The communist authorities stigmatised comics because of their ‘imperialist origins’. For this reason, the first comic book about Tytus in space was stuck in the editorial office for two years. When, in 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into space, this very circumstance facilitated the publication of the comics. A well-known anecdote reveals that Świat Młodych kept publishing the comics just because they amused the nine-year-old son of one of the communist dignitaries.
The topics of the first five comic books about Tytus, such as the military or traffic regulations, were imposed by the publisher. After the communist government was reshuffled, the censorship eased off and the author got more freedom. In later years, Chmielewski redrew large parts of his early comics in order to divest them of their propagandist connotations. The artist also sought to modernize his comic books by applying appropriate amendments to their new editions. It is estimated his comics have sold more than 10 million copies.
Chmielewski’s style of drawing is far from realistic. His cartoons are very dynamic, and the story very well presented in terms of narrative and visual execution. The author himself appeared in his comic books, and his characters often asked him to draw some adventures for them. According to one version of the account about the origins of the comics, the character of Tytus was inspired by an accidental ink blot.
Chmielewski’s scenarios were addressed primarily to children and they usually contained a moral lesson. However, some especially allusive content could be grasped only by adult readers. A few phrases from the comics have gained cult status. Furthermore, the adventures of the trio have been made into an animated feature film, Tytus, Romek and A'Tomek – Among The Thieves of Dreams, released in 2002. For promotional purposes, a special line of toys was produced – stuffed toys resembling the main characters and cardboard models of a hybrid tram/plane, which were available at KFC. In 2005, Studio Calaris released the computer game Tytus, Romek and A'Tomek - The Army of Rebel Robots, and a radio play based on the thirteenth volume was recorded and released on CD. In 2009, the Polish Post Office issued a series of stamps featuring the main characters of the comics.
Chmielewski has written three autobiographical books: Urodziłem się w barbakanie (I Was Born in the Barbican), Tytus zlustrowany (Titus Inspected) and Tarabanie w barbakanie (Barabans in the Barbican). In 2013, the Art Depot of the Museum of Technology in Szczecin held an exhibition entitled Professor Talenta’s Fantastic Vehicles (curated by Wojtek Łowicki), which featured vehicles from the comics reconstructed by Marcin Zbierski, including gwizdkolot (a whistle-shaped vehicle) and prasolot (an iron-shaped vehicle), which the visitors could get in. Plastic figurines of Tytus, Romek and A'Tomek are still available for sale.
The artist was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Order of the Smile and the Gloria Artis Gold Medal for Merits to Culture.
Henryk Jerzy Chmielewski passed away on 21 January 2021.
Author: Łukasz Chmielewski, December 2013, transl. GS, January 2015, updated January 2021.