''Jeż Jerzy'' (''George the Hedgehog'') is a popular Polish comic book title created by two young artists, (script) and (drawings). The comic strip first appeared as part of a children's magazine called '' Świerszczyk''. Originally, the strips were aimed at children with Jerzy the

Hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...

having adventures in a

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

land. In 1996, the strips were first published in the magazine '' Ślizg'' as an "adult version". The adult version of the comic strip was a satire on politics and modern Poland. The comic makes fun of groups like the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

ecologists This is a list of notable ecologists. A-D * John Aber (USA) * Aziz Ab'Saber (Brazil) * Charles Christopher Adams (USA) * Warder Clyde Allee (USA) * Herbert G. Andrewartha (Australia) * Sarah Martha Baker ( UK) * Fakhri A. Bazzaz (USA) * Joh ...

, the

subcultures A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

skinheads A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...

or dresiarze, or individuals, such as politicians (

Andrzej Lepper Andrzej Zbigniew Lepper (; 13 June 1954 – 5 August 2011) was a Polish politician, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture, and the leader of Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland political party. He was the Deputy Prime Minister and Mi ...

and

Grzegorz Kołodko Grzegorz Witold Kołodko (pronounced ; born 28 January 1949 in Tczew, Poland) is a distinguished professor of economics. A key architect of Polish economic reforms. He is the author of New Pragmatism original paradigmatic and heterodox theory of ...

). In the adult version, which has often been compared to ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

'', the characters often swear, drink alcohol and take

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...

. It is often violent and has scenes of

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to ...

. Jerży has become a part of the

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...

subculture. The adult version is still running on Ślizg and many versions of the adult comic books were published both in and outside of Poland.

Characters

* Jeż Jerzy (George the Hedgehog), the main character, is a talking

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...

and a skateboarder. He likes to drink, smoke

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

and have sex with human females (in some stories they find him attractive; in others, repulsive). He loves his trusty

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboarde ...

. It seems that he has enemies everywhere, including the police and politicians. He often breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

. *Stefan and Zenek are two of Jerzy's enemies. They represent the far right skinhead

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

. They are

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

and they hate everything they consider unpatriotic. *Zombie is a member of subculture called "'' dresiarze''" who shot himself after Jerzy convinced him that he was

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

. He later came back from the dead as a

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

to take revenge on the hedgehog. * El Dresso, often referred to as "Mały" (Tiny), is a friend of Zombie who became a supervillain after his friend's death. In the ''Exorcist'' storyline, Zombie took over his body, as his own was destroyed. * Kula and friends are a trio of bullies from the ''dresiarze'' subculture who often try to beat up Jerzy. The leader's name is Kula. *The priest is an

exorcist In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, ...

and a good friend of Jerzy. *Przemysław R. is a

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who, after once failing to kill Jerzy, keeps coming back to seek revenge. In some ways, he is similar to

Sideshow Bob Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode " The Telltale Head". Bob is a se ...

from ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

''. *Pietia "the Scar" Pavlov is a Russian

hitman Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...

, often seen in the second book and then return as center character in book six, as well appears in the final volume. *Yola is a very lusty girl who sometimes dates Jerzy. While a minor character in the comics, she plays a central part in the movie. *Michał Puszka is a prison warden and friend of Jerzy. *The Authors themselves occasionally appear in the stories as Jerzy's parents (even though they are both male).

Albums

Child friendly version: *''Jeż Jerzy: Dla dzieci'' (''For Children'') Adult versions: *''Jeż Jerzy: The True Story'' - The book is not counted as part of official series and it had a very limited print run, many of the stories were reprinted in later albums. *''Jeż Jerzy: Nie dla dzieci'' (''Not for Children'') – 2002. A series of short stories *''Jeż Jerzy: Wróg publiczny'' (''The Public Enemy'') – 2002. A series of short stories *''Jeż Jerzy: Egzorcysta'' (''The Exorcist'') – 2003. A long story. The story is a spoof of ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...

''. In the story Jerzy is chosen by God to save the world from Satan's plot to take over. *''Jeż Jerzy: Ścigany'' (''The Fugitive'') – 2003. Short stories *''Jeż Jerzy: Dokument'' (''The Documentary'') – 2004. A series of short stories, combined with a host telling the story of Jerzy's life. *''Jeż Jerzy: Ziom'' (''Homie'') – 2005. Short stories. *''Jeż Jerzy: In vitro'' – 2006. Two long stories. One has Jerzy being cloned and the other has Jerzy being imprisoned with his enemy Przemysław R. *''Jeż Jerzy: Człowiek z Blizną'' (''Scarface'') – published in 2007. A long story and centred on the Pieta "the Scar" character. *''Jeż Jerzy: Musi umrzeć'' (''Must Die'') - published in 2009. It centers on the motif of death (i.e. Jerzy faking his own death to avoid paying bills).

Awards

An episode of ''Jeż Jerzy'' won the Grand Prix at the International Festival of Comics in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

in 1999.Jakub Demianczuk
Tomasz Lesniak biography
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Film

An animated film was released in 2011. The script was written by the authors themselves. The first teaser trailer can be seen on YouTube
YouTube

References

External links

*
Oficjal Page ''Jeż Jerzy''

Strip Show

Warsaw Voice ''Warsaw Voice: Polish and Central European Review'' (shortly ''The Warsaw Voice'') is an English-language newspaper printed in Poland, concentrating on news about Poland and its neighbours. First released in October 1988, it is a general news ma ...