The Atoms for Peace programme was adopted in Russia to help the Soviet Union overtake the West’s nuclear power superiority. Instead, it resulted in the creation of a radioactive cloud that terrified the entire world. What led to the catastrophe at Chernobyl in April 1986 is a complex question; Strict authoritarian policies, impossible deadlines, a lack of money and materials, pervasive bureaucracy and political corruption all played their part in the largest nuclear catastrophe in history.


This graphic and harrowing account of the disaster follows the dozens of human stories cruelly affected by the tragedy. From the engineers and firefighters to doctors and soldiers, the children and families in the surrounding towns and villages to the animals in the forests - they all make up the story of Chernobyl, a mosaic of victims who paid the price for distant politicians’ ambitions and arrogance.


Matyáš Namai (*1993) studied graphic design at the Michael School of Advertising and Art and has focused on the medium of comics since his studies. He has contributed his work to magazines such as ABC (Master of Shaolin, Thief of the Millennium) and Playboy (Ironic Applause). His book projects include George Orwell's graphic novel 1984, which has been published in several languages, A Painted History of Europe, and his contribution to the comic book adaptation of Karel Čapek's short stories, Pockets. He is currently working on a biographical comic about the Dalai Lama and on his Vizari stories. As part of his research for this book, he visited the Chernobyl region in December 2020.