The International Games and Comics Festival in Łódź presented the comic book ‘Pan-Europe. Solidarity with Ukraine’. It is a story about bringing help to refugees, hope and bravery. The main protagonists of this year’s issue are our Ukrainian neighbours and all the Europeans who opened their hearts and homes to them.

‘Pan-Europe. Solidarity with Ukraine” is the fifth comic book in a series published by the European Commission Representation in Poland. The heroes of Pan-Europa are known from the previous parts, such as the sorcerer Jan Twardowski. Also, new characters appear, such as the goddess of light and hope Aurora, who unite people to fight the threat from the East, who wants to take advantage of the tragedy of the refugees and destroy the unity of Europeans.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a crime against peace and the cause of more than four million people fleeing to the European Union (EU). The Community has not remained idle towards the Kremlin aggression. Refugees can enjoy the right to stay in the EU, access to the labour market, social and health assistance. The children and teenagers can study, and those who came to the EU without their relatives have been given legal protection”, says Sebastian Rysz from the European Commission’s representation in Poland.

The story described in the comic is dedicated to the citizens of Ukraine, who were forced to leave their homeland and seek help in Poland, among other places, and to all of us who extended a helping hand to them. People who found refuge in our country were often helped by institutions implementing investments co-financed by European funds.

The comic book is a collective work. In addition to the leading Polish cartoonists, artists from Ukraine were invited to create this year’s edition. An electronic version of the publication is available on the website of the European Commission Representation in Poland.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński