ABDÜLCANBAZ IN TURHAN SELÇUK’S WORDS
Although Abdülcanbaz is presented as having super natural powers, he features a concious, discerning personality and puts his brains before his forces. He is drawn with not round and soft but neat and pronounced lines. His adventures are beyond time and place...
He’s not a lonely soul. He has lots of friends, comrades and foes.
He’s a fighter. He opposes and fights against injustice. He’s an incurable dissenter. Humane at heart, he fights for the good of the people everywhere at all times. He is not just all talk but also a man of action. Abdülcanbaz is a universal character, a symbol of principles, ideals and aspirations...
In the beginning he was alone... Later on, his character developed a strong personality and gradually he found himself surrounded by a large group of friends, comrades, foes and opponents.
Abdülcanbaz’s huge success, since its first publication in the dailies in 1957, is partly due to the rise in popularity of the traditional literary folk arts (Turkish comedy plays such as Karagöz and Hacivat). Unlike any other comic book series, Abdülcanbaz has a unique expression, and a unique visual accuracy and artistry. This unique expression has a point of view. All the incidents in the storylines are approached, analyzed and solved from this certain point of view.
In the storylines, same as in Karagöz and Hacivat, we find contrasting interactions, conflicts and advocacies between the straightforward public and the ones againts the welfare of the public. All in all, they are the fights, disagreements and defences of our own people.
TURHAN SELÇUK, Önce Çizgi Vardı..., 2003
