Now in paperback, this is the first study to trace the evolution of Russian comics from Soviet Bete Noire to post-Perestroika art form. 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.