This is an intelligent and original study of the rich history and culture of Russia's often overlooked comics heritage. Drawing on archival research, interviews with major artists and publishers, and close readings of numerous seminal works, "Komics" presents an intelligent and groundbreaking exploration of Russia's rich, but until now overlooked and misunderstood comics heritage. It provides readers with an examination of the dizzying experimental comics of the late Czarist and early revolutionary era, the caricatures of the satirical journal "Krokodil", and the postwar series "Petia Ryzhik - the Russian Tintin", as well as a balanced discussion of such issues as anti-Americanism, censorship, the rise of consumerism, and the impact of the internet. This volume also looks at the origins of the art form in religious icon-making and book illustration, its vilification and marginalization under Communism, and its eventual re-birth in the post-Soviet era.