Jerzy Wróblewski (born 7 August 1941 in Inowrocław – died 10 August 1991 in Bydgoszcz) was a Polish comic book artist and illustrator.
He made his debut as early as 1959 in the popular Bydgoszcz afternoon newspaper Dziennik Wieczorny, publishing sensational illustrated stories. At the time, he was a student at the Secondary School of Fine Arts in Bydgoszcz. Over the next twenty years, Dziennik Wieczorny published more than seventy of Wróblewski’s stories. In 1969 he released his first Kapitan Żbik comic, and from 1973 he took full responsibility for the series, ultimately producing thirty full-color issues. He was also one of the principal contributors to the magazine Relax.
Wróblewski drew comics on a wide range of subjects and accepted virtually all scripts offered to him, including those containing didactic elements and socialist propaganda. Nevertheless, he had clear personal preferences—westerns, crime stories, and historical themes. Although many of his works were created on commission for the ruling establishment of the time, he did not engage politically in an official capacity. Notably, sketches discovered in his personal archive suggest that some of his unpublished ideas could have led to serious consequences, including imprisonment, under the Polish People’s Republic.
Most of his work was executed in a realistic style, with meticulous attention to detail. Only in the series Binio Bill, published in Świat Młodych, did he adopt a grotesque drawing style. His work is characterized by fluid handling of spatial planes and exceptional clarity of graphic storytelling.
Jerzy Wróblewski was one of the most prolific Polish comic artists of his era. He published over sixty standalone albums, with a combined print run approaching fourteen million copies. In addition to comics, he created gag cartoons for Karuzela, illustrated books, and designed magazine covers—most notably the cover of the first issue of Fantastyka. Many of the characters he drew were modeled on real people, including his wife, Helena Wróblewska.
From 1966 onward, Wróblewski lived and worked in Bydgoszcz, where he created the majority of his drawings. His workspace was a dedicated room in his apartment in a high-rise building on Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński Street. In one episode of Kapitan Żbik, he immortalized both himself and his home.
On 26 May 2011, the city council of Inowrocław passed a resolution to name one of the city’s streets after Jerzy Wróblewski.
The Secret of the Depths (script: Henryk Kurta), Relax #4, 1977 (4 pages)
The Prophet Daniel, Relax #5, 1977
Freedom Lives in the Mountains (script: Knab), Relax #7, 1977
508 Alarm! (script: Knab), Relax #8, 1977
People Must Be Trusted (script: Chlebowski), Relax #10, 1977
I Want to Become a Captain (script: Garncarek), Relax #11, 1977
Poles at the South Pole (script: Weinfeld), Relax #12, 1977
In the Sands of Sinai (script: Bartnikowski), Relax #13, 1977
Excerpts from The 20th-Century Intelligence Agent (scripts: Barbara Sokalówna, Jerzy Uśpieński), Relax #13–18, 1977–1978
Excerpts from Vahanara (scripts: Murcie, Derbień), Relax #18–21, 1978
Excerpts from The Black Rose (script: Stefan Weinfeld), Relax #21–25, 1978–1979
A Pole in Space (script: Weinfeld), Relax #22, 1978
A Window to the World (script: Kozłowska), Relax #24, 1979
The Republic of Rubble (script: Gluth-Nowowiejski), Relax #25, 1979
Four on the Road of Death (script: Gluth-Nowowiejski), Relax #26, 1979
Excerpts from The Trail Leads into the Past (script: Chmielewski), Relax #26–29, 1979–1980
Excerpts from The Central Industrial District (script: Walawski), Relax #29–31, 1980–1981
The Whale with a Periscope (1973)
The Hanging Bicycle (1973)
The Mysterious Diver (1973)
Twelve Canisters (1973)
Deadly Curve (1974)
In the Trap (1974)
Codename “Suitcase” (1974)
Where Is the Blonde? (1974)
SP-139-WA Has Disappeared! (1975)
A Challenge for the Stronger One (1975)
Seaweed and Parasites, parts 1–2 (1976)
The Robbers’ Cave (1976)
Who Killed Jacek? (1976)
The Mysterious Light (1976)
Trapped (1977)
The Broken Net (1977)
The Blue Cortina (1978)
A Leap Across Three Borders (1979)
Stop the Blue Fiat (1980)
“St. Marie” Sets Sail… (1982)
The Uncollected Telegram (1981)
Tracks in the Forest (1982)
A Sad Finale (1982)
The Treasure in Winterhof (1971)
The Wolf in the Trap (1972)
In the Trap (1972)
(script: Jerzy Wróblewski)
Rio Klawo (1980)
Binio Bill on the Trail of Lawlessness (1980)
Binio Bill and the 100 Rifles (1981)
Binio Bill vs. the Bennett Triplets (1982)
Binio Bill Shoots a Western—and … Goes into Space (1983)
In the Footsteps of Kid Walker (1986)
Binio Bill and the Treasure of the Paiutes (1990)
Binio Bill and Mad Geronimo (2009)
(script: Władysław Krupka)
At the Threshold of the Mystery (1985)
Forced Landing (1985)
Along the Desert Trail (1986)
A Tragic Day (1986)
Aerial Routes (1986)
The Return (1986)
Baptism of Fire (1987)
A Leap into the Unknown (1987)
Before Dawn (1987)
The Final Report (1987)
(script: Stefan Weinfeld)
Alone in the African Wilderness: Antoni Rehman (1988)
Where the Earth Trembles: Ignacy Domeyko (1988)
(script: Mirosław Stecewicz)
A New Treasure Island (1988)
The City of Clouds (1989)
Merchants from Space (1990)
Umpli-Tumpli Comics Colour (1990; dialogue-free coloring comic)
(script: Wiesława Wierzchowska)
The Mysteries of Easter Island (1989)
Book of Genesis (script: Józef Krzyżanowski), 1990
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, 1991
The Secret of the Depths (script: Henryk Kurta), in Fire over the Taiga, 1982
The Diamond River (script: Bolesław Żabko-Potopowicz), 1983
It Happened in Podhale (script: Jerzy Ankudowicz), 1983
The Treasures of the Popielids (script: Małgorzata Machowska), 1983
Besieged (script: Tadeusz Szymański), 1983
Codename “Titania” (script: Stefan Weinfeld), 1983
The Crystal Ball (script: Stefan Weinfeld), 1983
Amelia’s Fortune (script: Jerzy Wolen), 1986
Poles in Olympic Arenas (1980)
The 20th-Century Intelligence Agent (1983)
The Price of Freedom (1988)
Figurines from Tilos (1988)
The Stolen Treasure (1986/1988)
The Black Rose (1988)
Legends of the Island of the Labyrinth (1989)
The Exiles (1989)
Friends of Rod Taylor (1984)
Hernán Cortés and the Conquest of Mexico (1986/1989)
