The Third Argument

The Third Argument (Serbian: Treći argument/Трећи аргумент) is an award-winning, internationally published graphic novel based on the writings of Milorad Pavić, with script by Zoran Stefanović and art by Zoran Tucić.^[1]

Creation and publication history

The cover of original Serbian 1995 The Third Argument release

According to critics „The Third Argument” is an esoteric graphic novel, unusual even in the global context. It was created after the stories of Serbian Nobel Prize candidate, „The First Writer of the 21st Century”, Milorad Pavić (1929-2009). Graphic novel has been done by artist Zoran Tucić and scriptwriter Zoran Stefanović based on motifs from Pavić's literature: stories „The Wedgwood tea set“, „Horses of St. Mark, or the Novel of Troy“ and „The third argument“, as well as poems „The game of chess with Mexican figures“ and „The novel of Troy“.

Three stories constitute the whole which addresses the "Balkan" and the „European Question” from historical, anthropological, psychological, mystical and political points of view – the prejudices, traumas and myths. The love romance hides the story of matter, historical events describe the abyss of time, and "the third argument" is the decisive one, not only for the fate of Europe, but the Humankind and civilization as well.

The graphic novel has been successfully received both by the public and critics in Southeast Europe (Yugoslavia and Cyprus, 1995) where it won all of the main national awards. Then it was introduced to the planetary public through United States of America and the Heavy Metal Magazine (1998-2000, being sold 100.000 copies in average). Now it is being published in France by YIL Editions,^[2] ïn Serbia by Komiko and in other countries.

Also have participated: costume designer Jasmina Ignjatović (ladies' costumes); painter and sculptor Jasna Nikolić (figure-concepts), art photographer Milinko Stefanović and graphic designer: Rade Tovladijac.

In a postmodern manner, the graphic novel is mentioned in later Pavić's novel, The writing box.^[3]

Critical reception

• “Truly visually brilliant graphic novel.” – Archie Goodwin^[4]
• “In artists like Đorđe Milović, Željko Pahek and Zoran Tucić we have contemporary draughtsman of truly international calibre.” – Paul Gravett^[5]
• “Authors have, in a very precise manner, touched the spirit, the essence of the oneiric, entangled and then disentangled style, which attracted so many readers to Pavić' prose. (…) Byzantine civilization is omnipresent in the Third Argument, and that should make them proud.” – Pavle Zelić
• “The best adaptation of literature in history of Serbian comics.” – Vasa Pavković
• “Done after the recipe of three colors – white, red and blue, stories themselves offer interpretation of their own spectrum, which as opposed to phrases of the enlightened, rational European thoughts on ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’, differ and come to persisting Balkan categories of future, present and past.” – Jelena Tasić
• “Mystical charge is not allowing a reader/watcher to unleash imagination but it takes him to the realm where quiet buzzing of instruments of art overcomes the need for unquestionably solid form of ordered existence. … If we speak of comics as a form of art, here is a shift from ordinary comic towards literary and visual communication too big to call the Third Argument simply a – comics. – Slobodan Škerović^[6]
• „Wedgwood's Tea Set is a mythological quest for the meaning, told by a rich visual language and strict narrative suspense. The simulation surpasses the reality and completely compresses it into a decorative symbolism. This kind of inner emanation I only saw with Kurosawa, in Dodes'ka-den and Dreams.” – Slobodan Škerović^[7]
• „The program gets interrupted, and a torrent of excitement starts to pour out of you (…) These stories end, and behind they leave myriad of questions with no answers. What kind of world we live in?” – Aleksandar Mićić
• “This is a ripe, valid work which represents two talented authors for which the essence of comics media is not a secret.” – Ilija Bakić
• “Details of the mystery of this interesting enterprise wait for each reader to discover them on his own, one by one, like some board game where one has to roll the dice with a certain number in order to reach a certain place.” – Marko Fančović
• “Coldness of colors is in accord with ethereal characters, who are more like symbols and using the rhythm of the prose sample.” – Aleksandar Žikić, Politika, 1995
• “All constitutes the whole which scrutinizes the ‘Balkan Question’ and relationship of the region with Europe, from historical, anthropological, psychological, mystical and political points of view, and of course, through subtly and delicately shaped metaphors, prejudice, myths, traumas, concrete experiences...” – Slobodan Ivkov, Politika, 2005.
• “A sensual comic Wedgwood's Tea Set of the duo Tucić and Stefanović, attracts with its colors and execution technique. It is easy to get immersed into that wonderful story (…) Fluid storytelling takes us through new turnabouts of incredible love, describing the consequential attempts and heroically accepted defeats – as well as sudden punchline, which reveals a completely different side of story. If such comics could only be created in Poland...” – Artur Dlugosz^[8]

References

External links

• Khazars.com, Milorad Pavić official site
• „The Third Argument by Zoran Tucić, Milorad Pavić, Zoran Stefanović (info)”, Milorad Pavić Library, Project Rastko, August 2016.