WALTER NEUGEBAUER | 7 Prema crtežu medij stripa može se podijeliti na strip s izrazito stiliziranim, te uglavnom humorističnim i često ka- rikaturalnim obilježjima, i na strip blizak realističnom pristupu likovima i prostoru. S obzirom na neupitnu činjenicu da je An- drija Maurović objavio Vjerenicu mača u listu Oko 1935., što se navodi kao prvi pravi strip hrvatskih autora (scenarij Kreši- mir Kovačić) u hrvatskoj povijesti stripa, te s obzirom na liko- vne kvalitete stripa bliskog realističnom pristupu i veličini njegova opusa, on je postao najpoznatije ime hrvatskog stripa. No, podsjetimo na činjenicu da Walter Neugebauer (Tuzla, 28. ožujka 1921. – München, 31. svibnja 1992.) još iste godine, u istom časopisu (sa scenarijem brata Norberta), objavljuje strip Nasredinove pustolovine. Taj strip karikaturalne stilizacije tada je još nespretan u izrazu što opravdava Neugebauerova mladost, ali to je temelj likovnog izraza koji će Walter s godi- nama razvijati i oplemenjivati, kako u stripu, tako i u animi- ranom filmu. Doista je nepravedno što je cjelokupni opus Waltera Neugebauera toliko dugo bio zanemaren u javnosti: njegov je opus i utjecaj u povijesti stripa i animiranog filma doista pionirski i nezaobilazan, što je starijim naraštajima či- tatelja stripova i gledatelja crtanih filmova i te kako poznato. Stoga Galerija Klovićevi dvori projektom prezentacije izbora djela iz obiteljske ostavštine Waltera Neugebauera, nakon predstavljanja Andrije Maurovića 2007., predstavlja drugu naj- značajniju kariku začetnika hrvatske povijesti stripa, onu koja čini značajnu poveznicu hrvatske i američke te globalne popu- larne kulture. 1 The comics medium can be divided, from the aspect of drawing, between comics with pronounced stylisation that are mostly humorous and often caricatural, and comics closer to a realistic presentation of the figures and backgrounds. Since An- drija Maurović undeniably produced the first real comic strip in Croatian comics history by Croatian authors (script by Krešimir Kovačić), The Betrothed of the Sword in the magazine Oko in 1935, and considering the art qualities of this strip which was closer to the realistic approach, and the size of Maurović’s opus, he has become the best-known Croatian comics artist. But we must also remember that Walter Neugebauer (Tuzla, 28 March 1921 – Munich, 31 May 1992) published the comic strip The Ad- ventures of Nasredin in the same year, in the same magazine (the script was by his brother Norbert). This comic of caricatural stylisation was still clumsy in expression, which was due to Neugebauer’s youth, but it already shows the foundations of the art expression that Neugebauer developed and honed through the years, both in comics and in animated films. There is great injustice in the many years of public disregard of Neugebauer’s opus as a whole, because his work and influence on the history of comics and animated films is truly that of a pioneer and un- avoidable, as older generations of lovers of comics and cartoon films are aware. Thus the Klovićevi dvori Gallery, in its project of presenting a selection from the Walter Neugebauer family es- tate, after its presentation of Andrija Maurović in 2007, is now showing the work of the second most important link among the initiators of Croatian comics history, the link that marks the im- portant connection between Croatian and American, and global popular culture. 1 1 Značenje ove izložbe u smislu ispravljanja zapostavljenosti Neugebaerova djela najbolje potvr- đuju riječi Mladena Novakovića: „Što je danas za nas Walterovo djelo? Za djedove i očeve senti- mentalne grafičke uspomene obogaćene stihovima njegova brata tekstopisca Norberta koje i danas mogu doslovno recitirati, za sinove i unuke nepoznata mitska baština nacionalnog stripa, za povjesničare umjetnosti i teoretičare stripa još uvijek ‘tabula rasa’. On je bio skromna radišna osobnost u odnosu na ekscentričnog Maurovića pa unatoč veličanstvenom opusu u stripu, izda- vaštvu i crtanom filmu nije do sada ni približno jednako vrednovan. Walter još nema svog aka- demskog zagovornika koji bi mu posvjedočio legitimitet klasika hrvatske likovne kulture.“ 1 Mladen Novaković best shows the importance of this exhibition from the aspect of putting right the neglect of Neugebauer’s work: “What does Walter’s work mean for us today? For the grandfathers and fathers it means sentimental graphic memories enhanced by the verses of his brother, the scriptwriter Norbert, which they can even today recite correctly; for the sons and grandsons it is an unknown mythical heritage of the national comic strip; for art historians and comics theoreticians it is still a tabula rasa. In comparison with the eccentric Maurović he was a modest, hard-working man, so despite his magnificent opus in comics, publishing and cartoon films he has so far not even roughly been evaluated to the same extent. Walter still does not have his academic supporter to testify Walter Neugebauer Frano Dulibić