Daogopak
Oleksiy Chebykin is one of the main artists in the alternative Ukrainian comic scene. While Ukraine doesn't really have a comics culture of itself yet, many authors have tried their luck with Russian publishers, or publish their own photocopied comics. Chebykin has for instance made a 300 page comic book about the comical exploits of his friends. One of the other early works by Oleksiy Chebykin was 'Noviy Borysfen' ('New Borysthenes'), a fantasy reinterpretation of Kievan-Rus history.
But he is also the artist of 'Daogopak', the first Ukrainian graphic novel that has gained success, both in sales as in critical praise. Writers were Maksym Prasolov and Oleh Kolov, who have given a modern twist to the legends, myths and heroes of the Ukrainian past, by telling a story about kozaks who have mastered the martial arts and magic of the Zaporizhian Sich. The first installment of the trilogy, called 'Tour to Anatolia', was published by the Kiev-based publishing house Nebeskey in 2012. The second and third books, 'Noble Love' and 'The Carpathian Molfar's Secret', were released in 2013 and 2016.