Paneuropa vs. Pandemonium is a comic book about the struggle of heroes fighting to protect Europe’s cultural heritage. The work of Grzegorz Janusz and Tomek Piorunowski is now in the hands of the Polish reader. The comic was distributed during the 30th International Festival of Comics and Games in Łódź. The digital version can be downloaded for free.
Over the centuries, European culture has developed many means of expression and communication – one of the most fascinating, because it connects drawing with the written word is comics. The Representation of the European Commission in Poland, in cooperation with the organizer of the 30th International Festival of Comics and Games, prepared a European story by Grzegorz Janusz, drawn by Tomek Piorunowski, about the struggles of a group of heroes trying to defend the cultural heritage of Europe.
– Europe is not only about funds, but also culture – fairy tales, mythologies and stories. Their heroes – Mr. Twardowski, Syrena, goddess Athena or the crew of the Flying Dutchman, have just appeared in the pages of a story that we have prepared in cooperation with the International Comic Book Festival. Comics is a form of popular culture with a global dimension, a great medium for talking about Europe and the problems of the present day. We invite you to this discussion during the festival, but also throughout the year at our Representations in Warsaw and Wrocław and at Europe Direct network points throughout the country, says Marek Prawda, director of the European Commission Representation in Poland.
– Comics is a work on the border of literature and art, one of the most expressive means of expression, which due to its popularity has become a permanent fixture in mass culture. Also used in film or advertising, it is an indispensable element of modern culture. As the organizer of the largest comic book festival in Central and Eastern Europe, we constantly contribute to its popularization and we are proud of our cooperation with the European Commission. This is the first such cooperation in our country and we are glad that such a prestigious institution has focused its attention on comics – says Adam Radoń, director of the International Festival of Comics and Games in Łódź and head of the EC1 Center for Comics and Interactive Narration in Łódź.
Story description:
The monolith is a villain who craves mindless uniformity and turns Europeans into passive pawns, who does not understand that over more than half a century, Europe has created an alliance of nations capable of defending its citizens and guarding common values. Pan Twardowski, Syrena, Athena, Bazyliszek and other figures well known to Europeans are fighting for the preservation of European heritage. How will these struggles go? See for yourself by reading the comic, which premiered during this year’s edition of the International Festival of Comics and Games in Łódź.
The comic can be downloaded for free from the website of the Publications Office of the European Union .