Because of the successful debut of the first issue of the fantastic magazine Imaginarium, we are returning to Opole to see what stories its residents have prepared for us this time!
Admission word
Let us remind you that Imaginarium is a fantasy magazine from Opole, the first issue of which was published in July 2021, and in which we can read stories created by amateurs who, perhaps, are just starting their literary careers. In addition, we can see various types of photos and graphics also referring to fantasy. It was established on the initiative of the Novum association, the same that is responsible for LandsbergON , a quarterly run by the inhabitants of Gorzów. It must be admitted that the creators set the bar very high, because the debut of Imaginariumit was very successful and contained extremely interesting stories. However, in the introduction, the deputy editor-in-chief assures us that also this time we will not be bored, and the creators are moving forward, offering us more extensive stories and stories whose plot is directly related to Opole. Did anything good come of it? Let’s find out!
Even elves are here!
The first story you will be able to read in the second issue of Imaginarium is Opolia by Aleksandra Kuźma. It depicts a priestess of the eponymous goddess, who tries to save the temple from the People of Shadows. It is a story that primarily stimulates our imagination. We only get a short section of the whole, and more precisely its ending, from an extremely dramatic moment. We have to figure out the rest ourselves. I think that many of you can inspire such a form, for example, to create an RPG session that will end at the foot of the statue of Opole.
On the other hand, Piotr Jaworski takes us to Opole, and we will visit the city with Janusz Kotyra, the main protagonist of the story. The man is a spirit detective working on a case involving constant rainfall. It is a somewhat humorous adventure, which at least reminds me of such heroes as Harry Dresden or Jakub Wędrowycz. Of course, there was no plagiarism here, only a subtle inspiration from famous characters. While reading, we have the opportunity to get to know Opole’s topography a bit, and even when we manage to visit it one day, we will probably be happy to see for ourselves what the sculpture of Ceres looks like. In a word, quite a successful promotion and encouragement to visit!
The next two stories in this edition are parts of larger wholes. The Curse of Kinga Jabłonowska is a rather gloomy story of a doctor who, striving for career development and awards in the field of medicine, resorted to torture and murder of another person without remorse. It is a well-chosen fragment of the novel As We Let Go , which could be a separate story, and at the same time makes us want to find out what happened next. Dark, addictive and thought-provoking. As for me, the biggest hit of this issue, which I recommend to everyone.
Finally, we get the first part of the story Białe wrony written by Dariusz Kucharek. It takes us to a fantastic world where we have the opportunity to meet a certain elf and his companion who are going to… well, you have to see for yourself! Let me just add that this is a good introduction to history, but it does not reveal a bit too much. On the one hand, it’s good, because some people will wait more impatiently for the sequel, but at the same time, it can also make us not get involved enough, and still not arouse enough interest in us. I personally belong to the former, but I love “long-eared” ones, so showing an interesting hero belonging to this race always arouses my curiosity.
As a bonus, we can treat a poem about a certain elf transferred to our world by Roman Rzucidło. How will this beautiful lady handle on a regular bus? Let me just say that it will not be easy for her. Or is it just the authors of the text?
According to the advice
As the deputy editor-in-chief noted in the introduction, the creators of Imaginarium received a suggestion to include more graphics in the journal. They decided to follow this advice and so now we can enjoy our eyes with beautiful photos and illustrations. Already on the cover we can see the graphics of Jakub Pańkow presenting a zeppelin flying over Opole. As it turns out, this is a reference to a real event that happened in 1929! We can see the works of the above-mentioned author twice more in the issue. And probably the interpretations will be different, but I wonder if one of them shows what would have happened on the planet of the Little Prince, if he had not pulled out the baobabs? Well, it is certainly intriguing.
Kamil Helbin’s works are also very interesting. But it’s also an artist that you may have heard of before. Well, he works as an animator of computer games, and in his achievements he already participates in such titles as Cyberpunk 2077 or Gwent . I must admit that especially the graphics depicting a humanoid fox (or maybe it’s a squirrel?) Standing under an umbrella looks like it was cut out of some kind of platformer.
Łukasz Kotula and Andrzej Pieróg also published their works in the issue. The first of them decided to present a graphic depicting a Viking ship protected by one of the Norse gods. The second, however, boasted beautiful photos of two models, kept in a fantasy atmosphere. Especially the photo with a lantern and smoke brings to mind a music video of a band playing symphonic metal in the atmosphere of Nightwish. Well done!
We are waiting for more!
Again, it could be said that all good things come to an end quickly. I wish the second issue of Imaginarium was thicker. It was a real pleasure to read and watch. But maybe that is also a good thing. All the more I will wait for the next edition and stories. I hope they will be no less addictive. And that I will quickly find out what happened with that bald elf there!
We also invite you to watch the interviews with the authors!