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Czech HistoryJaroslav Foglar and his “Rapid Arrows”
Writer and youth movement activist Jaroslav Foglar left a deep trace in
Czech popular culture. Besides more than 25 novels for children, Jaroslav
Foglar is also the father of Rychlé šípy, or “Rapid Arrows”, a
legendary comics that has earned a following with generations of Czech
readers. Persecuted by the Nazis and the communists, the writer also
single-handedly founded his own youth organization which, in its heyday,
had tens of thousands of members across the country. More
ArtsAuthor Jaroslav Rudiš discusses Alois Nebel – original graphic novel and animated film focussing on the fog of history and troubled European past
In this week’s Arts, I speak to Jaroslav Rudiš, the author of an
influential graphic novel (trilogy, actually) that delves into the fog of
history and troubled Central European past. The story of Alois Nebel – a
slightly mad railwayman working in a remote border region – it has been
made into a new film that premiered last week in the Czech Republic after
being featured in festivals in Venice and Toronto. More
Current AffairsFirst Czech movie using rotoscoping technique to premiere at Venice film festival
Alois Nebel, the first Czech film that was produced with the rotoscoping
technique – a process that renders images shot with actors in a unique
black-and-white cartoon style – will be premiering at the prestigious
International Film Festival in Venice this weekend. The movie, based on a
cartoon novel by Jaroslav Rudiš that has garnered a cult following, is
highly anticipated by Czech cinema lovers. Ahead of its premiere abroad, I
caught up with Alois Nebel producer Pavel Strnad and asked him about the
special technique it was made with, the film’s director and what category
the movie will be shown in at the festival. More
ArtsJames Stafford – Author of The Sorrowful Putto of Prague
In this week’s Arts, my guest is Welsh writer James Stafford, the author
of a wonderfully irreverent new webcomic The Sorrowful Putto of Prague.
The
comic tells the story of a 400-year-old putto (or cherub) named Xavier
living in the city and it has captured the attention of both Czech and
English-language readers. After looking up the site myself, I was curious
to learn more about Xavier and his world. Luckily James Stafford – who
is
not usually based in Prague – was able to come to the studio to discuss
the project. More
Czech BooksViktor Janiš and the art of jumping through linguistic hoops
Why did the communists ban comics? Why is it so hard to translate the 19th
century English novel into Czech? And what does this have to do with a 17th
century battle in Prague? We find some of the answers in this week’s
Czech Books, with David Vaughan. More
Current AffairsNew tome maps history of comics in Czechoslovakia
Fans of Czech comic books or series have a fascinating new tome to pore
over, the just released Encyklopedie komiksu (The Comics Encyclopaedia).
The book covers series and strips published in Czechoslovakia between the
years 1945 to 1989. Under the Communists, the art form was largely frowned
upon as a Western one, but continuing series were regularly published on
the back page of ABC, a long-running science magazine aimed at young
readers, still published today. More
SpecialBest of One on One 2009
In this special New Year’s Day programme, we look back at some of the
best of our interview programme One on One in 2009. Among those featured:
Catholic intellectual Martin C Putna, historian Igor Lukeš, academic
Peter
Demetz, former Radio Prague man John Tregellas, jazz musician Rudy Linka
and the great American cartoonist Robert Crumb. More
SpecialCartoonists Robert Crumb and Aline Kominsky-Crumb discuss working together – and much more
The great American artist, illustrator and writer Robert Crumb has been
described as the father of underground comics. His wife Aline
Kominsky-Crumb is also a successful cartoonist, known for her
autobiographical stories. I met the Crumbs at the start of this year’s
Prague Writers’ Festival, where they are among the special guests.
Assuming that when they started out cartooning would not have been
regarded
as literature, when did their art form begin to win respect? More
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