Today is the opening for the digital exhibition WAS IT A CAR OR A CAT I SAW at Hybriden.se!
Go see it! I have a piece in it and Kinga Dukaj who is the main editor of the issue and who also made the exhibition did a great job of aligning the exhibition with the dream-like theme of the book. Just try to see it on a computer rather than a phobe or pad or it won’t work properly.
I also have a couple of artworks in the UNCOMICS & [PLACEHOLDER] exhibition at Panora/Fish Tank Gallery, which closes tomorrow with a finissage starting at 18.00!
All these books are of course also available in the shop at Hybriden.se.
Recommended for everyone who prefer readin comics in books rather than on walls/screens:
Been a while. I’ve mostly spent this summer working on Outer Enemy, the new Piracy is Liberation book. And playing Cyberpunk 2077 and Horizon Forbidden West.
So I thought I’d show a little something from the comic I made for CBA vol 56|57.
It’s called OUTSIDE and is an uncomic made from one normal comic (a chapter from Piracy is Liberation 005) and three paintings (H8 from Alkom’X #8, the tape cover for the Noise Against Fascism/Legion of Swine split and Her Fiery Eyes from After the Ends of the World), piled on top of each other and cut up to create a non-narrative structure, something that can’t be read other than through vague feelings and instinct.
My first though when Allan Haverhom announced his theme (UNCOMICS) as guest editor for this issue of CBA was something like: “I should make something for this, how hard can it be?”
It turned out to be about as hard as I thought it would be, except the first idea I had didn’t work at all. That one was more of a deconstruction, literally, with the elements of a comic (panels, bubbles, texts, drawings, gutters etc) falling apart and off the page as the comics progressed, with an attempt at making some kind of point in the end.
Then I realized that I should view this project as visual noise rather than anything else. And when I listen to noise, I’m not very intellectual about it, and the noise I’m listening to is also generally made by musicians who go more by feeling than intellectual theory when they put together their music. Or at least that’s how it comes across, I’m far from an expert. The best noise to me is harsh noise walls that go for your intestines rather than your brain.
So I tried using that kind of approach instead. I took the chapter Outside from Piracy 005, put all the pages in top of each other for the first page, then added and subtracted more elements as it progressed through its 10 pages until I had a visual flow I felt was right.
Maybe I should note that basically none of what I’ve just said was done consciously at the time. But hey, after-the-fact constructions are also constructions.
Allan has a text going throughout the issue about how comics is (or could be) a visual medium rather than a narrative one. I’m not sure I agree with his points, because to me it has always been mostly about the narrative and the visuals are definitely a part of the narration and it doesn’t make sense to separate them. But it was an interesting theme to work with and see what I could do with it.
If you think the uncomics concept is interesting and want to explore it further, check out Allan’s site: uncomics.org
So what you’ve seen in this post are two pages from the comic (pg 2-3).
And here are some noise (and some non-noise) tips from my tape collection (I was going to link to some video or something but I’ve only slept 3,5 hours so fuck it, I’m doing it this way instead):
CBK presents: [PLACEHOLDER] & UNCOMICS Double release exhibition for the new CBA vol 53 & CBA vol 56|57!
Where: Panora/Fish Tank Gallery When: The exhibition starts Thursday June 9 at 19:00 and will stay up until the middle of August (possibly a bit longer)
Two exhibitions at once, with international comics art to celebrate the release of two new volumes of CBA! From comics about the special situation brought by the pandemic to comics that break up their own form to such a level that they begin to question what comics as an art form is.
At the opening on June 9 at 19, you can witness a live painting/music performance with Grønvall.Haverholm.
Since I have comics in both issues (and en extra text in CBA vol 53), I also have two works in this exhibition (and I designed the poster). But the best thing about this is that it’s a live exhibition where we can meet, look at art and drink together! So drop by and I’ll see you there!
Exhibition: [PLACEHOLDER] (CBA vol 53) The pandemic was supposed to have a deadline, most of us agreed on a year but it lasted much longer. What happens when the world is paused for an indefinite time? What does this do to our experience of our existence? How do we replace our routines? We’re waiting, and in our wait, we imitate the “real” we hope will soon return. Like placeholders in our own lives. Available now!Buy it hereParticipating artists: Adrián A. Astorgano, Aiden Kvarnström, Felipe Kolb Bernardes, Ivana Filipovic, Julia Nascimento, Kinga Dukaj, Matt Carr, Mattias Elftorp, Nataniel E, Saskia Gullstrand, Tom Mortimer
Exhibition: UNCOMICS (CBA vol 56|57) Abstract art emerged in the early 20th century as a reaction to the complexities and — just as often — atrocities of modern society. Meanwhile, embedded in the entertainment industry, comics evolved primarily in terms of disposable spectacle or literary ambition; stylized pictures in service of story. Comics scholar Jan Baetens noted a decade ago that narrative “melts in the air when [abstraction] walks in”. Living in a time of hyperlinked, multi-threaded and immersive narrative, we suggest instead that abstraction opens up to non-linear, ambiguous understandings of comics. Understandings so contradictory in terms that we need a new phrase to describe them — we give you: uncomics. An artistic field where contemporary art and comics inform each other. Where the absence of sequence encourages the reader to investigate the picture plane(s) in any direction and order, becoming an active co-creator in the process. A space outside the tedious limitations of story where images both abstract and suggestive interact. Comics, at last, as a visual art form. Available now!Buy it here Participating artists: allison anne, Anastasia Hiorns, Churchdoor Lounger, Gareth A Hopkins, Jeremy P. Bushnell, Kimball Anderson, Laurel Lynn Leake, Louis Deux, Mark Badger, Mattias Elftorp, Miika Nyyssönen, Rosaire Appel, Shaun Gardiner, Simon Russell, Tana Oshima, Tym Godek, Warren Craghead III, William Lillstjärna
Performance: Grønvall.Haverholm Grønvall.Haverholm is an improvisational, crossover-media act combining live music and drawing with appropriate amplification – distortion and back projection. Allan Grønvall (bass/guitars) has a varied musical background in the Danish metal underground of the 90s. In Grønvall.Haverholm he’s taken the DIY-mentality and lo-fi focus from back then to a new level. Allan Haverholm (charcoal/paints) is a visual artist and editor. Moving from graphic novels via musical expressions in comics onto his current, abstract expressionist work, his work remains deeply moored in comics. Giving concerts since early 2015, the duo have joined their individual fortés in avant-garde comics and extreme music into a unique, creative performance.
180 pages each, and filled with comics (and uncomics) from an international assortment of creators. All printed on a shiny new paper stock that really makes both colors and blacks look great!
CBA vol 54|55: Was it a car or a cat i saW
Have you ever had to just stop what you’re doing and go: “Wait, is this a dream?” When the unknown starts bleeding into reality and you are forced to question your sanity, if just a little bit. You know the sort of thing that happens in dreams that makes you sure it’s just a dream? How do you cope when it happens in the waking world?
ISBN: 978-91-87825-28-6
Comics by: Kinga Dukaj [SE], Knut Larsson [SE], Oskar Aspman [SE], Radovan Popović [RS], Aleksandar Opačić [RS], Marcel Ruijters [NL], Saskia Gullstrand [SE], Aiden Kvarnström [SE], Katie Handley [UK], Felipe Kolb Bernardes [BR/DE/SE], Susanne Johansson [SE], Korina Hunjak [HR], Mattias Elftorp [SE], Ollie Severin [SE], Sid Church [CA], Henrik Rogowski [SE], David Lasky [US]
Uncomics – an artistic field where contemporary art and comics inform each other. Where the absence of sequence encourages the reader to investigate the picture plane(s) in any direction and order, becoming an active co-creator in the process. A space outside the tedious limitations of story, where images both abstract and suggestive interact. Comics, at last, as a visual art form.
ISBN: 978-91-87825-29-3
Comics by: Tym Godek [US], Kimball Anderson [US], Warren Craghead III [US], Simon Russell [UK], Anastasia Hiorns [UK], Gareth A Hopkins [UK], Tana Oshima [JP/ES], Rosaire Appel [US], allison anne [US], William Lillstjärna [SE], Louis Deux [US], Mark Badger [US], Miika Nyyssönen [FI], Shaun Gardiner [UK], Laurel Lynn Leake [US], Churchdoor Lounger [US], Mattias Elftorp [SE]
Texts, illustrations & main editor: Allan Haverholm [DK/SE]
Cover: Jeremy P. Bushnell [US]
I copied this blogpost from CBK, but since this is my personal blog I’ll also add a few samples, since I have comics included in both issues.
My palindromic (if that isn’t a word it should be) story in Was it a car or a cat i saW. My entry in the UNCOMICS book, called Outside. Abstract comic consisting of re-used old comic pages and images.
Once more, it’s my turn to be main editor for an issue of CBA. I’ve been watching the internet these last years and seen a trend towrds what seems to be the complete annihilation of language and communication. We’ve gone from algorithms that mostly expose us to what we’re already interested in, or agree with, to a situation where we’re separated in socal circles, each with their own language. Their own common references, presuppositions about what the world looks like and even meaning of words. These circles are often colored by ideologies that put their own spin on things in order to win political points in the competition for the people’s hearts and minds.
From flat-Earthers to people who believe that Hitler was a socialist. From antivaxxers to people who believe that Putin is a socialist. From people who believe that nothing is racism unless the person who performs it describe themself as a racist to people who believe that the only relevant racism is the one against whites. Ok, most of the above often belong to the same group. But one of the fascinating things is that within these circles, it’s often enough to write a bunch of words that don’t even need to form coherent sentences, and others will make their interpretations of those words. It’s enough to use some specific words that signal where you stand, and based on that people will draw their conclusions.
This misuse of language is, paradoxically(?), often used in those nationalist circles who claim to want to defend their culture and language against their perceived enemies. It would be funny if they weren’t so many.
Anyway. From these phenomena came the theme from this volume: POLITICAL GLOSSOLALIA – THE EROSION OF MEANING
I can’t say I have a clear image of what comics and texts I expect people to submit on that theme, but it’s going to be interesting nonetheless. So here it is, the call for submissions for: CBA vol 58: POLITICAL GLOSSOLALIA – THE EROSION OF MEANING Main Editor: Mattias Elftorp Deadline: Jun 15
How do we talk when words that used to mean certain things have become so vague that they can be freely appropriated by anyone, for any purpose? And what’s up with the currently so prevalent flirting with war, fascism and the dehumanization of anyone who doesn’t fit into the unspoken and conveniently unspecified national identity? Objective truth (if there ever was such a thing) and even language itself seems to be sacrificed on the altar of rhetoric and propaganda. What are the consequences when you can string any random, misspelled words together and people will make their own connections and decide to aggressively either agree or disagree, wholeheartedly even though the sentence actually makes no sense?
Bring your own spin on this. From alternate history to experiments with glossolalia to explorations of nationalism of the illiterate, what take is something only you would think of?
—SUBMISSION GUIDELINES— Please read and follow these guidelines: Number of pages: We prefer comics that are about 5-30 pages, but any number is welcome. Format: 20 x 26 cm Color: Color / Black and white Language: English File format: .TIF Resolution: 1200 dpi line art or 300 dpi CMYK Length (texts): A good size for a text is ca 7500 characters (including spaces), but it can also be longer or shorter. Bleed: 5mm. Think you know how to handle bleed? Read this to make sure you know what we mean. Within this space, there are no limits.
Delivery: We prefer download links that do NOT require us to login anywhere (wetransfer usually works fine, for example). Request: Please don’t use Comic Sans. We don’t like it and will ask you to change to another font. And again; Please check our guidelines for bleed. Please send us high-resolution files from the start. Include a short bio*, with one URL (if you have a website or similar).
Please ask us if you are unsure about formats, resolution, bleed, etc. We prefer stupid questions to bad files. And there are no stupid questions! Normally, we also organize a release exhibition showcasing sample pages from the new issue. Please let us know if you’re NOT ok with us using your works for that purpose. It’s part of our marketing and it usually takes place in a physical exhibition space, although these days we’re more likely to make a digital exhibition online at the Hybriden website.
*Your bio should be approximately 500-700 characters in length. It should read more as an entertaining and informative bio and less as a CV. What you want to say about yourself is up to you, but it’s generally more interesting for our readers to know about your interests, who you are and what else you’ve published rather than where you’ve studied. We may edit it if needed to fit our format. Send comics, questions, etc to: submissions(a)cbkcomics(.)com
Unfortunately we cannot guarantee you any payment for participating (although these last few years we’ve had more financing so we have been able to pay at least something, i.e. when all the expenses have been paid we will share the surplus amongst the participants). If we publish your submission you will receive 10 free copies of the issue. That’s all we can promise at this date. Hopefully you will find being in CBA an enjoyable experience. Naturally, copyright for your material will stay in your hands.
Also note that we are constantly overworked and there’s a great risk that we won’t get in touch in case your submission doesn’t make it into the current volume (we WILL, however, let you know if we do publish your submission, and if you don’t get into this one we might keep your comic for a future issue). We are sorry for this and will try to catch up as soon as things clear up (optimistically in 2025)…
Feel free to invite people to the Facebook event or share this call for submissions blogpost!
The following message was found in the ruins of the Earth civilization that ended with the Sixth Mass Extinction. Converted from what was called “the internet”, an archaic means of communication that was widespread at the time, this archaeological find is included in the collection “Earth; how did it all end? Clues and ruminations”:
Did you know that COVID-19 isn’t actually contagious the way we’ve been lead to believe? The virus is in fact spread through vaccinations. Which means this is a plan that’s been prepared and slowly implemented during much of the 20th century. It’s easy to figure out because that’s the period during which most of the now afflicted got their vaccinations as children. Whoever did this against humanity have enormous resources, based on the fact that they’ve managed to do this globally and over such an amount of time, not to speak of the meticulous planning necessary to activate it just now, in 2019/2020 when 5G technology created the right amount of background radiation for the latent virus to be activated.
So who has resources on that level? There is at least one organisation who, for centuries and on a global scale, has managed to trick most of humanity into believing that the Earth is a globe, in spite of the overwhelming evidence proving it’s actually flat. The name of that organisation is NASA. It is quite possible, even probable, that they are agents of the reptile race living in the hollow places beneath the surface of the flat Earth. Reptiles who disguise themselves as the political, financial and cultural elites of the world, controlling our lives for generation after generation, possibly for millennia. They get their powers from the blood of human children, sexually violated in Satanic rituals. Power they use to control our destiny and, sometimes, to turn frogs gay for some reason.
If you’ve ever felt that your life didn’t turn out the way you had envisioned, that’s them. If you’re wondering why there is war, poverty and starvation, that’s them. Some people would say that the fault lies in systems of economy, such as Capitalism, but it’s more realistic to assume those theories are planted by the reptiles themselves as a way of diverting our attention from the real truth. We know that Capitalism is the best way for humans to fulfill their potential, through competition and with profit as the driving force. It is after all what human nature dictates, and not at all like the hunger for power that drives the lizards and fuels their conspiracies to keep us down.
The probable origin of these reptiles is Nibiru, the tenth planet, which will soon return to what is commonly called the solar system, passing close to the Earth as it has done before on its long, elliptical orbit around the sun.
The “Sun”, however, is actually a lamp moving according to pre-set patterns across the sky, a few hundred meters (or possibly kilometers) above ground. That’s why they don’t want you to stare directly into it, because they’re afraid you might see it for what it really is.
That the pandemic broke out when it did might very well be because so many people started to find out about the truth, in spite of corrupt institutions like the education system or the old-school news media. We lost those struggles a long time ago, but the internet has given us a new weapon. The US military, who developed the internet, is an institution that has somehow managed to resist for a long time, but it has now also been infiltrated, another victim of the Gay Agenda. However, through various YouTube channels, chatrooms and other social media, we’ve been able to wake up a lot of people to what’s going on behind our backs.
Leading the brave resistance from his golden throne is Donald Trump, a man of the people who got rich by being chosen by God as the defender of freedom, decency and humanity itself, his riches trickling down to save the rest of us. He’s leading a movement of underdogs against hordes of traitorous politicians, fake news media and the Cultural Marxist elites, supported by antifascists who are themselves more or less nazis. After all, Hitler was a socialist or it wouldn’t be in the name of his ideology. Already in the 1980s, the fake news channels could sense Trump’s coming ascension, the great threat to the status quo, the manliest of men and most intelligent of smartbrains. Since back then, they’ve run an ongoing smear campaign, portraying him as a supervillain in the news as well as in movies produced by a Hollywood run by communists, liberals and other factions of the left, not to mention the satanists. He even had to develop his own brand of glossolalia to get past their censors, a language that is clearly understood by those who are sufficiently developed but sounds like gibberish to anyone else. That’s how he could move below the radar and grab the presidential power by the pussy with his great big hands.
As soon as the election scandal in the US has been solved and he is returned to the seat of power [something that may already have happened as you read this], he will surely save us from both the “pandemic” and the reptiles, queers, blacks and socialists. Then we will finally be free from our shackles of forced ignorance and cancel culture.
Not to mention the Jews who not only run the world by owning banks and corporations but also by instigating the invasion of the West by muslims who are slowly replacing white Europeans who should rightfully rule the world through their superior genes that are now being bred out of existence. Within possibly as little as 20 years, muslims will have completely replaced the whites, ruling through sharia, taking out ham from school lunches and possibly meat in general, leaving only halal-slaughtered vegan food and vegetable-based beer to further weaken the male population. Soy products have already killed the testosterone in so many men that soon, maybe as soon as 2030, half the planetary population will be gender-neutral trans people.
Transsexuals, a phenomenon that doesn’t exist in nature (just look at the seals, have you ever seen a male seal dressed in female clothes? Didn’t think so), are men who go through “corrective” surgery in order to infiltrate girls’ locker rooms. Our only hope in that arena may be that their perversions are at odds with the feminists who want to murder all men. With any luck they will kill each other, but more realistic prognoses say that they will band together along with the pedophile Satanists to crush normal society.
The problem is that women can’t use swords. In stark contrast to the indoctrination spread through various TV series, it is physically impossible for females to use that kind of weaponry. A sword might weigh as much as a few kilos, so it takes a man’s superior musculature and mental strength to lift and do any damage with it. This is why feminists developed other, more devious methods. They’ve completely taken over previously apolitical franchises like Star Wars and Marvel and replaced all the main characters with female, over-powered versions. These stories which used to be neutral tales of relatable heroism have now been turned into completely unrealistic depictions of dystopian worlds where women rule everything. Which is of course also what they are trying to do in real life.
But there is hope. There are clues throughout popular culture to open our eyes and expose the true enemy, the reptiles of the Illuminati. You may see hand signals or zoomed-in eyes in music videos, or phrases in movies that get a new meaning when taken out of context. These are either signs from cultural resistance fighters or subliminal messages from the Illuminati themselves, so watch out! Some of these artists are part of the agenda, so if you’re not sure that someone is already on the right side of history, you better stay away or you risk becoming another victim of their brainwash.
There are also resistance cells under the indirect leadership of brave men like Zack Snyder and others who are inexhaustibly exposing cases of infiltration by the agenda. It’s a constant struggle, like when they replaced Snyder with Joss Whedon in order to destroy the Justice League movie. However, that was a fight they didn’t win, as armies of online freedom fighters not only managed to get The Snyder Cut released but are also spreading awareness of multiple cases where women and people of color have taken over. They’ve bravely alerted us when previously great superhero comics turned bad because of shoehorned agendas, or when video games have abandoned the true fans who made game culture great. White boys are now completely left without any cultural safe spaces and are probably the most forgotten group in media culture as well as society in general.
This is how white men was turned into the endangered species they are today, with hardly any power or influence left in society. Now, after the Police have suddenly, out of the blue, been criticized and can no longer do their job properly because their hands are tied by red tape, we stand almost completely without protection. It’s what countless action movies have warned us about, but they were made by white men so no one listened, of course. Almost 90% of non-whites commit more or less all crime, so what are we to do when the Police are no longer allowed to execute the enemy on the streets, even if they catch someone driving a car or refusing to obey every single order? Unjustified or not, orders are orders and should be obeyed or law enforcement risks losing all legitimacy.
By the way, did you know that there were also white slaves and black people were responsible for almost all slavery in history, until Trump abolished it by separating invading Mexican families and also terrorism? So there is no reason at all to complain about racism because it doesn’t exist anymore and who are the real racists anyway? Except reverse racism against white people, which is real, but we’re not allowed to talk about that.
There are many more examples, but now you can hopefully see clearly how it’s all connected and how we must all do our best to make sure that incels can finally sleep with all the girls they want, for equality. As George Orwell said in the alt-right bible, 1984: “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a pink boot stamping on the white man’s face—forever”. Be like Neo in The Matrix: take the red pill so you can see the truth: men are men and women are immigrants and it’s all cultural Marxism.
Although the exact circumstances surrounding the fall of human civilization on Earth remain unclear, this is one of the few remaining documents from the era. Scholars believe it to be a good representation of the everyday concerns of the time and may contain crucial clues as to why the collapse happened. Note that these clues may be found more in the existence of the text rather than its contents.
I chose to publish this text in its complete form here, because I can. CBA vol 53 also includes a comic I made, but if you want to read that you’ll have to get the book (link in the beginning of this post). I’ll just give you a small sample here:
I should also mention that the After the Ends of the World concept is something I’ve worked further with in the books with the same name, by me and Susanne Johansson. Current day issues looked at from a future where they were the reason everything collapsed. Part humor, part warning signal… Both books 1 and 2 are available from Hybriden (and from the regular internet bookstores in Sweden).
Deadline: October 31 for comics/texts for the upcoming CBA vol 54|55: Was it a car or a cat i saW
Have you ever just had to stop what you’re doing and go “wait, is this a dream?” When the unknown starts bleeding into reality and you are forced to question your sanity, if just a little bit. You know the sort of thing that happens in dreams that makes you sure it’s just a dream? How do you cope when it happens in the waking world?
In this theme we’ll explore the dreamy and the bizarre, the uncanny in the mundane, the creepy in the dark corners of everyday life. Magical realism with a twisted flair, comics that invoke a mystical, surreal, dreamlike state of mind, with a tinge of discomfort… Think of the movies by Lynch, for example…
Note that it’s not a theme about dreams. We’re not after dreams specifically, just that feeling you can get when you don’t know if something is real or not. Think of Lynch or Cronenberg and that eerie feeling some of their films are very good at evoking.
Main editor for this issue is Kinga Dukaj. You’ll find instructions/specifications here.
CBA vol 50 was included in the official selection for the Supertoon animation & comics festival of 2021 (July 19-23).
We’re accompanied by some other CBK-related friends/artists, like Komikaze and Stripburger in the magazine selection and Radovan Popović and Igor Kordej in the book selection.
And of course the festival poster was made by Danijel Žeželj.
We won’t be at the festival, but a copy the book will be there!
The above was reposted from the CBK website, so as an extra, here’s a bonus sample of my comic from the issue (Algorhythm, a new Piracy is Liberation story):
I’m the main editor of this issue, and I think there’s some great stuff in there.
Burnout has become an increasingly normal part of everyday life for many of us since the term was getting widespread use in the late 1900s. From hospital staff to comic creators to basically any job in the gig economy. Anyone who doesn’t have a steady income, or who is expected to do more work in less time than is reasonable, can feel it. So who or what is to blame? Could we create a situation, a systemic change, to avoid the conditions that cause burnout?
Of course, I’ve been working on my own burnout for about 20 years. I haven’t quite broken down yet, but who knows how long that can last? So when it was my turn to helm a new issue of CBA, I thought this theme must be one with a high recognition factor, not least among comics creators. We didn’t mean for the deadline to be extra short, but when it turned out that way it was tragically fitting. In the end, I’m quite happy with the result.
Comics by: Steve Nyberg [SE], Mattias Elftorp [SE], Henna Räsänen [FI], Iso Sling Lindh [SE], Tom Mortimer [UK], Radovan Popović [RS], Aleksandar Opačić [RS], Manuel Rodriguez Navarro [DE], Felipe Kolb Bernardes [BR/DE], Korina Hunjak [HR], Julia Nascimento [BR], Aiden Kvarnström [SE]. Texts: Kinga Dukaj [SE], anonymous [SE], Lisa Weibull [SE]. Illustrations: Rasmus Gran [SE]. Cover & main editor: Mattias Elftorp [SE].
My own contribution, apart from the cover and editing, is a comic called BurnOut Boy. An attempt at comedy/semi-autobiography. Here’s a page:
I’m not very good at bragging. Mostly I just tell people (= blog about, post some link somewhere) about things I’ve been involved in and hope for the best, but I’m going to give it a try here, because far too few people bought CBA vol 47 that I was the main editor of (which I know because I’ve seen the orders).
I’m not even marketing my own stuff here, mostly, and I don’t make any money from the sales, so it’s self-less bragging, really. I do this for you. So here goes:
One of the things I did make in this volume was the cover, and I’m really happy with it. It’s a combination of a linocut print, a scan of the plastic sheet I used to mix the paint when I did the print, the old circuitboard I scanned and used for Piracy is Liberation after finding it at the dump in Skellefteå in the 1990s, and maybe some other random structures I had lying around. The letters of the title are left-overs from someone’s (Kinga’s?) lino cut-outs for something. Anyway, I had fun doing it and think it worked pretty well as a cover.
The first comic, by Avi Heikkinen was the winner of the comics competition in Oulu where I was one of the judges (because I got the honorary prize the year before). I really liked how it’s look of photo-based drawings worked well with the story about a camera that can look into the past, and a film-maker who becomes obsessed with it.
Next up is a comic I wrote and compiled, based on a nightmare that Kinga Dukaj had, built out of one of my favorites of her artworks. It’s one of those dreams where you dream that you wake up but then realize you’re still in the dream, then you wake up but realize you’re still in a dream and so on. Layer by layer. Scary stuff that made for a scary story that fit really well with her photomanipulation of a tree growing out of a skull.
Then there’s Danijel Žeželj. Danijel fucking Žeželj, just to emphasize, because not enough people have seen his works. And a lot have, because he’s worked on X-men, Superman and a whole lot of other stuff, self-published and at big publishers. I first heard about him from the Stripburger crew when they were visiting Malmö in 2005 and talked about Stripburger in particular and Balkan comics in general. I saw Žeželj’s stuff and immediately fell in love! First time we published him in CBA was later that year, or maybe the year after. We distributed a few copies of his book Small Hands, which is sadly out of print now, I think, but it’s one of my favorite comics. Anyway, it’s always great to have his stuff in one of our books and you should check him out if you don’t already know his works.
After discovering Balkan comics, I found Komikaze, a Croatian web-based anthology, and in Komikaze I found a bunch of artists that we also published back in the day. One of which is now a friend of mine that I meet maybe once or twice year (pre-covid, when we could go to festivals), which is far too seldom; Radovan Popović. His art style here is based on chaotic paintings/collages, evocative and dark and beautiful. In this case a story connected to Philip K Dick, inspired by the Science/Fiction theme.
Another artist originating in the Balkans but living in Canada at the time is Ivana Filipović. I may be mistaken but I don’t think I found her but rather she found us. She sent a comic to the AltCom anthology of 2018, which she said was the first comic she made in about 20 years. A great honor and I’m glad she started again because I really like her stuff. Mostly straight-up drawings, and this is no different. She picked up on the religion-related part of the theme, with a fun/dystopic sci fi twist. Edit: Turns out she found us when Radovan shared a link about CBA. So there you go, it’s all connected somehow…
Korina Hunjak, another Balkan artist, but one that I’ve had less personal contact with, made this one. The ”where is the line between the living and the artificial” robot story is a classic, and one I often find interesting. This one is thematically reminiscent of the game Detroit: Become Human (which I replayed recently, by the way. Great game).
Francisco Sousa Lobo is a friend of a friend in Portugal. I have a couple of his books published by Portuguese comics network/publisher/association Chili Com Carne, and they’re always interesting, mostly low-key storytelling with simple lines that don’t necessarily betray the dark undertones of the stories. This one is no exception, and I think it’s a good sample of what he’s doing. You should check him out!
Last but not least, one of the founding members of CBK, Oskar Aspman, got inspired to make a new comic in his way that is often abstract in story, expressive in line-work, apocalyptic in mood. Always a pleasure.
And I also wrote a few illustrated text pieces, one about the construction of identity, one about something I’ve been thinking a lot about the last few years: how we seem to be living in an increasingly fictionalized world, in the post-truth era that former US president Trump is such a great champion for. It’s interesting and pretty frightening depending on the kind of dystopic fiction we often end up living in…
So that’s it. Maybe none of this sounds like something you’d like and then you should probably stay away. But if you’re anything like me and it sounds like something for you, give it a try (buy it here)! This is one of my favorite issues in recent years, and not just because I was so involved in putting it together, but because I think it’s really good!
By the way, if you want a wide variety of comics in style and content, why not get a subscription? It’s an extra good idea to get it now, before we will have to to raise the price due to increased postage costs. If you’re like me, you like things that are high-quality and low-price, so if you make sure you get your subscription before mid-April, you’ll get a better deal (not that it’s going to get super expensive after that, but still)!
