In 1998 he won the poster competition at a festival in Sierre, Switzerland. Later he renewed his friendship with Grzegorz Rosiński, author of the famous Thorgal comic books, to work on the fifth volume of the adventures of Yans in Rosiński's studio in Brussels. Such were the beginnings of the international career of Zbigniew Kasprzak, the Polish draftsman who for many years has lived and worked in the Belgian capital, and who signs his work "KAS."

Kasprzak's work incorporates more than the fantasy Yans comic book, the drawing of which he has taken over from Rosiński. His 96-page comic book Podróænicy (Travelers), published by Egmont, will be shown for the first time at this year's festival in £ód¼. The comic is a story of early-19th century travelers buying furs from trappers and Indians from the Arctic Circle and transporting them to the East Coast, forced to fight bears, Indians and English clerks along the way. It is a beautifully drawn adventure comic.

The second of Kasprzak's comic books "premiered" at £ód¼ will be Przepowiednie (Prophecies), the first volume of the Halloween Blues series, also published by Egmont. Prophecies is a detective/horror story. The main events take place in Texas where a series of mysterious accidents and murders occur, connected with the ownership of land in a distant valley.

Kasprzak is just one of the stars of this year's festival. Other renowned comic book writers participating in the festival include Pat Mills and Clint Longley, the creators of the Celtic barbarian fighter Slaine. Classic Polish comic book authors such as Janusz Christa, Tadeusz Baranowski, the legendary Papcio Chmiel, author of comic books about Tytus, and Bohdan Butenko (the Gucio and Cezar series) will be invited to the festival as well. Young comic authors taking part in the event include Krzysztof Gawronkiewicz, Dennis Wojda and Tomasz Le¶niak. Novelist Andrzej Sapkowski, author of the Wied¼min books, will be the festival's special guest.

A drawing competition will be held during the festival, as well as workshops, scientific lectures and movies. Comics will be sold at both publishing houses' and collectors' stalls at the festival exchange.

All events will take place Oct. 24-26 at the £ód¼ Culture Center, 18 Traugutta St.