A father, mother and son make their way through a terrifying, twisted jungle. It’s not clear how long they have been walking like this. They’re heading towards some unspecified destination, but it’s not clear why. Along the way, they encounter monstrous, aggressive insects and the ubiquitous fungal spores with which the father is becoming increasingly swollen. The hardship and futility of their journey cause the conflict between the son and his parents.
This is a story about intergenerational relay, about the search for meaning.
Fungae (in Polish, published by Kultura Gniewu)
This is my second comic book, following Mr. Lightbulb, published by the legendary American publisher Fantagraphics.
Please feel free to CONTACT me regarding published and upcoming comic book and film projects.
Script outline 2019
Before I wrote the script, I put down the plot ideas in the form of a story outline, accompanied by my sketches. That made it easier for me to describe this imaginary world to Tomek Leśniak, who created the illustrations.
script 2020
Drafting and revisions 2020
In 2020, based on my sketches and script, Tomek Lesniak drew the whole comic in sketch form. I suggested some changes to the framing and the characters’ emotions – in a sense, I was directing the comic – while Tomek edited the dialogue and suggested different dynamics for the scenes.
Final version 2021
Only after the sketch version of the whole thing was closed, Tomek set about drawing about 440 pages of the final version of the novel.
End of works 2022
Tomek finished drawing the comic almost exactly 3 years after I wrote the script. He was doing it in the evenings, after we’d finished working on the feature-length Diplodocus film I was directing -which was what we spent our days doing. The resemblance between the comic book hero’s parents and Nervekowsky and Entomology from Diplodocus is no coincidence.
Cover design
The black-and-white cover design from 2019 and the final cover for the Polish edition (2023).
a few pages from the book
Polish premiere
The comic was published in Poland by Kultura Gniewu in January 2023.
Reviews
“What Leśniak has conjured up on the pages of Fungae will make nations kneel!”
Paradoks
“This story sucks you in and doesn’t let go until the very end.”
Badloopus
“Fungae is a work with a carefully crafted structure that doesn’t take away from its expression.”
Nerdheim
“A comic that’s immersive, dark, where we can almost physically feel the tightening of both the world and the narrative.”
Betoniarka
“The story of Fungae stays with the reader long after the last page is turned.”
Stare Wilki
“Fungae is a comic that captivates with its beauty. When I write this, I’m not only thinking of Leśniak’s drawings, but also (and perhaps above all) about what Wawszczyk wants to convey. Before you is a story about family, upbringing, relationships, survival, and the purpose of it all.”
Czas na komiks
“As we immerse ourselves in the details, we feel the fear, the stench, the incoming cold.”
Melancholia codzienności
“The authors skillfully and gradually build up the tension.”
Książki WP
“The final effect is excellent, appropriately atmospheric, dramatic, and very pleasing.”
Kostnica
“It works on every level and makes an incredible impression.”
Metody marnowania czasu
“One of the most interesting and surprising premieres of the last few months.”
Książki
“Fungae can thus be read as a philosophical tale. But it’s philosophy in its purest form, close to the essence of doubt — namely, pure fear.”
Dwutygodnik
Written by
- Wojtek Wawszczyk
Illustrated by
- Tomasz Leśniak
Published by
- Kultura Gniewu 2023 (Polish edition)
- Fantagraphics 2026 (American edition)