Kajko i Kokosz
Encyclopedia
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series by Janusz Christa
Janusz Christa
Janusz Christa was a Polish author of comic books, creator of the comic book series Kajtek i Koko and his perhaps most famous, Kajko i Kokosz series. He debuted in 1957 and many of his works have been printed in the Wieczór Wybrzeza and Świat Młodych magazines...
, published in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
between 1970's and 1980s. It is based around a story of two Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
s named Kajko and Kokosz, loosely resembling both Asterix
Asterix
Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix is a series of French comic books written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo . The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on October 29, 1959...
and Obelix
Obelix
Obelix is a fictional character from the French comic book series Asterix. He works as a menhir sculptor and deliveryman, and is Asterix's best friend. Obelix is noted for his fatness, the menhirs he carries around on his back and his superhuman strength...
, as well as two personalities from Christa's earlier series on Kajtek i Koko (set in contemporary and science-fiction background). The series included 20 volumes, as well as a number of shorter stories published in various magazines. In 2006 a short, animated, 3D movie was made.
The series was largely popular in Poland and has been re-edited several times. It was also the basis of several computer games. Recently, several volumes were translated into other languages including Kashubian
Kashubian language
Kashubian or Cassubian is one of the Lechitic languages, a subgroup of the Slavic languages....
and Silesian, as well as a dialect used by highlanders from Podhale
Podhale
The Podhale is Poland's most southern region, sometimes referred to as the "Polish highlands". The Podhale is located in the foothills of the Tatra range of the Carpathian mountains, and is characterized by a rich tradition of folklore that is much romanticized in the Polish patriotic imagination...
.
Main characters in the series include castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
Mirmił, hypochondriac ruler of the village of Mirmiłowo, where Kajko and Kokosz serve as the warriors; Lubawa, dominating wife of Mirmił; small dragon Miluś; benevolent witch Jaga; her husband, the good bandit Łamignat (Bonebreaker), and the antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
s of the series: military knight order of Zbójcerze (Banditknights), based on the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
, led by Hegemon, with his second in command, Hitler-like Kapral (Corporal) and Schweik-like Oferma (Loser).
The stories are written in tongue-in-cheek manner and contain light satirical elements, usually puns concerning reality of living in Communist-ruled Poland with characters sometimes mentioning labour unions, bureaucracy, commodity shortages and similar themes.
Albums in the series Kajko i Kokosz
- Złoty puchar ("The golden chalice") (3 parts) - also known as Złote prosię ("The golden pig")
- Szranki i konkury (3 parts) ("The tournaments")
- Woje Mirmiła (3 parts) ("Mirmił's warriors")
- continued in Rozprawa z Dajmiechem ("The battle with Dajmiech")
- Szkoła latania ("The Flight Academy")
- Szkoła furganio (Silesian edition)
- Wielki turniej ("The great tournament")
- Ogromniasto gońba (highlander dialect edition)
- Na wczasach ("The holiday")
- Na latowisku (Cassubian edition)
- Zamach na Milusia ("The assassination attempt on Miluś")
- Skarby Mirmiła ("The treasures of Mirmił)
- Cudowny lek ("The miraculous cure")
- Festiwal czarownic ("The witch festival")
- Dzień Śmiechały ("The day of Laughter")
- W krainie borostworów ("The Land of Forestlings")
- Mirmił w opałach ("Mirmił in trouble")
- Urodziny Milusia ("The birthday of Miluś") - this book is a set of short stories some set before events in "Cudowny lek".
The Characters
- Kajko – A small but clever, brave and very resourceful warrior. He has a kind nature and always stands for justice. He lives with his best friend Kokosz.
- Kokosz – Best friend of Kajko. Almost the complete opposite of Kajko, he is large, fat and bald, and usually is shown to represent the worst habits – he always goes with his gut, appears to be self-centered and sometimes either aggressive or cowardly. He is however incredibly strong. In the first book, Kokosz is shown to believe that he is as strong as his shadow is long (depending on the time at that moment).
- Mirmił – The prince of Mirmiłowo, the village where Kajko and Kokosz live. He is a small man with a large red moustache. While good hearted, he occasionally appears to be pompous and melancholic – as a running gag, Mirmił often openly considers committing suicide whenever a problem appears to be unsolvable.
- Lubawa – Mirmił's large and somehow more assertive wife. She often appears to be in control of her husband.
- Jaga (named “Zielacha” in the first book) – A good witch and Kokosz's aunt. While in the first book she appears to be more of a clever con artist and a fake, as the series went along, she became a real witch, with powerful magic powers. Her appearance also changed from an ugly old hag to much more pleasant and younger looking lady. Her name is a reference to Baba Jaga a witch from Polish fairy tales and folklore. She has a talking pet ravenRavenRaven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...
named “Gdaś”. - Łamignat (Bonebreaker) – Jaga's husband. As a good natured and softhearted thief who robs the rich and gives to the poor, some may believe this is a reference to Robin HoodRobin HoodRobin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
, whereas Łamignat is in fact a parody of Robin Hood's Polish counterpart named JanosikJanosikJanosik can refer to:* Janosik , a Polish movie* Janosik , a Polish TV series* Janosik. Prawdziwa historia, a Polish historical filmJanošik:* Janošik, a village in Serbia Jánošík:...
. He is incredibly strong, much stronger than Kokosz, and has a gigantic club which only he can lift. Łamignat's strength sometimes drives Kokosz furious with envy, yet they are still friends. Due to Łamignat's shy nature, Jaga encourages him by giving him a flute and telling him it will make Łamignat stronger whenever he plays it (the flute is in fact normal but gives a placebo effectPlacebo effectPlacebo effect may refer to:* Placebo effect, the tendency of any medication or treatment, even an inert or ineffective one, to exhibit results simply because the recipient believes that it will work...
to Łamignat, making him more confident). Łamignat's catch-phrase is “Lelum Polelum”. - Miluś – A dragon that Kajko and Kokosz found (at first as an egg) and adopted in the book “Zamach na Milusia”. Miluś appears to be afraid of small animals (mice for example) and only eats vegetables. In his second appearance in “Skarby Mirmiła” Miluś grew bigger and developed wings – he however could only fly if he could start and land on water – and in “Cudowny lek” Miluś met a female dragon and left Kajko and Kokosz to live in the land of dragons (which was actually a good thing, as there were many dragon hunters attempting to hunt him down). After that, Miluś appeared in some short stories (all collected in a special comic book “Urodziny Milusia”) – all set beafore the events in “Cudowny lek”.
- Woj Wit (Wit the warrior) – Kajko and Kokosz first meet Wit on their adventures in the second book “Szranki I konkury” and during their adventures in “Na wczasach”. After the second one, however, Wit ends up living in Mirmiłowo (apart from some background cameoCameo appearanceA cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
appearances) and didn’t get to play an important part until the very last book “Mirmił w Opałach”. In the first book Wit is a romantic, adventure-seeking knight who only spoke in rhyme (he however lost the tendency to do so in the middle of the story as he got broken hearted). In his second appearance in “Na wczasach” Wit is shown as more of a Don Quixote figure, always looking for a challenge to a duel and often singing romantic songs (unlike his fist appearance). In his third main appearance Wit was back to talking in rhyme and had become interested in science which led him to inventing exploding powder causing much more mayhem in the village. In his first two appearances Wit has a clever horse who was always trying to keep his master out of trouble. - Zbójcerze (The Banditknights) – a group of evil knights wanting to take over Mirmiłowo loosely based on the Teutonic KnightsTeutonic KnightsThe Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
. They are led by a powerful warrior Hegemon who is the main villain of the series. His right hand man, a Hitler-like Kapral (Corporal) often appears to attempt to rebel. One more notable “Zbójcerz” is Oferma (Loser) who appears to be based on Schweik and while being the “idiot of the group” is often chosen for special missions.
Asterix controversy
For years fans accused the series of plagiarismPlagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
, referencing its similarities to the series Asterix
Asterix
Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix is a series of French comic books written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo . The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on October 29, 1959...
. The titles share a similar art style, character designs, and even employ similar jokes. While the related series Kajtek and Koko had debuted years before Asterix's first publication, the characters' incarnations as Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
s Kajko and Kokosz post-dated Asterixs success. For years Christa maintained that the similarities where a coincidence, but in interviews decades later cited Asterix as one of his inspirations. Some have described as significant the fact that the last "Kajko and Kokosz" book was published the same year as the first Polish translation of an Asterix book appeared.