The Smuggler: a few influences #2

The Octobriana-hoax

 

One saturday morning, sorry to say it was actually misty and damp, I walked along the canals of Delft. A bookseller was setting up his stall and my eye fell on the odd book Octobriana and the Russian Underground from 1971.

This book contains a very elaborate hoax pretending to be a collection of subversive comics made by secret artist-cells from all over the Soviet Union. The book has been forgotten and rediscovered many times. Reaching notoriority inbetween. Countless people before me bought it, believed the incredible story for a few pages, only to get a creeping hunch it couldn't possibly be true. Especially if you happen to be familiar with the styles of the Czech artists Bohumil Konečný and Zdeněk Burian, who's work was ripped off, stolen, altered and butchered for this strange publication. The red communist star was painted on randomly and subversive texts were added.

The perpetrator, one Petr Sadecký, a Czech deflector, turned out to be a childhood admirer of these Czech artists. He had stolen their work and abused it to find fame himself with the Octobriana hoax and discredit and corrupt the communist party in his home country at the same time.

Those who read my book De Smokkelaar (The Smuggler) will notice that I took this strange Cold War episode as the basis of the story, but I altered and skewed it to my liking.   

Sadecký's story becomes evermore unbelievable as you progress through his book full of forgeries. To add some authenticity he staged photo's of the alleged Soviet underground, sometimes featuring himself among the renegate artists.

Back home, the signature styles of Konečný and Burian were quickly recognized and the two were persecuted.




















Luckily Octobriana is now just a footnote in Zdeněk Burians biography and he is rightly remembered and celebrated as one of the biggest illustrators of the previous century. His influence is apparent in so many illustrators and comic artists who came after him. Richard Corben is a confessed fan and Frank Frazetta evidently looked at Burians work. In me and my brother, Burians work brought to life the earliest urge to draw when perusing his books our Czech mother Vera owned.

I'll write a bit about my passion for Burians work soon.