A Lviv comic publishing house has opened a bookstore in Krakow.

In the Polish city of Kraków, starting from February 15, the Lviv comic publishing house UA Comix Publishing has officially opened the bookstore-café UAComix Kraków. The bookstore offers comics in both Ukrainian and Polish, along with coffee. The founder of the publishing house, Bohdan Kordoba, shared in a comment to ZAXID.NET that preparations for the opening took about six months. The bookstore aims to become a cultural center where Ukrainians can gather.

“This is our franchise in Kraków. The franchise owner is Ukrainian, and the staff are as well. There is quite a large concentration of Ukrainians and cultural events in Kraków. It made perfect sense to open a store there. Moreover, Kraków is mentally familiar to us. We, as publishers, first came to Poland in 2018 for a comic festival. We have attended various events in Poland almost annually, and we already have an established base of readers – both Polish and Ukrainian. They know about us there,” said Bohdan Kordoba.

The interior of the bookstore in Kraków. Photo by Ruslana Koropetska

It is worth noting that the bookstore also has space for hosting events. Additionally, on the second floor of the store, there is a small hall where visitors can play board games.

“In the store, you can enjoy coffee and read comics. The bookstore team plans to host board game evenings. In the event hall, there will be presentations by our publishing house (the main activity will revolve around comics), but the bookstore will serve as a cultural hub in Kraków, where various artists can bring their ideas to life,” said the founder of UA Comix.

In a comment to “Chytomo,” the chief editor of the publishing house, Ruslana Koropetska, mentioned that Bohdan Kharitonov will develop the store in Kraków. The project’s development is supported by Fundacja Widowisk Masowych and Fundacja Muzeum Komiksu.

“You have to be very brave to embark on this adventure. All our franchisees are like-minded individuals, part of the community, and people with whom we want to build long-term relationships. The founder of UA Comix Kraków, Bohdan Kharitonov, is doubly brave for daring to do this in another country,” said Ruslana Koropetska.

In Ukraine, there are two UA Comix bookstores – in Lviv and Kolomyia. Before the full-scale invasion, there was also a bookstore in Khmelnytskyi. Bohdan Kordoba mentioned that the store was closed because the entire team working at that location joined the Defense Forces.

Additionally, the UA Comix comic publishing house was founded in 2017 by Lviv resident Bohdan Kordoba. The publishing house has created comics such as “Aridnik. The Creation of the World,” “Hamlet,” “Maxim Osa,” and more. One of the latest comics is the publication about Roman Shukhevych titled “Shukh. The Story of a Legend” and the comic about the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade titled “I’m Going to Assault.”