The life of the youngest decorated soldier of the VRS (Army of Republika Srpska), Spomenko Gostić, three decades after his death, will be portrayed in a comic book, announced at the promotion of two new editions by the Association of Comic Book Authors and Fans “Ninth Dimension” from Banja Luka.
“The script was written by Nikola Vidačković from Banja Luka; Predrag Ikonjić from East Sarajevo is in charge of the pencil, and I handle the ink. I’ve already inked ten pages, and it’s completely finished. Peđa has drawn another ten, so there are 44–45 pages in total. We expect it maybe in spring, depending on all my obligations, as I’m currently working on another comic,” said Zdravko Knežević, a comic book artist from Prnjavor.
Gostić was born in August 1978, lived in Gornji Ulišnjak near Maglaj, and died in the hamlet of Jovići on March 20, 1993, after a grenade fell on military positions.
Spomenko’s mother died in the spring of 1992, and since his father had left them earlier, the boy remained to live with his uncles and grandmother, who were killed early in the war.
He was a curious boy whom no one could keep away from military positions.
In addition to a bust in the courtyard of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in Doboj, a mural on a residential building in the Old Town neighborhood also reminds of Spomenko.
“We received a good script. The script is not political; the comic is really well thought out. It’s about the biography of that child who was prompted to go to war, and I am working with pleasure. I think the reader response will be good, and the comic will be well received by young people. Our initial plan was to release it in March for the anniversary, but we won’t make it by then. Maybe in March, we’ll go up to the cemetery with what we have, and then we’ll promote the comic when it’s fully ready,” said Knežević.
He, together with his colleagues, also turned 22 stories by Branko Ćopić into comics, thus creating “Stripovijetke.”
Borislav Maljenović, a comic book artist from Doboj, drew “The Adventure of a Knot,” a story he said was unfamiliar to him.
“Realistically, it’s not easy to achieve what the writer wanted to say. Literature, or any art, is such that everyone interprets it in their own way. What is grateful about Branko Ćopić is that he mostly wrote for children, and there isn’t much sophistication there. If a child reads it, it’s very clear what’s happening and what the message is. On the other hand, if an adult reads it, then he sees that layered part of Branko’s works,” said Maljenović.
In the National Library, in addition to “Stripovijetke,” “Gluvo Doba” was also promoted, a comic created based on a collection of short stories by Ninoslav Mitrović.
“It deals with stories whose themes are Old Slavic mythology, Serb mythology, and legends. The stories are more horror-themed. ‘Glubvo Doba’ is important to us because, in a beautiful way, in its own way, it promotes Old Slavic and Serb culture and traditions, returns us to our roots, and reminds us of some old customs and some old rituals,” said Maljenović.
“In essence, it was difficult for me to work on that comic because I don’t like those scenes; I don’t like horror, and then in moments when that tired me, I worked on ‘Žuća računđija’ to relax,” admitted Zdravko Knežević.
Zoran Pejić, the president of the Association of Comic Book Authors and Fans of “Ninth Dimension,” said that from 2011 to the present, they have published 62 titles.
“We are the only ones in the territory of the former Yugoslavia who publish a comic magazine featuring only children’s works. So far, we have published five issues. In our magazine ‘Parabelum,’ which has eleven issues, we always had an addition ‘Parabelum Junior,’ which dealt with children’s works. We have about 250 members. Membership is free; we have no conditions regarding age. Not everyone draws, but you, for example, in comics can publish one frame or comic strip or longer comics, depending on how many scenarios, will, and desire you have,” said Pejić.
Source: Glas Srpske
