Kosovo.
Kosovo's comics grew out of newspaper caricature, which began in the paper Rilindja around the Second World War and was shaped by Aqif Kajmakçiu, and English Wikipedia notes that Albanian-language comics were made mainly by authors from Kosovo.
The best-known home-grown strip is Agim Qena's Tafë Kusuri in Rilindja, later continued by his son Rron Qena in Koha Ditore, while magazines such as Strip Arti, Hareja and Hapi Alternativ kept comics going in the 1990s. Kosovo-born Gani Jakupi, who built a career in French-language graphic novels, founded the GRAN Fest comics festival in his homeland in 2019.
14
15
1992
2010s
Artists from Kosovo in the archive.
Comics from Kosovo in the archive.
Matador, the earliest comic from Kosovo in the archive.
The decade when the most new comics from Kosovo began.
stripa
Kosovo in 3 chapters
A short history you can leaf through. Click a page, use the arrow keys, or press Turn the page to read on.
Kosovo.
3 chapters
Chapter 1
1965
to 1989
Rilindja cartoonists
1965
to 1989
Chapter 01
Rilindja cartoonists
Caricature, first seen in Rilindja and the satirical leaflet Fshesa, grew through the magazine Thumbi and Rilindja's supplement Anza, and Rilindja made the names of cartoonists such as Nexhat Krasniqi (Nekra), Ramadan Zaplluzha and Fahri Axhanela, who has drawn since 1965. Agim Qena became Rilindja's regular cartoonist in 1974 and drew the popular strip Tafë Kusuri, and Gani Jakupi published his first comic at 13 in a regional Albanian-language magazine.
1990
to 1999
Chapter 02
Comics in the parallel decade
After Rilindja closed in 1990, cartoonists moved to papers such as Koha Ditore, Bujku and Bota Sot, and the comics magazine Strip Arti was published in Pristina during the years of parallel institutions. Hareja and the alternative-arts magazine Hapi Alternativ also printed comics, and a Soros Foundation comics school ran in 1997 and 1998 until the war ended it.
2000
to today
Chapter 03
Koha Ditore, Rrota and GRAN Fest
Koha Ditore's children's supplement Vizatori (2000 to 2005) and the Rrota magazine Pishpiriku printed local comics, a Kosovo association of comic artists was founded in 2002, and the Kosovacartoon biennial was held in 2006, 2007 and 2009. Gani Jakupi's Imazhi i fundit (2013) is described as the first comic album published in Albanian, and in 2019 he launched GRAN Fest.
The comics to know
- Tafë Kusuricomic stripAgim Qena, later Rron Qena. Described as the first comic strip published in Kosovo, in Rilindja, later in Koha Ditore.
- Strip Articomics magazineLocal and international authors. Albanian comics magazine published in Pristina in the 1990s until funding ran out.
- Matador1992 · comic book seriesGani Jakupi and Hugues Labiano. Three albums published by Glénat from 1992 to 1994.
- Le Roi invisible2009 · graphic novelGani Jakupi. Jazz-themed album from Futuropolis that won the Brick d'Or in Toulouse.
- Retour au Kosovo2014 · graphic novelGani Jakupi and Jorge González. Graphic novel on the first post-war months in Kosovo, special jury prize at Romics 2015.
The people to know
- Aqif KajmakçiuCredited with laying the foundation of Kosovar caricature.
- Agim Qena1950 to 2005Rilindja cartoonist and creator of Tafë Kusuri.
- Nexhat Krasniqi (Nekra)Award-winning caricaturist whose Studio Nekra ran the Kosovacartoon biennial.
- Jeton MikullovciBorn 1964Daily political cartoonist of Koha Ditore since 1997.
- Gani JakupiBorn 1956Graphic novelist working in France and Spain, founder of GRAN Fest.
More artists from Kosovo
More comics from Kosovo
- Le Serpent à deux têtes2022 · graphic novel
- Vizatori2000 to 2005 · comics magazine
- Pishpicomic strip
- Jour de grâce2010 · graphic novel
- La dernière imageImazhi i fundit2012 · graphic novel
- Leoncomics magazine
- El Comandante Yankee2019 · graphic novel
- Barcelona, âme noire2024 · graphic novel
- Les amants de Sylvia2010 · graphic novel
- Rrotelatcomic strip