Kanli Tower”). Tihomir Tikulin from Zagreb and Vlado Vesovic from Belgrade will be in charge of creative workshops. The visitors will have to opportunity to attend the International Comics Showroom, SKC, Belgrade, as well.
Comic strip art is coming to its best world wide, while in Montenegro it is still in the “phase of awakening”, the organizer and the director of the festival, Nikola Ćurčin, said, convinced that this festival contributed to the development of comic strip in Montenegro. He also believes that the further development of comic strip art is impossible unless comic strip magazine is started.
The festival, which was almost canceled due to financial problems- will be held owing to the enthusiasm of the organizers. It will cost EUR 3.500

By S.K.