Clint and the Serbian comic book market
A bit of background: Serbian comics are comics produced in Serbia. Comics are called stripovi in Serbian (singular strip) and come in all shapes and sizes, merging influences from American comics to bandes dessinées.
Comics started developing in Serbia in the late 19th century, mostly in humour and children's magazines. From the 1920s to the end of the 1980s, Serbian comics were part of the larger Yugoslavian comic scene; a large number of titles was published from 1932 to 1991, mainly in Serbo-Croatian language. After the breakup of Yugoslavia and the crisis in the 1990s, Serbian comics have experienced something of a revival.
This post came about after something of an accidental discovery during a random search – the subject of which I can’t even remember now? But as I explored deeper, it became apparent that Clint’s image appeared quite a bit, especially between the 1971-1999 period. Clint in comic form is probably most associated with the Dell Rawhide comics which were based on the TV series, with the first issue being published in Sept./Nov. 1959. From there on, it was the odd humorous publication such as Mad or Crazy magazine where the Eastwood character was largely lampooned.
These ex-Yugoslavian comics, as far as I am aware (I do not own any), did not feature an adaptation of an Eastwood western film, but instead just used his image in order to help sell the comic book. I believe these comics also ranged from between 60-70 pages each. Looking at the Doc Holliday comic - you may even spot James Garner's image has been added too. And it wasn’t just the western genre where Clint’s image was utilised, as the bottom example shows – an image of Clint with Susan Clark from Coogan’s Bluff was used for the cover of a romantic comic! It takes all sorts!
Below: A couple of Dirty Harry inspired comics
Below: MISTERIJI #19 1994 Vintage CROATIAN CRIME COMIC
These are all pulps, i.e. novels not comics. That being said, Clint's likeness WAS used a lot in Serbian comics, mostly by Branislav Kerac. He's a big fan and drew the actor in a number of his works, e.g. the main character in Lt. Tara, the werewolf in Cat Claw, Billy the Spit as a spoof etc.
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