In 2016 buying a comic book was quite a challenge. There were barely a dozen comic shops all around Ukraine. Finding a graphic novel in regular bookstores was like searching for a needle in a haystack and most Ukrainian publishers wouldn’t bother to print them. Thus, personally, it meant an hour-long trip all around the city to get myself a printed copy in Russian.
It felt wrong for me, for comic shops and for other customers as Russia had been waging a proxy war in the eastern part of our country for two years already.
“There is no such nation as Ukrainian, and there is no such language as Ukrainian,” Russian propagandists were proclaiming daily.
It was, of course, a blatant lie. Yet, there I was, struggling my way through the pages of Brian Michael Bendis’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” wrestling with Russian words, some of which were unfamiliar.
Why were there no Ukrainian translations back then? Mostly because of the prejudices of the publishers. At book festivals, they argued that the Ukrainian audience had little interest in this literary genre, deeming the publication of comic books a risky financial venture. That’s why Ukrainian comic shops peddled graphic novels translated into Russian — a language more familiar to many Ukrainians than English due to Russian colonization and the centuries-long occupation of our land.
The will of the people
Despite the publishers’ initial skepticism, the hunger for comic books remained on the rise. Massive comic conventions had been taking place in the capital since 2015, drawing crowds of thousands. The sight of people flocking to cosplay shows, attending pop-culture lectures, grabbing snacks, geeky accessories, clothes and, of course, comic books, might have come as a surprise for the publishers.
Those conventions revealed to many of us the works of Ukrainian comic book authors for the first time. The group of those daring creators was indeed very small, but the significance of their work was grand and obvious — they were creating comic books in Ukrainian.
That alone was reason enough for us to dash to the stands and grab a few copies. Historical Witcher-esque detective tales, urban spy series and comics inspired by Ukrainian classic literature — all of it was truly inspiring.
And finally, in 2017, 26 years after Ukraine declared its independence, we got our first DC Comics in Ukrainian, published by “Ridna Mova.” It was the start of a chain reaction.
The will of our time
Now the second year of Russia’s full-scale invasion has come to an end. As Iran-made drones and Russian rockets explode all over the city each couple of days, there are no comic-cons anymore, at least for now. Holding one would be too risky. However, the love for graphic novels is flourishing.
Since 2017 many publishers have started translating and printing comic books — Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, IDW and much more. Last month it was a challenge for me to buy “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi — most of the copies were sold out. Recently, the same could be said about the Pulitzer-winning “Maus”, and Scott Snyder’s “Batman” volumes are nowhere to be found in many bookstores. The demand just keeps growing.
In January, a large Ukrainian book publisher “Vivat” announced plans to release their first graphic novels in 2024. Titles include Tom King’s “Batman – One Bad Day: The Riddler,” Ram V’s and Christian Ward’s “Aquaman: Andromeda,” Jennifer Muro’s and Thomas Krajewski’s “Primer” and more. All of this is happening amid the largest war in Europe since WWII, despite the economic and social challenges bundled with it.
It can’t help but remind of the times of World War II, when stories about Captain America, Wonder Woman, Superman, Captain Marvel and others rapidly gained popularity amidst global tragedy and massive bloodshed. Back then, art mingled with propaganda, stories mirrored a selfless fight against a formidable foe, offering people a glimmer of hope.
Maybe in Ukraine today, we’re catching a faint echo of those times. And, to be frank, it wouldn’t be surprising.
This article was featured in our Winter 2024 Daily Planet Magazine. You can read, print and/or download the issue for free here.
