The comic book was born in the United States in 1896 and was called "The Yellow Kid". In Poland it was 1919, when "The Adventures of Crazy Grzes" appeared in Lviv and in the magazine "Szczutek". It was the shy start of a period of comic book domination, which came only after the war. The form of the sequential pictorial story combined with the text makes it something on the border between art and literature. It was at its peak in the 90s when American comics about superheroes appeared in Poland. Despite the creation of the film and series, the comic still has a large crowd of fans, and collector's items reach auction prices of up to several million dollars.
An illustration is a comic-book-like form because they are images, graphics, or engravings that have been added to printed or written text. Following this lead, the comic book is a collection of interconnected illustrations. Therefore, art classifies these two forms in a similar way.
The Department of Comics and Illustration is responsible for coordinating auctions for this interesting art field of comics and illustration. We organize auctions where you can buy original comic boards or illustrations by outstanding Polish artists. Among them, it is worth mentioning: Henryk Chmielewski, Mieczysław Wiśniewski, Marek Szyszka, Jerzy Skarżyński and Janusz Christa. Our offer is constantly expanding, which is why in the future there will also be works of older and younger artists. It is worth following the auctions organized by us, because often you will find real gems, the purchase of which can be a fantastic investment.
Should the comic book and illustration be treated as full-fledged artworks? There is no doubt that from this point of view they are very specific. On the one hand, they present a very high level of aesthetics, and on the other hand, unlike traditional art, they are simply printed. Another element that distinguishes them from images is the text, which is an integral part of the comic. Despite these differences, it seems that they have permanently entered the canon of modern art, and collectors simply love them. Mainly due to their growing value - in particular, well-preserved copies from several dozen years ago.
What is the future of the comic book? It's hard to say - on the one hand, new forms of presenting art, including digital ones, are constantly emerging. On the other hand, it has already become a kind of classic and many movies and series are still based on the stories told in comics. Often it is also a supplement to the threads told by other media. Taking this into account, we believe that with the years and the development of technology, the comic book will constitute a certain extravagance, which, however, will continue to grow in value. As has been the case so far.
If you have any questions about auctions organized by us or specific works in the field of comics and illustrations, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to answer any of your questions.
