in Serbian cemeteries, with the moth repre- senting the soul of the vampire, and trans- planted into dead Austrians, which is a method taken partially from mythology. “The Plan is prevented by the Dar- danelles Soeicty, primarily thanks to Sa- va Savanović [a literary vampire] from Milovan Glišić’s work, who spread the infamy of vampires worldwide and ren- dered‘vampir’the only Serbian word used by all world languages,”emphasises Zelić proudly. The same heroes are engaged in a di erent situation and location for the sequel to this comic book, under the sub- title “Crime at the World’s Fair”. They are not wandering through cemeteries and caves, but are acting heroically in famous European metropolises. “The story now begins in London, dur- ing the time of Jack the Ripper, the myste- rious killer of prostitutes, who is deprived of life by none other than the Phantom of the Opera, the controversial gure from Gaston Leroux’s work,” says Zelić, untan- gling the complicated plot. The Dardenelles Society is joined in this adventure by the most famous Jagodi- na native, Jovanča Micić from Branislav Nušić’s comedy Travel Around The World. “The task of destroying them has now been given to Raskolnikov, the vil- lain of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment. Events revolve around the Orient Express train, which in the al- ternate-historical steampunk of the uni- verse of this comic is a ying composite dirigible,”says this screenwriter. Apart from Zelić, the Orient Express has also provid- ed the setting for the literary characters of Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock, while the actual train also used to trans- port kings, writers, actors and spies. “The next stop for this ying train af- ter Paris is the most famous Giant Ferris Wheel of Vienna’s Prater amusement park, while the nal stop is Constantinople, to- day Istanbul, on a magni cent mosque- bridge over the Bosphorus – another un- realised urban project.” The only Serb victim of this skirmish is Vukašin Katić, and the gang wants re- venge for him, which may happen in the next sequel, or then the villain of“Kareni- na” will mysteriously come to life. “You can also call this graphic novel a comic strip album, depending on your age, because the Dardanelles Society is a feast for the eyes of converted comic strip gourmets, but also a motive for spread- ing knowledge from the obligatory liter- ature of Serbian high school students,” says Zelić, explaining his intention. This comic series, which has been promoted at exhibitions and stands from Paris to
Postmoderni ključ nastanka stripa dao je Zeliću slobodu da koristi sve dosad stvoreno The postmodern key to the creation of this comic book gave Zelić the freedom to use everything ever created
a series of planetary expositions organised between 1851 and the outbreak of World War I.“From the many one-o fair buildings, humanity has been left with the Ei el Tow- er,” notes Zelić. We also discover from legends that Bel- grade’s Saint Sava Temple was conceived as a conglomerate sanctuary of various denom- inations, that the catacombs of Paris con- tain more deceased “inhabitants” than the city’s surface, that in the notorious part of London’s East End, where Jack the Ripper lurked, a disguised Jack London resided in order to write The People of the Abyss ... and much more. The postmodern key to the creation of this comic book gave Zelić the freedom to use everything ever created or designed, but also to creatively imagine into existence the adventures of the Dardanelles Society. If lm wasn’t such an expensive art form, we would enjoy watching all those ruthless battles and surreal environments, like the skies above Paris lled with dirigibles, on the big screen. All of this is much more ac- cessible in comic form, especially with such a skilled animator as Dragan Paunović, who doesn’t provide room for boredom in a sin- gle frame. It is through his lines that you will love literature, guarantees author Zelić.
Moscow, winning over both audiences and critics, will also prove interesting for fans of adventures from the French-speaking world as soon as it is translated into this language. And the Society was formed completely by accident and due to the fact that Zelić re- sponded critically to Alan Moore’s cult com- ic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. In order to make this intricate work more understandable, Zelić placed – at the end of both parts of his comic – legends who pri- marily o er quotes from their original liter- ary sources. These legends also reveal de- tails from the World’s Fair, where the greatest achievements of minds were presented at
I kao da nije bilo dovoljno što je kombinovao nespojive ličnosti i promenio tok istorije, Zelić je u priču uveo i Jazavca (pred sudom) Petra Kočića As if it wasn’t enough for him to have combined incompatible personalities and altered the course of history, Zelić also introduced to the story the Badger (on trial) of Petar Kočić
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