Cykly šprýmovných obrázků
A Series of Jolly Pictures

The Early Non-periodical Publishing Platforms of Czech Comic Strips 1911–1933

Summary/Abstract: Most Czech comic strips (or cartoon series) appeared in the 20th century on the pages of various kinds of periodicals. They were traditionally to be found in occasional or regular, one-off or periodical newspaper and magazine serializations, and the cartoon series was, at least initially, perceived primarily as a magazine (or out-and-out journalistic) genre. From 1911, at the latest, when the Vilímek publishing house issued two large-format albums called Humoru kvítky pro hodné dítky (Jolly Little Flowers for Good Children), publishing platforms for more extensive one-off specialized publications began to appear at the same time. These were anthologies or collections of cartoon series, and (a little later) in more substantial book form, which premiered comic strips of both domestic and foreign provenance. This paper traces the early development and changes in these separate publication formats, focusing on the printing of cartoon series outside the context of periodicals. It records the advertising and self-defence strategies adopted by publishers and promoters when presenting and advertising non-traditional, ‘unsettled’ types of content (it thematizes, for example, the discrepancy between the formal changes and stated age inscription) and captures the gradual type differentiation of these formats (sets, collections, translation albums, and original, previously unprinted, extensive comic book works). It also addresses the rather fragmentary period critical reflection on the emerging forms of publication.

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