Pal Korcsmaros

Pal Korcsmáros was a Hungarian journalist, comic book illustrator, and one of the most important creators of the socialist era. He was a self-taught artist. After finishing his studies in commerce, he became a draughtsman. Later he worked as a scene-painter for films, then became courtroom illustrator/correspondent.

During World War II, he fasified documents for the persecuted. After 1945, he worked as a journalist for a while, yet his caricatures and erotic drawings were much in demand among countless newspapers (e.g. Pesti Izé). When these papers would be banned in the 1950s, he illustrated slides mostly.

His first comic book story, 'Hazádnak rendületlenül...' was published in 1955, after the slackening of the autocracy of Rákosi. After the revolution, in 1957, he joined a group of artists and founded Füles, a popular crossword-magazine. He worked here as contributing editor until his death.

It was the beginning of a 15-year long triumphant march and thus were born such emblematic comic book adaptations like 'A nyomorultak' ('Les Misérables'), 'A három testör' ('The Three Musketeers'), 'The Count of Monte Cristo' and 'Egri csillagok' ('Stars of Eger').

Topping off his realistic style, he could provide his characters so grotesque gestures, that he soon became the most authentic graphic interpreter of Hungarian author P. Howard's (Rejtö Jenö's) novels. On the top of his career, there were times when he produced 180 panels a month.

His main works are Dumas' 'A három testör' ('The Three Musketeers', 1959), Géza Gárdonyi's 'Egri csillagok' ('Stars of Eger', 1959), János Arany's 'Toldi' (1963), Jenö Rejtö's 'Piszkos Fred, a kapitány' (1964), Sándor Rideg's 'Indul a bakterház' (1967) and Jenö Heltai's 'Az ezerkettedik éjszaka' (1973).