Lithuania.
Lithuania
1910
Lithuanian comics began in the illustrated press: one of the first Lithuanian-language comics appeared in 1910 in Dagis, a satirical monthly of Lithuanians in America, and Jonas Martinaitis drew verse comic strips for interwar papers and published the first Lithuanian comics album, Žemės vaikai, in 1939.
In Soviet times comics lived on in the satirical magazine Šluota and in children's series in Genys such as Paršiuko Čiuko nuotykiai (1970 to 1998), the longest-running Lithuanian comic. After a slump in the 1990s, a revival from about 2012 has produced graphic novels such as 10 litų (2014) and Sibiro haiku (2017).
19
16
1910
2010s
Artists from Lithuania in the archive.
Comics from Lithuania in the archive.
Juozas Rudzis iš Merkinės, the earliest comic from Lithuania in the archive.
The decade when the most new comics from Lithuania began.
komiksas
Lithuania in 4 chapters
A short history you can leaf through. Click a page, use the arrow keys, or press Turn the page to read on.
Lithuania.
4 chapters
Chapter 1
1910
to 1940
Picture stories in the press
1910
to 1940
Chapter 01
Picture stories in the press
The comic Juozas Rudzis iš Merkinės ran in 1910 in Dagis, an illustrated satirical monthly of the Lithuanian community in America. Between the wars picture stories appeared in the Catholic magazine Lurdas, the satirical Aitvaras and the children's magazines Žiburėlis and Saulutė, and Jonas Martinaitis, who began drawing for the press around 1927, became one of its most popular contributors with four-panel strips in verse. His album Žemės vaikai (1939) was the first Lithuanian comics book.
1956
to 1990
Chapter 02
Šluota, Genys and the Soviet press
The satirical magazine Šluota, published in Vilnius from 1956, printed R. Palčiauskas's comic series from 1966 and later work by Vitalijus Suchockis and others. The children's magazine Genys ran Paršiuko Čiuko nuotykiai from 1970, drawn by Juozas Kasčiūnas and from 1974 by Suchockis, and Arvydas Pakalnis's Micius ir Pykštukas from 1983, while the paper Valstiečių laikraštis has printed its weekly comic character Anupras Dirvelė since January 1967.
1990
to 2011
Chapter 03
Independence and a thin market
Pranas Šarpnickis launched BUS DAR, the first Lithuanian comics magazine, in 1993 and made it a weekly in 1994, but under strong Western competition local comics faded and translated series did not last. Fans kept the field alive online, and members of Audrius Kaminskas's comics forum published the zine Balionas.
2012
to today
Chapter 04
Revival and the graphic novel
From 2012 the volunteer group Kitokia grafika organised exhibitions, workshops and zines, a comics centre opened at the Šiauliai library in 2015, and Vilnius held its first international comics festival that year. Miglė Anušauskaitė and Gerda Jord's 10 litų (2014) won the Patriots' Prize, and Jurga Vilė and Lina Itagaki's Sibiro haiku (2017), about Soviet deportations, won the German Youth Literature Prize in 2021.
The comics to know
- Žemės vaikai1939 · graphic novelJonas Martinaitis. The first Lithuanian comics album.
- Anupras Dirvelė1967 · comic stripJuozas Kasčiūnas, later Alius Tarabilda and Rimantas Dovydėnas. Weekly comic character in Valstiečių laikraštis.
- Paršiuko Čiuko nuotykiai1970 · comic stripJuozas Kasčiūnas and Vitalijus Suchockis. Ran in Genys until 1998, the longest-running Lithuanian comic.
- Šluota1956 · comics magazinevarious cartoonists. Soviet-era satirical magazine that printed comic series from 1966.
- 10 litų2014 · graphic novelMiglė Anušauskaitė and Gerda Jord. Long comic about the aviators Darius and Girėnas; Patriots' Prize 2015.
- Sibiro haiku2017 · graphic novelJurga Vilė and Lina Itagaki. Graphic novel about deportation to Siberia; German Youth Literature Prize 2021.
The people to know
- Jonas Martinaitis1898 to 1947Regarded as the pioneer of Lithuanian comics.
- Vitalijus Suchockis1946 to 2025Artist of Paršiuko Čiuko nuotykiai from 1974.
- Juozas KasčiūnasFirst artist of Paršiukas Čiukas and Anupras Dirvelė.
- Arvydas PakalnisCreator of Micius ir Pykštukas in Genys.
- Lina Itagakiリナ板垣Born 1979Artist of Sibiro haiku.
- Miglė AnušauskaitėCo-author of 10 litų.
More artists from Lithuania
All 19 artists- Gerda Jordcomics artist
- Tomas Mitkuscomics artist
- Rimantas Dovydėnascartoonist
- Alius Tarabildacartoonist
- Jurga VilėBorn 1977 · writer
- Andrius TapinasBorn 1977 · writer
- Stepas Žukas1904 to 1946 · cartoonist
- Leonidas Vorobjovas1949 to 2013 · cartoonist
- Pranas ŠarpnickisBorn 1967 · editor
- Teodoras Četrauskas1944 to 2024 · writer
- Ed Moritz1903 to 1975 · comics artist
- Jonas VarnasBorn 1936 · cartoonist
More comics from Lithuania
- Aitvaras1927 to 1928 · comics magazine
- Genys1940 to 2001 · comics magazine
- Grybo auksas2021 · graphic novel
- Micius ir Pykštukas1983 to 1998 · comic strip
- Sidabras: nuotykiai Arizonoje2015 · graphic novel
- BUS DAR1993 · comics magazine
- Kyoko in Lietuvacomic book series
- Still without name2012 · comics magazine
- Gertrūda: grafinis Y kartos dienoraštis2016 · graphic novel
- Juozas Rudzis iš Merkinės1910 · comic strip