Janusz Christa (1934-2008) and Papcio Chmiel, the creator of Tytus, Romek i A’tomek, are precursors of comic books in Poland. Christa debuted in 1957 in the magazines Przygoda (Kuku Ryku - Cockadoodledoo) and Jazz (Opowieść o Armstrongu -The Tale of Armstrong). In the following year, the evening paper Wieczór Wybrzeża regularly printed his comic strip about the two sailors Kajtek and Majtek, who quickly became Kajtek and Kokosz. That was how the series, which had numerous editions and was re-issued many times, was born.
In the end of the 70s, Christa created a pair of sailors, Gucek and Roch and two albums with their adventures appeared. The drawings of Kajtek and Koko were made out of the deformed lines characteristic of humorous publications, whereas Gucek and Roch were definitely more realistic. It was, however, the series about the adventures of the footmen Kajko and Kokosz which brought Christa his greatest acclaim.
Comic strips about these characters were printed in Wieczorne Wybrzeża at first, and later in Świat Młodych. The first album appeared in 1975, there were 20 books in total. The best of said publications include W krainie Borostworów (In the Land of the Forest Monsters), Na wczasach (On Vacation), Szkoła latania, (Flying School) and Festiwal czarownic (Witches’ Festival). Three albums from the Kajko & Kokosz series were published in languages such as Kashubian and Silesian, as well as in the Podhale subdialect. The first albums were black and white, the later ones were coloured.
In order to get a job at Przygoda, Christa claimed that he was a repatriate from Sweden. He was hired, but his situation became problematic when he was asked to appear at the editorial office in person. The then 17-year-old Christa, who was born in Vilnius, nearly panicked. However, he managed to turn the situation into a joke.
