Tadeusz Raczkiewicz
(born 17 November 1949 in Gubin; died 25 February 2019) was a Polish comic artist and writer who also created satirical drawings and illustrations.
He became interested in comics as a teenager, inspired by Tytus, Romek i A’Tomek and Polish reprints of Lucky Luke. He began drawing his own stories and regularly submitted them to Świat Młodych, a magazine that published a large number of comics. The editorial team decided to offer collaboration to the talented reader, and Raczkiewicz was commissioned to illustrate a script by ŚM journalist Jerzy Dąbrowski. The series Kuśmider and Filo appeared in 1976 and ran for 30 installments. It was a humorous story about a classic contrasting duo of friends—a good-natured strongman and a small, clever trickster. Despite its positive reception, the editorial board did not continue its cooperation with Raczkiewicz in the late 1970s.
Unable to obtain further scripts from Świat Młodych, Raczkiewicz prepared a comic adaptation of one of his favorite childhood novels, Two Years’ Vacation, followed a year later by The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain. Both comics were published, received favorable reviews from professional graphic artists, and were well received by readers. This success led the editors to propose a permanent collaboration.
Alongside Szarlota Pawel and Henryk J. Chmielewski, Raczkiewicz became one of the most frequently published comic creators in Świat Młodych during the second half of the 1980s. Between 1984 and 1991 he published seven full-length stories. His most popular original character was Tajfun, a secret agent of cosmic special services, whose adventures appeared in four series in ŚM.
After Świat Młodych ceased publication, Raczkiewicz collaborated with local press in Gubin and the surrounding area, producing satirical drawings and illustrations. In the 1990s he published one comic series—the science-fiction crime story Contract. In 2006, the first album editions of his comics were released; until then they had existed only in newspaper form. The comics were recolored by Filip Wiśniowski. The album Tajfun was a collected edition of stories previously published in Świat Młodych. Although the publisher Mandragora announced new comics featuring this character, the company soon went bankrupt.
In May 2006, during Spring on the Nysa—a recurring cultural event in Gubin—Tadeusz Raczkiewicz co-hosted the workshop Satire on the Nysa 2006. In 2009, fans independently prepared the anthology Unknown Comics, and the publisher Ongrys released an album edition of five comics originally published in Świat Młodych.
1976 – Kuśmider and Filo (Świat Młodych)
1983 – Two Years’ Vacation (ŚM)
1984 – The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain (ŚM)
1984 – Inspector Tom Monk (ŚM)
1984 – Tajfun: The Mystery of the C-2 System (ŚM)
1985 – Tajfun: The Bradley Affair (ŚM)
1986 – The Mystery of the Stone Forest (ŚM)
1987 – Tajfun: On the Trail of the Scorpion (ŚM)
1988 – Tajfun: The Monster (ŚM)
1989 – The Mystery of the Red Teepee (ŚM)
1991 – Zawisza the Black (ŚM)
1992 – Contract (Gazeta Nowa)
2006 – Tajfun (Mandragora; includes The Mystery of the C-2 System, The Bradley Affair, On the Trail of the Scorpion)
2009 – Tadeusz Raczkiewicz: Unknown Comics (fan anthology; Ongrys)
2009 – The Mystery of the Red Teepee (collector’s edition; Ongrys; includes Two Years’ Vacation, The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain, Zawisza the Black, The Mystery of the Red Teepee, The Mystery of the Stone Forest, Inspector Tom Monk)
2009 – Two Years’ Vacation (Ongrys; includes Two Years’ Vacation, The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain)
2009 – Zawisza the Black and Other Stories (Ongrys; includes Zawisza the Black, The Mystery of the Red Teepee, The Mystery of the Stone Forest)
2010 – FARA: Gate to the Stars (Polish–German edition; FTF; premiere in Brussels, 27 April 2010)
2010 – FARA: Gate to the Stars (Polish edition; FTF; premiere in Zielona Góra, 11 September 2010)
2011 – Le Chevalier de Lagardère (Ongrys)
2011 – Le Chevalier de Lagardère (collector’s edition with additional sketches and artwork; Ongrys)
2012 – Tajfun: The Core / Synonym of Evil (fragments of two unfinished albums; Ongrys)
2012 – Tajfun: No Compromises (anthology of five episodes; Ongrys)
2013 – Tajfun: New Rules of the Game (Ongrys)
