Tytus, Romek i A'Tomek

"Tytus, Romek i A'Tomek" ( eng. "Tytus, Romek And A'Tomek") is the longest-published and one of the most popular Polish comic book series, created by Henryk Jerzy Chmielewski (aka "Papcio Chmiel") in 1957. It centers around Romek and A'Tomek, two boy scouts, and Tytus de Zoo, a chimpanzee with the ability of human speech. Many adventures in "Tytus, Romek i A'Tomek" have speculative or Science Fiction elements, some are outright parodies of the established norm. Some books (mostly the late ones) also contain political themes and satire. So far there have been published 30 episodes and around 10 special issues of the series.

Main characters

* Tytus de Zoo – a chimpanzee and the main hero of the series. Although Tytus speaks and thinks like a human being, his animal heritage clearly shines through - he is presented as wanting to attain humanity, but falls short as a result of his own distinct nature. In the first story drawn by Chmielewski for the "Świat Młodych" ("The World of Youth") magazine Romek and A’Tomek find Tytus in a rocket (which at the time was part of the communist Anti-American propaganda as Tytus told he was abused by the scientist who worked there). In the book version however Tytus came to life from a blot of ink the creator Papcio Chmiel accidentally drop on the floor (this unusual origin fits the bizarre and surrealistic nature of the books). Tytus however many times mentioned (as well as visited) his "homeland" Trapezfik.
* Romek – a tall, blond and skinny boy scout. He often teases Tytus with rag comments and is pessimistic about Tytus's attempts to attain humanity.
*A'Tomek – the leader of the trio. A short, fat boy in glasses. He is very intelligent, mature and often the most honorable and well-mannered one. The name is alliterative, with A'Tomek's name suggesting atomic energy.
* Professor T’Alent – a helpful scientist and one of few recurring characters in the series beside the main trio. He builds various inventions, often flying machines that help the boys during their adventures. He has many mice, which are often seen playing in his hair.
*Papcio Chmiel – the creator of the series often appeared in the books portraying himself as a father figure to the boys and Tytus and often shown to have God-like powers (he has been shown making paintings come to life or appearing out from nowhere in the middle of the story and intervening in the adventures).
*Szympansia – Tytus's wife (a chimpanzee as well) brought to life from a painting by Papcio Chmiel. She appeared only in four stories.

In other media

* In 1989 and 1990 two episodes of an animated series were made for Polish public broadcaster TVP but they aired ony once. Jerzy Chmielewski disliked this series because of very poor animation and showing character in very unsympathetic way.
* A Polish band "Blenders" made a music video about Tytus, Romek and A’Tomek and used the original animated footage of the characters in it.
* In 2002 premiered an animated movie entitled "Tytus, Romek i A’tomek wśród złodziei marzeń" ("Tytus, Romek And A’Tomek Vs. The Thieves of Dreams"). The film features one of the most acclaimed Polish actors Marek Kondrat as the voice of Tytus. The movie wasn’t based on any of the comic books and it had an original plot. Critical response was generally negative. Many fans criticized the movie for lacking the humour and the spirit of the original material. Colonel Sanders makes a cameo in this movie as KFC was one of main sponsors of the production.
* A "Tytus Romek i A’tomek" computer game was made in 2006.

External links

* http://tytus.wp.pl/
* http://www.tytus.poral.net/index_en.php