Where does the hedgehog stomp at night? – Review of the comic book “Jeż Jerzy. Collected Works “vol.1

Pink nineties?

Who hasn’t dreamed of a time machine that would take us to any age? The 1990s in Poland smell like Donald bubble gum and taste with Magic Stars chocolate stars. The guide through this extraordinary period is the Hedgehog called Jerzy by his friends. It might seem that every human being is aware of the characteristics of a representative of the Erinaceus species: four paws, fluffy hair and a pair of eyes dark as charcoal can evoke only positive associations. However, there are exceptions to each rule – the hero of the comic book by Rafał Skarżycki and Tomasz Leśniak significantly differs from the polite image presented by the vast majority of his spiky brothers and sisters. Daily trips to the liquor store meant that the mammal acquired the ability to move with a vertical body posture, and its forelimbs turned into dexterous fingers allowing for unrestricted puffing of subsequent twists. However, this does not explain the orange color of the coat. Is it the fault of the golden drink, which Jerzy is so eager to drink when he practices successive tricks on a well-worn skateboard and occasionally saves the world from hooligans and skinheads? We can only assume

However, the differences that make Jerzy extraordinary do not end there – unlike ordinary hedgehogs, he is not interested in idyllic life in the forest, he feels much better in Warsaw blocks of flats, where time is measured with successive bottles of cheap beer, and the best place to meet is a bench . An inseparable part of the cultural landscape of Poland at the end of the 20th century are small gastronomy which, despite the specter of food poisoning, enjoyed great popularity, grand disco polo festivals or stadiums where you could buy cigarettes without excise duty from across the eastern border. The 1990s were also the people who created these places: skinheads looking for enemies of Polishness in every manifestation of otherness, Satanists, against whom parents and worried educators constantly warned, and above all, pants clad in nylon, who were constantly feared by the inhabitants of housing estates. All of this (and more) can be found in the comic book Jeż Jerzy. Are the authors able to offer the reader something more, apart from the sentimental journey?

A compendium of a true Pole

Judging by the stunning popularity of Testoviron’s videos, nasal memes, the World According to the Kiepski series or the cult movie The Day of the Freakit seems that one can risk a statement that Poles willingly reach for works that show them in a crooked mirror. A comic book resulting from the work of Skarżycki and Leśniak can be classified to a similar trend. The character created by them appears as the voice of the young, angry generation of the 90s and does not leave a dry thread on the surrounding reality. Everyone gets hit – tracksuits and journalists, mohair berets and women of light manners, politicians and skinheads, all of which can be seen in the drawings which, although extremely colorful, in a grotesque way depict the society of that time. Interestingly, an attentive reader will also notice the authors themselves among the characters.

Rafał Skarżycki and Tomasz Leśniak met while still in high school, and their friendship soon resulted in professional cooperation – they both debuted early and can be associated as the creators of the Tymek i Mistrz comic book series . They were really interested in the character of Jerzy Jerzy, who won the hearts of comic book readers and made her debut on the big screen in 2010. George the hedgehog. Collected Workswas published not by Egmont Polska, as was the case before, but by the Kultura Gniewu publishing house. The comic is not a short read – the authors have prepared as many as 200 pages of hedgehog adventures. Hardcover and matte pages are the definite advantages of this series, one should not forget about the additions, among which we can find covers of previous editions of Jerzy Jerzy and illustrations by other cartoonists.

The comic contains three previously published parts . The first one, Not for Children , consists of picture stories, usually not exceeding one page. The little-developed plot is compensated for by the effective punch lines and the fact that they allow the reader to observe the hero in his natural environment – alcohol, fights, curses and naked breasts are inseparable elements of Jerzy Jerzy’s life, who does not even try to lead the life of an exemplary citizen. Another part, The Public Enemy, is more extensive in terms of the plot, although even more outrageous, as it proves that Jerzy does not care about the social norms around him and decides to be the worst version of himself, regardless of the accompanying consequences. The third part, the Exorcist , breaks out of this plot pattern . On its pages, the reader has a chance to meet the nemesis of George, possessed by the evil forces of El Dresso, which almost ends in an apocalypse.

Hedgehog rusks

The generation that grew up in the 90s will surely be interested in the adventures of Jerzy Jerzy. The main challenge facing the lovable rodent is winning readers among today’s teenagers. Will the adventures of spiky beer lover be able to appeal to readers born later, or will they only emphasize the conflict of generations and differences in world views? In the end, Jeż Jerzy has been appearing in magazines since 1996, which makes Jerzy inevitably close to 30 …

The biggest obstacle in this seems to be the specific type of humor appearing on the pages of the comic book – it can be assumed that the younger generation will not always catch the subtle allusions referring to the 90s in Poland. Although some themes are presented in Jeż Jerzy. The Zebrane Works are universal (even the often appearing stereotype of a politician-thief or not very bright tracksuit) and can amuse a modern audience, Polish culture has changed significantly since then – Shazza and Bayer Full performances, Disco Relax and Forgive me programsthey are part of a cultural landscape whose time has passed. On the other hand, the culture of that period is experiencing a kind of renaissance, and the comic books of Skarżycki and Leśniak can be a good guide to that period, as it recorded the problems, passions, fashions and language used by the youth of that time.

Half in a joke, half seriously

It can be seen with the naked eye that a lot has changed in Poland – we have started chasing the West, but the nation’s mentality is much more difficult to change. Unfortunately, the problems presented in the comic book Jeż Jerzy are still relevant – we are talking here especially about the broadly understood intolerance. Poland, shown here in the crooked mirror, turns out to be a mirror image of views that (fortunately not shared by every Pole), unfortunately are still strongly present – both on the silver screen and in discussions at Sunday lunch. George the hedgehogis an overview of stereotypes in a nutshell: Roma steal, Ukrainians do not shy away from alcohol, tracksuit men drink and beat, the hooked nose undoubtedly testifies to their Jewish roots, environmentalists are a bunch of freaks, and women are either slim and young, or old and ugly, their common feature is however, a low IQ. At first glance, these images lack the one that evokes the greatest emotions today: it is in vain to look for representatives of sexual minorities here. It is enough, however, to take a closer look at a couple of nationalists who passionately demonstrate their feelings, not only towards their homeland.

In this light, Jeż Jerzy. The collected works appear to be a bitter satire on the 90s which, although colorful, turn out to be not so rosy at all. In the work of Leśniak and Skarżycki, you can only see the funny adventures of the beer-loving hedgehog, but I encourage you to delve deeper, because this inconspicuous comic, in which humor acts as an anesthetic, contains many bitter truths, which, hopefully, will soon be only a relic of the past