Bogusław Polch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bogusław Polch |
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| Born | 5 October 1941 |
| Died | 2 January 2020 (aged 78) |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Area(s) | Artist |
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Notable works
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Die Götter aus dem All (Bogowie z kosmosu / Ekspedycja), Funky Koval, Wiedźmin (The Witcher), Jan Tenner, Kapitan Żbik |
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Notable collaborations
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Maciej Parowski, Jacek Rodek, Andrzej Sapkowski, Arnold Mostowicz, Alfred Górny, Ryszard Siwanowicz |
Bogusław Polch (born October 5, 1941 – died January 2, 2020) was a famous Polish comic book artist. He drew many popular comic series. Some of his most well-known works include The Gods from Outer Space, Funky Koval, and Wiedźmin. The Wiedźmin comics are based on The Witcher stories by Andrzej Sapkowski. Bogusław Polch also drew the covers for the first The Witcher books.
Contents
Early Life and Art School
Bogusław Polch was born in 1941 in a place called Łyszczyce. This area is now part of Belarus.
In 1967, he finished his studies at the Public High School of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He was in the same classes as another well-known artist, Grzegorz Rosiński.
Starting His Comic Career
Bogusław Polch began his career in 1958. He published two short stories in a magazine called Korespondent Wszędobylski. These stories were named Wyprawa via kosmos and Słoneczny rejs przygody.
His first professional comic book was "Złoty" Mauritius. It came out in 1970. This comic was part of the very popular Kapitan Żbik series. Grzegorz Rosiński helped Bogusław get in touch with the publisher. By 1975, Bogusław had drawn seven comic books for this series.
After that, he worked on a science fiction story called Spotkanie (Encounter). Ryszard Siwanowicz wrote this story. It was published in 1976 in Relax magazine. Grzegorz Rosiński was the chief editor of Relax at that time.
Famous Comic Series
A big moment in Bogusław Polch's career was when he started drawing The Gods from Outer Space. This series was inspired by books from Erich von Däniken. Again, Grzegorz Rosiński helped him connect with the publishers.
Between 1978 and 1982, Bogusław created eight comic books for this series. Arnold Mostowicz and Alfred Górny wrote the stories. These comics were published in twelve different languages. Millions of copies were sold all over the world!
In 1982, he drew a comic book for the UNESCO Fair Play Committee. It was called Rycerze Fair Play (Fair Play Knights). This comic was only published in Poland in 1986.
Soon after, in 1982, Bogusław started working with Maciej Parowski and Jacek Rodek. They created Funky Koval. This comic became his personal favorite. Many people consider Funky Koval to be one of the best Polish comic books ever. Between 1987 and 1992, three Funky Koval comic books were published. They gained a lot of dedicated fans in Poland.
From 1984 to 1985, he also created a series of four comic books called Jan Tenner.
In 1990, he drew a short comic story called „Upadek bożków” ("Fall of the idols"). Maciej Parowski wrote it. This story was part of a collection called „Durchbruch – aus der Reihe: Comic Art”. It featured works by other famous artists like Enki Bilal and Neil Gaiman.
Around this time, Maciej Parowski, who was the chief editor of Nowa Fantastyka magazine, met Andrzej Sapkowski. Sapkowski was the author of The Witcher stories. The first Witcher book was published in 1992. Bogusław drew the cover and illustrations for it.
Then, in 1993, Bogusław Polch became the very first person to draw the Witcher character himself. From 1993 to 1995, he drew a series of six comic books. His drawings helped inspire the look of the characters and world. These designs were later used in the CDProjekt video games and the Netflix TV series.
After these projects, Bogusław focused on art for advertising agencies.
Later Works and Awards
In 2009, Bogusław Polch received an important award. The Polish Minister of Culture gave him the bronze Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis.
He returned to drawing comic books in 2011. He created a fourth Funky Koval chapter. In 2013, he drew another Kapitan Żbik comic book. It was called Tajemnica „Plaży w Pourville” (Mystery of the "Beach in Pourville").
