Praise for “Rusalka”:
Graphic novel, Strangers Publishing, 2023
Rusalka is a mysterious water demon of Slavic mythology: living by the lake in the ancient Forest, she is the deadly threat luring in lost wanderers… or so the old legends say. But who really is Rusalka and how did she come to be? Where do her powers come from and what dark secrets might hide in her fragmented memories?
“Rusalka - Whispers of the Forest” is a story exploring identity, belonging and control, set in the world of Slavic mythology.
The book received the Broken Frontier Award in the Breakout Talent category (2024) and was nominated as the Best Polish Comic at MFKiG (2024).
“There's a really harmonious blend of free-form creativity and meticulous structure throughout. The lush green colour scheme infuses the pages with an organic, aquatic essence that also takes in the surrounding forest. It evokes both the tranquillity of water and the vibrancy of nature.”
Benjamin Williams | Comic Book News UK
“I have described Kamila’s folkloric illustration as “stunning” in the past at Broken Frontier and that’s not hyperbolic. If anything it’s gross understatement. It’s been a delight to see her storytelling increase in confidence and maturity over the last three and a half years, and as you can see from the pages below this is her finest work yet.”
Andy Oliver | Broken Frontier
“Like Hansel, scattering breadcrumbs in a dark forest, Kamila Król starts off by leaving us hints, to finally piece together a melancholic tale of Rusalka, letting the reader assemble its full picture. What at first appears to be a simple fairy tale gradually reveals its deeper themes – questions of identity, belonging, and self-discovery, all told with the kind of ambiguity that defines best folklore.
Król’s artwork is nothing short of mesmerizing, building a dreamlike atmosphere that is both subdued and unsettling. There’s a masterful play with visual storytelling here: hallucinations and memories aren’t just marked by shifts in color, but by subtle blurring of lines, intensifying their hazy, surreal quality. Rising anger is depicted through an EKG heart rhythm, while shadows seamlessly morph into claws across multiple panels. There are countless details like this, each one carefully woven into the fabric of the story.”
Pawel Kozera, Framed a Comics | Wypisz Wymaluj Komiksowo
