Best Comics of 2019: An International Perspective Part 1 (original) (raw)

Year in Review

You know, there’s an awfully big world of comics out there! And it’s that time again to invite my International Correspondents, expert connoisseurs across the planet to recommend to you their favourite comics and graphic novels created and (in most cases) also published in each country they know well during last year. This annual International Perspective remains vital in my view to broaden our knowledge and appreciation of the diversity of this truly global medium. I’ll be adding reports from other countries as they come in - but let’s start with Argentina, Serbia and Sweden… Click on your country of choice below to be re-directed to that section:

ARGENTINA - FINLAND - POLAND - SERBIA - SINGAPORE - SOUTH KOREA - SWEDEN - SWITZERLAND

Read Part 2 of this International Perspective here…, and Part 3 here…

Argentina

Selected by Juan Manuel Dominguez

Juan Manuel Dominguez wanted to be a superhero. Now, the Batman-Gorey lover drowns his dreams of saving the universe with comics and film criticism - the Clark Kent answer to reality - and believes his folks and friends contribute to the most super factor of his professional and non-ultra-powered life.

Pibas
by various artists
Hotel de las Ideas

As always, Argentine comics have created (slowly but firmly) its own antibodies. Yes, Pibas is a reaction to many things. A powerful and plural reaction. One that mixes both the fanzine creators (Femimutancia, Maia Debowicz) and the ones who have become mainstream (Sole Otero). Pibas is an anthology that works, yes, as a landmark. But also as a stand against the always-buzzing idea that comics are -sigh- dead, and against the fossilised masculinity that has defined a big chunk of Argentina’s comics DNA. Of course, there were female artists before this book, which blends together 24 way-too-different artists. And of course the sense and sensibilities of the medium’s possibilities and its present have shifted in the last few years away from old (yet sincere) storytelling clichés. But still, this anthology that debuted at New York’s MoCCA Festival and was curated by the collective In Bocca al Luppo, is a disruptive punk scream. Mixing styles, ideologies and names, this is comics performing a most sincere, inevitable and happy takeover. One that doesn’t want to be a definitive take on anything, but the fact that these 24 names – who could easily have been another 24 artists – have shifted the tectonic plate of Argentine comics ground. And that’s a (welcome) hell of a movement.

Alienígena
by Femimutancia
Hotel de las Ideas

Alienígena is a 2018 book that was taken to mainstream audiences in 2019 by the publishing house Hotel de las Ideas. Ok, that can be read as a sort of cheat in the whole “best of the year” business, but bear with me. What Femimutancia (alias Julia Inés Mamome) creates is a dry and inventive take on modern-day living. This comment can be said about so so, so many comics all around the world. But its value and what sets it apart from other comic creators come in the creative flow of the likes of Olivier Schrauwen. Femimutancia also alters bodies and social relationships in a way that they feel familiar (as a narrative but also in its pictorial representation). But here’s the key to its power: it introduces the perfect amount of weirdness – strange colours and body movements – a hypnotic cadence that defines its storytelling. It feels like a colourful and revolutionary invasion. One that uses different types of bodies and shades to create a new humanity that still has to deal with that demon called everyday life. Her world is absurd and relatable, aggressively anti-hegemonic and one that envelops a different stream of feelings and loneliness.

Finland

Selected by Harri Römpötti

Harri Römpötti has worked over 30 years as a freelance Helsinki-based journalist specialising in comics, cinema, music and literature. He’s written books on Finnish comics and documentary cinema and curated comics exhibitions. He’s also curated a program of animated films related to comics for the Stuttgart Animation Festival.

Satakieli joka ei laulanut (‘Nightingale That Didn’t Sing’)
by Juliana Hyrri
Suuri Kurpitsa

Juliana Hyrri’s Satakieli joka ei laulanut is the best Finnish debut in a while and the best comic of last year. Most people think that children are innocent and childhood’s just a wonderful time. Hyrri’s short stories ring true and explore the dark side of childhood. Some of them, like one dealing with an accidental drowning of a schoolmate, are heavy. Hyrri is also a visual artist, having exhibited internationally. Her drawings flow effortlessly. This year Hyrri participated in Association ChiFouMi’s workshop at the Angoulême International Comics Festival alongside artists like Charles Burns, Aisha Franz and Zak Sally.

Quo vadis, Katalin?
by Kati Kovács
WSOY

Since 1994 Kati Kovács has published over dozen books and is one of the staple names of Finnish comics. Quo vadis, Katalin? is her most autobiographical work since her debut. With dazzling drawings Kovács tells the life of a young woman in Rome. The artist has actually lived there for over 30 years. The album describes the difficulty of adjusting to the new country and culture. The Nordic main character’s encounters with Southern machismo can be read against the current #metoo movement. In her usual style Kovács elevates her story to a dreamlike fantasy level.

Valotusaika (Exposure Time)
by Avi Heikkinen
Pokuto

It’s easy to get a time-travel story into a muddle. Avi Heikkinen keeps his story surprisingly uncluttered in Valotusaika. To be exact, nobody travels in time. Heikkinen’s MacGuffin is a camera that can see into the past. With this device Jamo tries to solve disappearances of his own small son and a young woman. Heikkinen tells the story with digitally processed photographs – a very laborious method for comics. He plays Jamo himself. The result does work but looks alienating – fittingly for the weird atmosphere of the mildly futuristic story and interestingly unpleasant main character.

Poland

Selected by Michał Chudoliński

Michał Chudoliński is a comics and film critic. Chudoliński also gives lectures on American popular culture, with an emphasis on comic books (“Batman’s mythology and criminology”; “Comic book Canon”; “Comics Journalism”), at the Collegium Civitas and the Warsaw Film School. Founder and editor of the Gotham in Rain blog. He co-operates with magazines like Polityka, 2+3D, Nowa Fantastyka, Czas Fantastyki, Charaktery and is a guest speaker on the Polish Radio. Currently he is working at AKFiS TVP and is the Polish correspondent of “The Comics Journal”. Co-founder of the Polish Science Fiction Foundation.

Niezwyciężony (‘Invincible’)
by Rafał Mikołajczyk
Booka

A sensation on the Polish comics market. A graphic novel created over the span of 3 years, after hours (usually) of work in advertising agencies. A faithful, atmospheric and suspenseful adaptation of Stanisław Lem’s novel, whose science-fiction work is now being popularised again in the USA thanks to MIT’s re-editions. This science-fiction noir comic reveals both a detective side, as well as hard SF and philosophical leanings. It poses very current questions on the human condition, the essence of mankind and human nature. Is mankind permitted – and to what degree – to interfere with nature? Should we fight with something we do not understand? An amazing popularisation of Polish culture and our contribution to world in speculative fiction, and science fiction in particular.

Eileen Grey. Dom pod słońcem (‘Eileen Grey. House under the Sun’)
by Charlotte Malterre-Barthes & Zosia Dzierżawska
Marginesy

An amazing entrée into David Mazzuchelli’s Asterios Polyp. Zosia Dzierżawska, together with a talented French architect, both created an interesting, warm biography of one of the female icons of architecture in the convention of a melodrama from the interwar period. A fascinating tale of a goal-focused woman who lived as she pleased, rejecting social niceties and the patriarchy, while being an invaluable artist and free spirit. An English-language translation has been published in the UK by Nobrow Press.

Brom
by Unka Odya
23

The best Polish graphic novel of the 30th International Festival of Comics and Games in Lodz. Essentially a supernatural comic on naturalism, as it tells the tale of eerie creatures inhibiting the depths of the forest, close to us. A frivolous game with the language of comics and with narration, in which the aesthetics of a horror or a thriller are combined with references to Polish folklore and creatures from the Slavic bestiary. For fans of Locke and Key and fans of stories on wildlife.

Złota kolekcja (‘Gold Collection’)
by Janek Koza
Kultura Gniewu

The first volume of an exclusive collection of Janek Koza’s comic strips, which appeared in recent years in Polish publications such as _Polityka’_and Gazeta Wyborcza. Koza, known from albums such as Erotyczne zwierzenia (‘Erotic Confessions’) and Wszystko źle (‘Everything is Bad’), is an attentive and sensitive observer of our daily lives, who turns his observations into bitter, but also deeply funny comic miniatures. The first volume of the Gold Collection contains chapters on the following themes, which always remain current: Poland, the elections, power and time.

Osiedle Swoboda – Centrum (‘The Liberty Estate – The Centre’)
by Michał ‘Śledziu’ Śledziński
Kultura Gniewu

The long-awaited follow-up to The Liberty Estate, one of the few Polish comics about modern Poland itself. This time, Śledziu spins a tale which takes place in the present. His heroes, like their author, are getting old and are trying to find themselves in their daily lives. An interesting, fun look at present-day Poland and its lifestyle. Somewhat more nostalgic and lighter in comparison with previous volumes.

Bonus List: Anastazja volume 2 (‘Anastasia Vol. 2’) by Magdalena Lankosz & Joanna Karpowicz (Kultura Gniewu)
Nie przebaczaj (‘Don’t Forgive’) by Kuba Ryszkiewicz & Marianna Strychowska (Kultura Gniewu)
Kajko i Kokosz – Nowe Przygody. Królewska konna (‘Kajko and Kokosh. The New Adventures – The Royal Mounties’) by Maciej Kur & Sławomir Kiełbus & Piotr Bednarczyk (Egmont)
Sylwestki i cienie (‘Silhouettes and Shadows’) by Michał Rzecznik (Wydawnictwo Komiksowe).

Serbia

Selected by Žika Tamburić

Žika Tamburić is a long-time comics collector, historian and critic from Belgrade and London. He is also an editor of graphic novels published under Modesty Comics (e-books in English) and Modesty stripovi (paper books in Serbian).

The comics scene and publishing in Serbia continued their strong ride in 2019, with more than 10 festivals in the country, more than 15 publishers and more than 200 new books. This extensive trend is in contradiction to the small market and print runs of around 500 copies. It is uncertain how long this enthusiasm will continue, but in the meantime, comics fans are enjoying a lot of events and great titles. However, a small number of books are by domestic authors, printed either as a domestic product or as a Serbian edition of the book printed abroad. The following is a selection of the most interesting titles by domestic authors:

Do pakla i nazad (‘To Hell and Back’)
by Marko Stojanović & various artists
Self-published

An ambitious endeavour by productive Marko Stojanović on script working with several artists. The results are stories from the Great War which are narratively coherent and exciting with excellent art in a realistic style. This book to some extent mirrors the effort of “System Comics” and their series Front Lines (eight books up till now), but the theme of Great War is still obviously intriguing and inspirational for the authors in Serbia who are still providing great artistic results.

Isidor i neljudska bića (‘Isidor and Nonhumans’)
by Zoran Penevski & Dušan Pavlić
System Comics

This book is small in size, but the boundless imagination of Penevski and Pavlić makes it big. Their Nonhumans and one-syllable main character Isidor provide good humour and a touch of innocent fantasy for children and adults alike.

Kanu
by [System Comics](https://www.petarmeseldzijaart.comPetar Meseldžija
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Meseldžija is a great illustrator, but in this book he proves his abilities at comics narration and visualisation. The story is about a young Indian warrior, told almost without words, with the artist’s personal visual language. The masterful landscapes and human anatomy come from his experience with illustration, but he has also implemented successfully the dynamics of comics and panel composition. We can only regret that Meseldžija has not worked more in the comics media.

Dušan Reljić - strip, karikatura, ilustracija (‘Dušan Reljic - Comics, Caricatures, Illustrations’)
by Predrag Đurić
Modesty Stripovi

Predrag Đurić has prepared a monography of Dušan Reljić‘s more than 50 years in the comics media and industry. The book provides an insight into Dušan’s comics, caricatures and illustrations, which he produced in Yugoslavia, Greece and now Serbia. The critical review observes and discusses not just Dušan’s publicly acclaimed work, but also the political situations and editorial perceptions in the countries were Dušan’s resides. It provides an assessment of the artist’s productive career, but also about the comics scenes in these Balkan’s countries.

Nikola Mitrović - Kokan: Stripovi iz Nikad robom 1964-67 (‘Nikola Mitrović - Kokan: Comics from Never Enslaved 1964-67’)
Foreword by Marko Stojanović
Modesty Stripovi

Kokan was a popular artist in a realistic style in Yugoslavia in the 1960’s through the 1980’s, publishing mainly in the editions of Never Enslaved by Dečje novine from Gornji Milanovac. He worked on comics in parallel with his main job as a designer’ in a factory for cookies and chocolates. Because of his time limitations, his work is of uneven quality, but in the stories in this book he is in excellent form with narratives mainly from the wars between Serbs and Turks in the Middle Ages. A foreword is provided by Marko Stojanović, Kokan’s young student and friend at the time, who gives us an insight into Kokan’s methods and techniques, critical observations of his work and information about the human characteristics of his great teacher.

Serijali: Linije Fronta #8 / Vekovnici #10 / Konstantinovo raskršće #3 / Strip pressing #19 (‘Serials: Front Lines #8 / Endless #9 / Constantine’s Crossroad #3 / Comics Pressing #19’)
by various creators
System Comics / Darkwood

Serbian publishers continue with a good practise of publishing serials by domestic authors. At the present time, with the growing popularity of one-off graphic novels, keeping serials alive is very important in an attempt to keep the audience interested and connected to the characters. Front Lines #8 is a compilation of stories by Serbian and French writers and artists about the First World War, from the front lines, but also from back home, where humanity was struggling for mere existence. Endless #10 is a fantasy saga about historical personalities and endless creatures (vampires, werewolves, dog-headed creatures and others), produced since 2008 as a magnificent achievement of a single scriptwriter Marko Stojanović and numerous artists from Balkans. Constantine’s Crossroad #3 continues a serialised comics adaptation of the popular novel by Dejan Stojiljković, about a quest for the sword of Roman emperor Constantine the Great in his birthplace - Naisus (now Niš in Serbia). The struggle is between Germans, partisans and werewolves during the Second World War, as the sword is supposedly magical and can change history. It is also worth mentioning the 19th issue of the comics magazine Strip Pressing, with comics, interviews and reviews, unique in Serbia since 2001.

Srpska izdanja: Mausart / Dan D (‘Serbian editions: Mouseart/ Day D’)
by various creators
System Comics / Lokomotiva / Carobnaknjiga

Serbian publishers also continue with the good practice of publishing works by Serbian authors which were originally published abroad. This year we should mention Mausart, written by Thierry Joor and drawn by Gradimir Smuđa (Smudja, Gradimir), originally published in 2018 in France by Delcourt. Also, the book Day D, compiled from two episodes from the long-lasting French series Jour J published in France by Delcourt. The first episode is Carstvo stepa (‘The Steppe Empire’) by scripwriters Fred Blanchard, Fred Duval and Jean-Pierre Pécau, and artist from Serbia Rajko Milošević Gera (Guéra, R.M.), from 2015. The second episode is Stupor Mundi (The Marvel of the World), by the same French scriptwriters with the artist from Croatia, living in Serbia, Igor Kordej, from 2016. Finally, the book Oružje Metabarona (The Arms of Meta-Barons) written by Alejandro Jodorowsky is drawn by Serbian artist Zoran Janjetov.

Singapore

Selected by Lim Cheng Tju

Lim Cheng Tju writes about history and popular culture in Singapore. He co-authored The University Socialist Club and the Contest for Malaya: Tangled Strands of Modernity (Amsterdam University Press/NUS Press) and co-edited Liquid City Vol 2 (Image Comics), an anthology of Southeast Asian comics. He is the country editor (Singapore) for the International Journal of Comic Art and his articles have appeared in the Journal of Popular Culture and Print Quarterly. He was an advisor for the Barbican touring exhibition Mangasia. He writes comics sometimes too.

Terumbu (‘Reef’)
by Cheah Sin Ann
Cosh

This came out in 2018 but with his retrospective exhibition happening in March 2020, this book is worth revisiting. Cheah Sin Ann drew one of the first long-running comic strips in Singapore, The House of Lim, which ran in The Straits Times from the late 1980s to the 1990s. Recently he has ventured into graphic novels with The Bicycle (2014), an adventure set during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore (1942-45), which has since been translated and published in France. His latest graphic novel, Terumba (meaning reef in Malay) is a story set in the high seas along the Straits of Malacca in the 19th Century. It depicts a love story between a lowly pirate boy and a girl from the Malay royalty against the background of the decline of piracy in the region with the rise of British imperialism and modernity. Cheah romanticises the notion of piracy, and the portrayal of the Malays is rather stereotypical, and of the British and imperialism, uncritical. But one can excuse him as he has said the inspiration for this tale is old P Ramlee movies. He just want to tell a fun and uncomplicated action story and it is his tribute to the sultan of Malay cinema of the 1950s and 1960s. Terumbu is part of the COSH (Comics of Singapore Histories) line of graphic novels which uses history and heritage as a backdrop for its whimsical stories. Declaration of interest: I am one of the founders of COSH and the editor of the series.

The Prodigy Vol 1: Blade of the Chrysalis
by Dave Chua &
Koh Hong Teng
Pause Narratives

Koh Hong Teng has kept himself busy for the last two years. Other than coming out with three books (The Prodigy Vol 1, The Brook’s Clown and The Assassin), he held his first solo exhibition and was also a featured guest of the Singapore Comic Con last year. Among the three, The Prodigy Vol 1, remains a strong favourite. It is another self-published initiative by novelist Dave Chua and Koh Hong Teng who have earlier collaborated in Liquid City Vol 2 (Image Comics, 2010) and a thoughtful adaptation of Chua’s own novel from 1997, Gone Case (2010-2011). From social realism to sword fighting fantasies, Chua and Koh have decided to move away from the trend of serious and heavy stories in Singapore comics to go for something that could have a more mainstream appeal. I wouldn’t say this new approach is completely successful. Working within the action genre, both can’t help but still sneak in social commentary on class, society and power in The Prodigy, a planned six-parter inspired in parts by the stories of late wuxia giant, Louis Chia, Taiwanese comic artist Chen Uen and newer genres like silkpunk. (think Ken Liu). For this first volume, quite a bit of context setting is required, which slows down the story. Koh has not fixed his habit of drawing characters who look too similar to each other which makes the story hard to follow at times (a list of protagonists at the beginning of the book would be useful). Chua could have also spent more time tightening up some of the dialogue. But as we get pulled into the comic with its multiple storylines and cast of strange characters, these are minor quibbles. Empires in conflict, mysterious creatures, a lamentful hero, a young punk in the vein of Yang Guo (the spirited hero of Louis Chia’s Return of the Condor Heroes) and a sister and brother duo who are more than what they seem. What is there not to like? Ambitious, as both Chua and Koh are, carving out a new path to tell sword-fighting stories in comics. Do check out
The Brook’s Clown and The Assassin too.

All That Remains
by James Tan
Lien Foundation/Alzheimer’s Disease Association

Graphic medicine has finally caught on in Singapore. Sonny Liew has recently joined the bandwagon, but it was James Tan who ventured to this worthy genre a few years ago. It is important to talk about uncomfortable issues like death, dying, old age and having Alzheimer’s disease. There is a need to take care of the well-being of the care-givers too. Written and done in the trademark James Tan’s lazy style, All That Remains looks at some of these issues, especially the relationship between the old and their children. It is not easy to move back to your parents’ place after 20 years to take care of them. You realise there is not that much you can talk to them about. All you have is silence. But you being there for them is all that matters too. This book is done in collaboration with the late James Teo of the design outfit Ampulets. It is given away free and it is available to read online here.

Random Line-Drawings
by Fish Wu
Solofish

Not quite a Singapore comic book, but illustrator Fish Wu has lived in Singapore for many years and was part of the urban sketching community. Originally from China, he has since relocated to South Korea. His second book of sketches and random line-drawings, done in the style reminiscent of Chinese lianhuanhua, is filled with illuminating perspectives and takes on local living in Singapore. There are a couple of short comic stories inside that capture that late night feel of drinking beer with your buddies throughout the evening. Self-published in a limited edition of 200. Hard to find but worth the effort.

The Mandai Inferno
by Weng Pixin
Online

Singapore commemorated 200 years of modern Singapore (the coming of the British in 1819) with critics questioning whether the government is celebrating colonialism. Still, the Singapore Bicentennial Office sponsored the creation of comics about Singapore history albeit
only available online. That is always a good thing. The full list of artists are: Weng Pixin, David Liew, Darel Seow, Andrew Tan, Foo Swee Chin and Dan Wong. All are worth reading. Of interest is Weng’s low-key story The Mandal Inferno of a farmer who volunteered to fight the Japanese during the Second World War. No Hollywood dramatics but the warm tones of Weng’s strokes and colours leaves a deep and haunting impression. Weng will also be the first Singapore comic book artist to be published by Drawn & Quarterly, with her graphic novel Sweet Time coming out in June 2020.

Various short comic stories
by illobyanngee
Instagram

Some of the best stuff is online and on social media. Case in point: illustrator Neo Anngee’s short comic stories about class and society in Singapore. They are biting, critical, funny and brave. It is not often we get such stories. Artists rarely want to touch on politics and poverty. Check out Masters of Living Minimally, How I Listened to Well-Meaning Advice and Found a Happily Ever After: A Guide to Curing the Cursed State of Singlehood and Channel Your Inner Chan Chun Sing This Chinese New Year. With such long titles that make you want to read them immediately, someone offer this woman a book contract!

South Korea

Selected by Kim Nakho

Nakho Kim is a Korean comics researcher. He writes reviews and columns for book journals and other periodicals, has worked as the editor-in-chief for the comics critic webzine Dugoboza, and curated the special exhibition on manhwa or Korean comics at the Angoulême Festival in 2003. He was an Advisor for the Barbican touring exhibition Mangasia: Wonderlands of Asian Comics.

The Room of Those Women
by Seunghui Ryu
Boribooks

This is the story of a not-so-well-off family of four, living in a semi-basement home. However, instead of being another satirical take on class conflict, this book goes into a deep reflection of how we can manage to carry on amidst everything. Through a collection of 8 individual short stories, we get to know about how Mum escaped a crushing patriarchy through divorce but is still very much bound by it. We learn about the daughter who applied to become a public official for the sixth time in hopes for a stable job. Then there is another daughter who pursues her vague dream of becoming a comic artist while being a part-timer. And the youngest daughter has to take a gap year to pay for her final college semester. Everyone in that small home is heavily pressured by financial constraints, social expectations and desires of their own generation, with additional weight put on them for being female. But even in that crushing grind, sometimes there are small but significant half steps forward. With realistic settings and near-poetic expressions entirely done in grey pencil sketches, Ryu praises the smaller shining moments of happiness without being cheesy. Life is worth persisting. For a preview, visit this website. Detail from cover, shown above.

Artist Vol.1
by Youngshin Ma
Songsong books

Writers, painters, musicians. If one does not make it big (and most do not), it is so easy for one to become pathetic with feelings of both inferiority and grandeur. This book is about 3 friends who happen to be those kind of artists in their 40s, old enough to know that they are not talented enough and that they need to gain some power position within the art field instead. The passively power-hungry behaviours which the protagonists engage in are so strikingly absurd and realistic. Pure egoistical greed and vanity are thinly veiled with educated calls for moral superiority and artistic flair at all times, making the whole situation into a wonderful dark comedy and a reflection on Korean society in general. For a preview, visit this website.

Rebirth in Paradise
by Gosaribaksa
Dillyhub

Ghosts in traditional Korean stories are creatures of chagrin, mostly caused by unfair treatment from the society while they were alive. Thus ghost stories are about some protagonist righting that wrong. This book turns this formula in a slightly different direction, by making one ghost solve another ghost’s problems. Ja-un was a ghost harassing subway travellers by making them sing songs, and was about to get exorcised by the guardian god Domyung. However, the Bodhisattva Gwaneum intervenes and decides to give Ja-un a second chance to be reborn, by pairing the two women together to solve paranormal cases. Under the premise of a female-buddy exorcism action-comedy-drama, this webtoon (not yet in printed book format) presents so much more: the personal and collective outcomes of greed, fear, anxiety and many other negative drives, and how we can understand and address them with an open mind and good will.

Sweden

Selected by Fredrik Strömberg

Fredrik Strömberg is a journalist, author, curator and historian. He is one of the editors of Bild & Bubbla, Scandinavia’s largest as well as the world’s second oldest magazine about comics, and President of the Swedish Comics Association. He heads the Comic Art School of Sweden, is the editor of Scandinavian Journal of Comic Art and writes regularly on fredrikstromberg.com/. Among the books he has written are the English language Swedish Comics History, Black Images in the Comics, The Comics Go to Hell and Comic Art Propaganda and Jewish Images in the Comics.

Den rödaste rosen slår ut (‘The Reddest Rose Strikes’)
by Liv Strömquist
Galago

Liv Strömquist is more than “just” a comics creator, she has become a phenomenon, a cultural personality whose voice is heard in many different contexts in Sweden, somewhat similar to the status that Marjane Satrapi seems to have in France. But of course she is also a comics creator, and a new book by Strömquist is always something to look forward to. Over the years, Strömquist has become increasingly academic in her way of working, something that is not often reflected in the increased amount of text, footnotes, etc. included in the comics. At the same time, she has never given up making her comics entertaining.There should preferably be something that is fun in every panel, visually or in text form - something that means that the pedagogical / didactic basic concept never takes over or becomes stressful. In Strömquist’s latest book, the focus is on love, or perhaps on why we do not seem as likely to fall in love anymore in late capitalist society. Based on the American actor Leonardo di Caprio’s ever-changing, seemingly interchangeable girlfriends, Strömquist dissects contemporary times and how both the male role and the female role have evolved, and why a lot is working together so that we no longer prioritise long-lasting, monogamous relationships. As always, it is insightful, entertaining and thought-provoking, as a well-illustrated, and (in fact) fun academic dissertation, which is fitting, since Strömquist became an honorary doctorate at Malmö University a few years ago.

Curly Bracket: Game over
by Tor Moström, Johan Wendt & Peter Bergting
Bonnier Carlsen

This is an odd fish in the context, a three-part book series with clear educational ambitions that are nonetheless entertaining, exciting and well-told. The writing is made by two people with long experience in the computer industry, who are passionate about teaching new generations so-called “computer-logical thinking”, that is, how to think in order to be able to programme and control computers. Their dedication is genuine, but this trilogy probably wouldn’t have been as striking if it wasn’t for the experienced comics creator Peter Bergting, known among others for The Portent series from Image Comics in the US. Bergting adds a slick, modern style with clear inspiration from American comics. The series follows the young girl Curly Bracket (her surname comes from the bracket type commonly found in programming) in a _Matrix_-like story in which she has to overcome the all-encompassing company of Corpurato. This is portrayed through a traditional adventure series, which is however interrupted at regular intervals by different puzzles that the reader should get involved with and solve. Perhaps the book form is outdated for this form of edutainment, and perhaps the potential target audience would be better reached by an online game, but this is well-made and entertaining, which is not common in comics with didactic ambitions.

Vei: Book 2
by Sara Bergmark Elfgren & Karl Johnsson
Kartago förlag

Swedish graphic novels with epic, visually lavish fantasy stories are, unfortunately, a rarity. The Swedish language market is simply too small to produce comics at the level that readers expect in the fantasy genre. Nowadays, creators who have such ambitions often make web comics, but one creator couple who have worked tirelessly and “old school” is the screenwriter Sara Bergmark Elfgren, and not least the cartoonist Karl Johnsson, who with the other, extensive volume of Vei has now finished this totally great project. Vei, you could say, is a Valhalla [Peter Madsen’s hit series] for the 2010s. The narrative inspiration still comes from the Nordic goddesses, but the visual inspiration does not come from the Franco-Belgian BD tradition, but instead clearly from American comic books. The story has also been updated and reflects the contemporary, with a greater “realism” in the description of the power play and violence that often occurs in these stories, and not least a clear focus on a more open form of love and sexuality.

Saker vi skapar (‘Things We Create’)
by Axel Brechensbauer
Kartago förlag

More fact-based Swedish comics. Brechensbauer is an industrial designer and this is evident in this stylish, entertaining and interesting philosophical comic book. The basic idea is simple: Man seems to constantly want to create things, but where does this drive come from, and what do we want to achieve with what we create? Brechensbauer uses a classic storytelling technique with a small anthropomorphic, mouse-like figure as a kind of guide that walks with us and leads the thinking around the main theme. The design of the figure is reminiscent of the black and white figures of early 20th century American animation, but also of Chris Ware’s interpretation of the same in the masterpiece Quimby the Mouse. The very arrangement of the thoughts resembles the classic book series For Beginners – books that mix words and pictures to present different topics in an easy-to-understand way. David Zane Mairowitz and Robert Crumb’s Kafka for Beginners is probably the most famous of these. The pictures look a bit grand like news graphics, that is, they tend towards the more iconic, usually without backgrounds for the sake of clarity. The colouring is sublimely muted and the book’s design with its rounded edges makes you want to take it home with you. What Brechensbauer addresses in Things We Create is universal, and he does it intelligently and convincingly. It wouldn’t surprise me if this book is published in a number of languages ​​within a few years.

Urmodern (‘First Mother’)
by Åsa Schagerström
Syster förlag

This is Åsa Schagerström’s first comic book, but also her eleventh - if you count the ten she created under the name Åsa Grennvall. It is a standalone book in a new format and in a new technology, but also in a way it’s the third part in a trilogy that includes the critically acclaimed Deras ryggar luktade så gott (‘Their Back Smells So Good’) (2014) and Jag håller tiden (‘I hold the time’) (2016). It is a graphic novel, but at the same time a collection of embroidered poetry. It seems that Urmodern is interesting from a number of perspectives. The themes from the two earlier graphic novels, about Grennvall / Schagerström’s relationship with her emotionally disturbed parents in contrast to her own experiences of becoming a parent, are further developed and deepened on a philosophical level. Unlike the two previous volumes, which hold a traditional comic book style – that is, smaller book form with many pages – this is more of an album, with a large format and fewer pages. Everything is also embroidered, which gives it a completely different feeling. As an art form, embroidery is associated both with the home and partly with women, which reinforces the theme indicated by the title. The story is also more fragmented, built on associations and thoughts rather than a traditional story. Everything focuses on how Grennvall / Schagerström feels cut off from her parents / roots and how she feels about creating a family from nothing, something that is visually symbolised by her body being combined in different ways with a tree. Even the fact that Åsa Grennvall here becomes Åsa Schagerström, taking her husband’s last name and clearly distancing her parents, becomes part of the artwork itself. A graphic novel that can not only be read, but that also develops with every reading.

Switzerland

Selected by Christian Gasser

Christian Gasser is a Swiss fiction-writer, journalist and lecturer at the Lucerne University of Art & Design. He reviews comics for various newspapers, magazines and radio-networks in Switzerland and Germany. He is also the co-editor of the comics-magazine STRAPAZIN and a member of the “Max und Moritz Preis”-Jury of the Erlangen Comic-Festival. His latest books are: Animation.ch. Vision and Versatility in Swiss Animated Film (2011, as an enhanced e-Book in 2016), Comix Deluxe (2012), Rakkaus! (Finnish: Liebe) (novel, 2014).

SUV
by Helge Reumann
Les Editions Atrabile

Bearded men with guns rush through the panels and bump into extraterrestrial phantoms with futuristic weapons; later it’s warriors with cloaked faces who attack women well able to defend themselves – and soon we are in the middle of a confusing tableau where everyone fights everyone. Since the mid-nineties, Helge Reumann from Geneva has been an esteemed artist, both in the fields of comics and fine arts. Although he has published a lot of short stories in many highly regarded independent comics magazines, SUV is his first decently-sized book of comics. It isn’t however, as one might have expected, a mere compilation of older work – it’s an impressingly thick, long and dense original story. And it’s pure Reumann: In SUV there’s a lot of shooting, stabbing, cutting and hitting going on; armies fight guerillas, lonely fighters confront hordes of paramilitary villains, from jungles we rush through mountainous wasteland into futuristic suburban deserts. From time to time, a well-camouflaged paratrooper lands and tries to take control of the action. Action? What action? Good question. As usual in Helge Reumann stories, we don’t really understand what he tells us. But still, we’re fascinated. Fascinated by the rigorously arranged page layout with identically sized panels, fascinated by the clear, surgically precise and clean line-drawings, fascinated by the overwhelming aggression and the black humour which seep to the surface through the paper and the many fine lines. SUV is a mute 120-page comic, much remains unsaid and not quite clear, but that’s how it should be here. SUV is definitively a wild ride, an intense reading experience.

Drei Väter (‘Three Fathers’)
by Nando von Arb
Edition Moderne

A mother and three fathers: Nando von Arb definitively grew up in a complex patchwork-family, and that’s what he relates in his remarkable 304-page debut Drei Väter (‘Three Fathers’). With a lot of humour and touches of melancholy he remembers his loving mother, who was often overstrained by the situation. His biological father left his mother but after a while moved back to the family’s vicinity – he introduced his son to the world of Arts. Kiko is the father of Nando’s elder sister, he still loves the mother and he acts as Nando’s cool friend, with whom it’s fun to play games and skateboard. And then there’s his mother’s newest partner Zeno, a silent and solid giant, who surprisingly succumbs to a fatal illness. Nando von Arb didn’t set out to tell a realistic coming-of-age-story; his stylised drawings and the metaphorical design of the adults stress that. He draws his mother as a bird who protects her children under her wings but who is, at the same time, frail and vulnerable. The real father is a fox, Kiko, a kind of a clown with an elastic body, and Zelo is a massive rock with the aura of a primitive work of art. Von Arb’s storytelling is very visual; his pages look like an animated ballet of characters and situations, which is interrupted by text only when necessary. That’s how he manages to stay as close as possible to a child’s naive perspective. Stylistically, Drei Väter is among the most surprising, fresh and inventive comics published in German in Switzerland for a long time. Obviously, von Arb’s childhood wasn’t always easy, the situation of the family was unstable and challenged by many crisis. But still, von Arb tells us about his growing up with enough dynamism, lightness and comedy to make us feel the richness of this unusual patchwork constellation.

Read Part 2 of this International Perspective here…, and Part 3 here…

Posted: February 9, 2020