Collection: collection thai comics

Unlikely ghosts, steamy bodies, summary beheadings, and karmic justice - welcome to the hell of Katun lem la baht: the 1-baht comics that flooded Thailand in the 1970s and 1980s. Distant cousins of the adult oriented Elvifrance publications, these popular comic books remain largely unknown in our part of the world.

The Katun is the literature of the working class: masseuses, street vendors, taxi drivers, receptionists; it is also found in hair salons and dental offices, where the more affluent classes can indulge in reading it on the sly. It lays bare everything that a certain classical -that is, essentially aristocratic- idea of Thai identity, condemns: stories of gangs, the tricks and deceit of couples, tales of the exploitation of men and women -often from Isaan- who have come to try their luck in Bangkok, conflicts with the rich (setthi), and above all, ghost (phi) stories, which make up nearly half of the output.

Phi Pret, Krahang, Phi Hua Khat, Krasue... including regional variations, there are just over a hundred ghosts depicting the psyche of mistreated migrants from rural areas arriving in town. In the Katun lem la baht, fury that turns gory is often the response to pain endured. The deeper the suffering endured, the more flamboyant the Katun will be in the violence of its vengeance, notes Nicolas Verstappen, author of the reference book The Art of Thai Comics.

From 1979 to 1987, approximately 5,000 titles were released by the 25 publishers in operation. With print runs ranging from 25,000 to 70,000 per issue, some 200 million copies were in circulation across the country !