Panel 2022: Closer to comics
The Panel is a comic festival for everybody, for professional or beginner artists, for students, readers, fans, collectors, publishers, and sellers of this fascinating medium that combines image with written word. It took place from May 13 to 15, 2022 and it was the first of its kind in Slovakia. If you missed a space where you could meet other comic enthusiasts and chat about your favorite comics, or if you have always wanted to meet the artists who work on comics or learn something new about comics, there has never been a better opportunity than the Panel.
In the large entrance hall of the Technical University, more than twenty Slovak and Czech artists were waiting in the Artist Alley, with tables full of great art, as well as shops Funtastic and Nekonečno.sk, featuring a ton of books and comics for sale. In the underground lecture space, our Uncle Štefan was ready to cool down all thirsty throats with tasty beer and raspberry drinks, while outside in the sunny area, the grill was heating up for the best burgers from Teutat. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee from Mr. Králiček filled the air, and sweet waffles tempted people with the dance music from the Waffle Bratislava food truck.
The Friday program opened with a presentation of the project “Kraťasy” by Eva Ondová and a comic quiz with Multiverzum. Czech theorist Tomáš Prokůpek introduced us to the development of the Ukrainian comic scene, and the highlight of the evening was the legendary creative duo Dušan Taragel and Jozef Gertli Danglár. They shared stories about their early career beginnings, the most interesting projects, signed numerous books, and finally told us with a smile that they would happily return to the Panel. Writer, artist, and comedian Martin Hatala entertained us with a stand-up performance at the evening. The night ended with the completely unplanned party in the underground spaces.
On Saturday, workshops with professionals artists were held on a variety of topics – we exceeded the capacity of David Marcin’s children’s workshop several times over, but both the kids and parents were excited. The famous Czech artist Štepánka Jíslová shared her know-how in a comic Masterclass. With Klaudia Bulantová, we took a peek behind the scenes of character concept development for games, while Michal Ivan revealed the secrets of inking. Many attendees left the Panel with valuable new experiences and knowledge.
In the lecture topics, there was something for everyone. During lunch, Slovak screenwriters Timotej Lukačovič, Soňa Baláž, and Andrej Kolenčík revealed more in a discussion about creating children’s comics. Martin Foret, the author of many theoretical publications on comics, summarized one hundred years of development of Slovak comics. Toy Box, the renowned Czech artist, presented a lecture on the ten qualities of a professional illustrator, where she also discussed work-life balance. Juraj Malíček contemplated why we love comics. With Erik Fazekaš, the editor-in-chief of Albatros Media Slovakia, and translator Ivana Cingelová, we discussed the challenges of publishing comics in Slovakia. Štepánka Jíslová spoke about women in comics.
Klára Štefanovičová introduced us to the phenomenon of Japanese manga, and Michal Ivan’s lecture on storytelling in images was excellent as well. Then artist Tomáš Motal surprised everyone with his demotivational comic coaching, which all participants described as another great stand-up in the panel program. In the evening, we also had an 18+ lecture with Big Big. What was it about? That’s a secret that will remain in the underground spaces of the Panel. 🙂 After that, we had the announced afterparty for guests and visitors!
On Sunday, Joja Pevčíková introduced us to Lovecraftian comics in translation, and the editor-in-chief of Multiverse, Vlado Hebert, explained how and why to read Marvel comics. Author Michal Baláž shared insights about creating the comic “Štefánik.” Lukáš Freytag closed the PANEL with a live model drawing workshop, and as the icing on the cake, a drawing battle among artistic teams took place, resulting in amazing and wild canvases on the theme — the game.
To summarize: hundreds of visitors attended, a large number of prints, books, and comics were sold, dozens of new contacts were made, countless meters of paper were painted, we listened to numerous top-notch lectures from the most qualified people, and we enjoyed plenty of good food, beer, and coffee. It filled us with endless energy. We hope it did for you too.