Zdeněk Ležák, Štěpánka Jislová
Zdeněk Ležák (b. 1974) is a Czech writer, journalist, a chief editor of magazines for kids and teenagers and a graduate of the Josef Škvorecký Literary Academy. He mostly writes for children and teenagers; his favorite subjects include history and modern technologies. To date, he has published seventeen books, which have popularized the factual-historical comic book genre in the Czech scene. The author’s website (in Czech) can be found at www.zdeneklezak.cz.
Štěpánka Jislová (b. 1992) is a Czech illustrator and comic book author. Before graduating from the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art, she won the CZ.KOMIKS student award for her short story The Tree. She spent a period as Scholar-in-Residence at the Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences in Orange, California. Her short comic stories have been published in a number of Czech and international anthologies such as Bobla, Dirty Diamonds, and CBA. She co-founded the Czech branch of Laydeez Do Comics, an organization that strives to bring female comic book artists to a wider audience. Her work explores the worlds of legends and archetypes, as well as current social trends.
Milada Horáková
The real story of one of the greatest figures in modern Czech history
June 2020, 128 pages
Available material: German sample, Image sample
Milada Horáková was executed in Prague on June 27, 1950, becoming the most famous victim of communist Czechoslovakia’s political show trials. A lawyer and social worker by profession, she served as a member of the Czechoslovak postwar parliament, fought for women’s rights, and played an active role in several resistance movements. The author explores Dr. Horáková’s life from her childhood through her activism during WWII, Nazi imprisonment, entry into top politics after the war, and role in the democratic resistance movement after the communist coup d’état in 1948. The graphic biography then follows Horáková’s arrest in September 1949; the series of interrogations she was subjected to; and the entire proceedings of her show trial, until the verdict and Horáková’s execution. The book is a gripping portrayal of the life of an iconic feminist and champion of freedom, democracy, and national emancipation, who drove the totalitarian regime up the wall.
