Books published by Centrala Ltd

Under an ever-present orange sun illuminating a desert landscape, two artisans, one for glass the other for clay, meet every day for lunch and chat. Both are sleepwalkers, but experience this phenomenon in drastically different ways. The potter hates his somnambulism, considers it an uncomfortable part of his being as if he shared a body with a stranger. The glassblower, however, is not nearly as bothered by being a sleepwalker. One night, he wakes up startled. Taken over by insomnia, he goes to his workshop and there he will make a horrifying discovering that will trigger the conclusion of this story.

The story of the Mašín brothers and their band waging guerilla war against the Communist regime in the early 1950s could be the most dramatic Czech tale of the 20th century. After their activities in Czechoslovakia, these five young men headed west ¿ facing off against twenty thousand East German Volkspolizei and shooting their way to freedom. In the novel So Far, So Good, Jan Novák wrote the story like a thrilling Czech Western and won the Magnesia Litera prize for Best Book of the Year. Now he and the artist Jaromír 99 have created a dramatic and visually arresting graphic novel in Jaromír 99¿s unique and specific style of noir. After the runaway success in Czechia of their previous collaboration, Zátopek, the authors return with an even more explosive comic book.

A horror detective story about two sisters, whose world is created from the surreal visions of Vojt¿ch Mašek, one of the most acclaimed Czech comics authors. When one of the Dietl sisters ends up in hospital after what appears to be a brutal attack, leaving her with a mutilated face and unable to move, Mašek leads the reader on a detective story exploring change of identity, doppelgängers, deformation, hallucination and altered states of mind in contrast with idyllic family life. This comics takes place in a fictional world woven from dreams, hazy and distorted memories of childhood fears, fear of the unknown and the desire for a safe hiding place. Reality constantly disrupted by doubts, changing points of view, the neurotic need to find objective truth. All this is contained in the story about the Dietl sisters ¿ many theories, many possibilities but seemingly with only one solution. Mašek employs a unique multilayered art style, combining backgrounds created from various texts, newspaper cuttings and patterns with the main plot taking place in the foreground. The connections and juxtapositions between these two levels brilliantly evoking the main themes of the book.

The existential graphic novel about Prague's thirty-something who's just been dumped by his longtime girlfriend. Is it a blessing or a curse? Drawn in a highly expressive but highly detailed style that fits the closed protagonist, for whom beer and soccer are essential life anchors. The story about loneliness disguised under a tough macho shell.

Daria has neither hope nor prospects for a great career. She does not have the time nor energy to draw, let alone sleep. What idiot said that with just a little bit of work everyone can succeed?An inspiring tale of working hard to acheive your goals.

Elephant on the Moon is a richly illustrated tale of courage, passion and determination. Although it is directed mainly at younger readers, it refers to serious events.