New stuff

To begin with, I tried Detroit: Become Human (PS4) last night and it feels new and exciting. So far, it’s more about storytelling than gameplay, but that’s fine and the story is interesting, and storytelling is usually my main interest in games anyway. So yeah, give it a try!

I also look forward to trying out the newly released Coolpaintr VR

Right now, I’m at Fanzineverkstaden, making plans for when we open to the public, which will hapen soon…

The upcoming CBA vol 40|41: Worst Case Scenario is being prepared for the printer as I write this, and it’s going to be a great volume. Black/white to fit the theme, which it really does. I made a comic for it, called Why you (maybe) shouldn’t kill Hitler, a time travel story about a worst case scenario and about misconceptions about historical events.Here’s the cover by Kinga Dukaj:

Today (starting an hour ago), there’s an exhibition at Hybriden, featuring the comics students from Fridhems folkhögskola.

Next weekend (June 2), we’ll open the second part of the Best of CBK exhibition (also at Hybriden). So see you there, maybe, one of these days.

Speaking of exhibitions, right now I’m part of the exhibition Pow – Historier i kvadrat at Det gamla tryckeriet in Eskilstuna. My contribution is the artist book I made a while ago: A Subtle Fuck You 2: Antidote.

I would have liked to make something new for the next volume of CBA as well: CBA vol 42: Subversive Superhero Stories, but I doubt I’ll have the time for it, so I’ll probably just write a text I’ve been wanting to do, and if I participate with a comic, it’ll be something old but relevant.

Also planning to make a short ranting comic för the AltCom 2018: HOW TO SURVIVE A DICTATORSHIP anthology. Probably an Angry Animal story, which I haven’t done for some time now. They don’t take me a lot of time and I think it’ll fit the theme.

This is an old one, used in the exhibition MUS, MOUSE, MAUS, shown at the Holocaust Museum in Paris a bunch of years ago, and possibly in other places after that (Click for bigger version)…

In general, the political climate in Sweden is rapidly deteriorating it seems, since it’s an election year and all the big parties compete in who can be the best at copying the neonationalists to prevent them from getting too strong. With the result, obviously, that the neonationalist part gets stronger and can push their politics even further. Now they’re even talking about throwing out people who are already Swedish citizens on the grounds that they or their parents weren’t born here (most of my closest friends) or that they don’t have the “correct” Swedish values (me and most of the people I know, I assume). No one will be safe unless something turns around soon.

I’m calling them neonationalists now because it seems that they’re in the forefront of a new(ish) nationalist movement. They could also be called “neofascists” or “racist” or “islamophobic rightwing” or “kind of normal party but with lots of nazis in their not-so-distant past”. But those words seem to make people uncomfortable, so I’ll stick with “neonationalist”, at least for this blogpost..

 

Best of CBK

Retrospective exhibition of 15 years with CBK
Place: Hybriden (Mitt Möllan, Bangatan 5, Malmö)
Opening: April 13, 17-22
Lasts until: August 16

C’est Bon Kultur (CBK) became an official association in 2003, with the formal purpose of creating and promoting comics that are visually interesting and that approach comics storytelling in experimental ways. It is now 15 years later and with approximately 60 publications and about as many exhibitions behind us, we have a big selection of comics and artworks in storage that we’d like to share with the world.

Nostalgia for some, news to others, we promise an interesting art experience. Big names in experimental and art comics will share the space with local talents and several generations of the CBA editorial crew. Over the years, we’ve strived to add something special in the translation from the comics page to the exhibition wall space. From acetone prints to apocalyptic scrap metal installations with DIY polaroids, blown-up postcards and blood-splattered plastic covers. One motto that runs through it all is: COMICS AS ART, ART AS COMICS.

Feel free to invite people to the Facebook event.

The exhibition is presented by CBK in cooperation with Fanzineverkstaden, with support from Malmö Kulturnämnd.

FRAGMENTS exhibition

Welcome to the opening of the exhibition FRAGMENTS, which is also the release of the brand new CBA vol 38|39, both of which feature comics by me.

Feb 9, 17-22
@ HYBRIDEN (Mitt Möllan, Bangatan 5)

The past can be found in the form of small parts inside your body. Some parts are impossible to get rid of. Maybe they’re important, maybe they’re not. But they do exist for a reason. What is your reason?
Even though your past time is out of reach, there is always the possibility of deciding how it will look in front of other people. What would your fragments look like if you showed them in public?

CBA vol 38|39 cover by Christina Cromnow

The exhibition will showcase fragments of the comics from the new issue, and there is also an interactive element. Join us by drawing your own memories on the wall during the exhibition opening.

We have crayons!

Christina Cromnow, the main editor of vol 38|39, says about the theme:
“I’m remembering my own life in fragments. There are only pieces left of my past time. But what interests me is just that, WHICH pieces are the ones remaining? And why? And what story does all of this tell? The simple story should be that whatever’s left are the moments that made an impression. It doesn’t matter if it’s nonsense or vitality. It’s there because it influenced me somehow.”

Artists featured with fragments in the exhibition: Marie Jacotey-Voyatzis, Victor Expolio, Mattias Elftorp, Martin López Lam, Anna Krztoń, Diego Shim, Stefan Petrini, Hanna Lundin Tistelö, Insulina Kid, Rakel Stammer, Henrik Rogowski, Gonzalo de las Heras, Johanna Rojola, Kinga Dukaj

As usual, there will be some snacks, wine and non-alcoholic alternatives.

The exhibition lasts until April 11 and is organised with support from Malmö Kulturstöd.

…long live the new flesh!

New year, new plans. Here are a few mentions of future stuff…

UPCOMING GRAPHIC NOVELS:
En Andra Chans (Tusen Serier) by me and Shko Askari
Sagor från Angered (working title) (Tusen Serier & Blå Stället) by me, Amanda Casanellas & Segal Mohammed
Piracy is Liberation v03 (Wormgod) IF I can only find the time for this, it’d definitely be about time to finally be able to continue this story…

EXHIBITIONS:
Cool Cykel (Tusen Serier presents Tanja Komadina) in February
I don’t want to dream (CBK presents Spyros Verykios and CBAvol36) in May

MORE BOOKS:
Berättelser om Yunnan – minnen från kulturrevolutionen (Tusen Serier) by Emei Burell
CBAvol36: In the pits of madness (CBK) with me as main editor, really excited about this one…
CBAvol37: Fragments (CBK)

FESTIVALS:
I’ll probably be going to the usual ones, maybe something new, we’ll see (preliminary dates)…
Copenhagen Comix (Feb)
SIS (May)
CRACK! (Jun)
Helsinki (Sep)
Novo Doba (Oct)

+ VARIOUS OTHER STUFF
It’s too early to tell yet, but we have some big plans for Hybriden. More news when we know if they will actually happen…

Death to 2016…

2016 ends and it’s time for a summation. I could comment on the new migration laws, on the ongoing/invigorated persecution of undocumented as well as beggars, the seeming rise of general stupidity, the steady decline of hope as species are going extinct at a rate we haven’t seen since the last ice age, various mad-people in power, abuses perpetrated by various states etc etc (I could also talk about celebrity deaths but why?). But I’m probably going to keep this personal and up-beat(?).

So here are some things I made/was involved in during the year. Mostly unpaid work as usual, which I’m getting increasingly tired of, but what are you going to do? Up-beat, was it? Right. Ok. This is me when I’m unemployed:

COMICS:
The Troll actually came out in the end of 2015, but it was still new when this year started, and it was also my only solo book, so I still feel that it counts.
I had some other plans for upcoming solo books, but none of them have turned into reality. Yet…

wormgodbook027thetroll

Publication-wise when it comes to my own comics, this has been more of an anthology year, with some comics being published in several places:
Viral was drawn in 2015 but published this year in CBAvol30.
Medication, published in CBAvol35: BLEED, Komikaze #42 (web) and #15 (paper) and possibly Alkom’x #9
Idle hands & recreation in CBAvol34: Re: Creation and idleness  and possibly Alkom’x #9
Fragments will be in CBAvol37 and possibly Alkom’x #9
Arg Kanin om Samma gamla visa in Asylkalendern 2017.

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I sent some of these stories to some other places as well so they may turn up in more places in the future…

ASSOCIATIONS:
Some big steps forward were taken for both Tusen Serier and CBK. Both associations broke some ties with the Swedish Comics Association this year, which feels nice for various reasons that shall remain untold for now. It meant that CBK left the Comics Centre in the Mazetti building where we had been since 2005. Tusen Serier also finished the last project period that was run through the Comics Association. Both of these things lead up to both groups moving together and starting our new exhibition/store/studio/library/storage space Hybriden. We officially opened in March but it definitely feels like we’ve been there for more than a year… The new space also brought a brand-new webshop with it into existence.

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CBK also started to get its shit together with the release of CBAvol30: A new hope, which was the first volume made/compiled completely by the new editorial crew. We also published our last graphic novel issue, CBAvol33: Repeat Offenders by Julia Scott, and 3 more anthologies.

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FESTIVALS:
There was of course the AltCom 2016 festival, themed WORK. In many ways it felt like it was the best AltCom so far. We managed to create our own pocket universe during those few days in the end of July.

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Also visited some other festivals/events (not as many as planned, but enough):
SIS, CRACK!, Oulu art night, Novo Doba, Örebro.

EXHIBITIONS:
Vasta-Aine was an exhibition at the Oulu Comics Centre, featuring 3 of my recent comics, Medication, Fragments and Happiness.
-I had an exhibition at the CUK Imago in Belgrade during Novo Doba, with some of my old Wormgod prints and some original paintings.
-And, also during Novo Doba, I painted a mural at the Zemun-based cultural centre Matrijaršija.
-The BLEED group exhibition at Hybriden, organized by CBK and Kinga Dukaj, was the coolest exhibition I’ve been a part of for a long while. I made three paintings for this exhibition that took place in the midst of a seriel killer’s murder scene, walls and ceiling covered with plastic sheets, blood (most of it fake) spattered everywhere, special music by Feberdröm

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MORE BOOKS:
Tusen Serier released a batch of new books this year:
Fem historier om prostituerande by Amalia Alvarez
Myling by Amanda Casanellas & Yossra El Said
Mapuche by Jorge Varas Varilla
Void by Susanne Johansson (published in cooperation with Wormgod)
Cool Cykel by Tanja Komadina

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THE ANGERED THING:
In November I took over from Amanda Casanellas who was there in October as the Tusen Serier residence artist at Konstepidemin in Gothenburg, a special residency that they had in cooperation with Blå Stället in Angered. During one month I could (mostly) concentrate on one thing instead of a hundred, which was probably quite healthy. I took some breaks to be at the BLEED exhibition and the Örebro festival, but still managed to draw 55 pages based on Amanda’s ideas, which were based on stories from Angered. Urban legends, folk tales, local mythology which we will work into a story to be published at some point during 2017…

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LIKE TEARS IN RAIN:
There were probably some more things that might be worth mentioning, some short comics, illustrations, book covers, maybe some project or other, but I simply can’t remember everything and I’m too lazy to look it up.

hdjul201601 crackland_fulbaileys strejkomslag

So I’m going to leave you with a (surprisingly long) list of stuff I’ve watched/played/read in the sessions of downtime squeezed in between all the rest. It’s not all from this year, because only idiots think that there’s no past. And yes, these are just from the top of my head, things I recommend that happened to not slip my mind:

PS3/4:
DMC | Beyond: Two Souls | Enslaved | Alice 2 | The Last Guardian (finally!) | Shadow of the Beast (worthy remake of childhood nostalgia) | Life is strange (just started but seems promising)

TV SERIES (the most noteworthy new discoveries / steady classics):
South ParkRick & MortyWestworld | Crazy Head | The OA | Orphan Black | Preacher | Daredevil | Jessica Jones | Luke Cage | Doctor Who (even if there was only one new episodes)

FILMS:
Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen (Kitano is back!) | Sausage Party(!) | Maps to the stars | Lamerica | He never died | Extracted | Mr Six | Batman v Superman (Martha?!) | May Allah bless France | M. Butterfly | Borgman | The Lobster | High-Rise | Schizopolis | Kontroll | The Witch | Urge | Upstream Color | GhostbustersVanishing Waves (ok, I saw this in 2015, but still worth mentioning) | + of course the MCU stuff…

COMICS:
Low | The Wicked + the Divine | Supreme Blue Rose | Starve | Punk Rock Jesus | Empty Zone | Monstress | (all of) Hellblazer | Deadenders | Bitch Planet | Velvet | New Lone Wolf & Cub | Lazarus | Saga | Nameless | Injection | Caliban | Blackgas | Stormwatch (Ellis) | Animal Man (finally caught up on Morrison’s run)| Trees | Deadly Class | Miracleman | Annihilator | + caught up on the X-books up until Secret Wars

BOOKS:
Woman on the edge of time by Marge Piercy | The Dispossessed by Ursula K LeGuin

Yeah, regular books take me a long time, so 2 in one year is unusually good.

LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH:
Hope you found something interesting that you might have otherwise missed in these lists, and enjoy the last few hours of the year…

BLEED – Nov 18

Really excited about this one. I made some paintings for this exhibition. I also have a comic in the new volume of CBA. I haven’t seen any of the other art but I have a suspicion that it’s all going to be really interesting.

If you can’t make it, you can order the book here.

bleedevent
Promo art by Kinga Dukaj

BLEED: Art exhibition by Tusen Serier & Release party for CBA vol 35 by CBK

Opening: November 18, 17-22 @ Hybriden (Claesgatan 8, Malmö)
The exhibition will remain until November 28.

Join us as we dive into a red world. Tonight we’ll explore just what it means to BLEED. What does blood mean to you? Are you afraid of it? Do you worship it? Or is it just the color that attracts you?

At Hybriden you will see artists draw blood and see their visual interpretations of the theme.

It will indeed be a red experience. We will overwhelm your senses! Not just by the artwork itself, but the music will be tailored for this night. The wine will be blessed and prepared. Amongst all of this we will have a blood fountain.

The exhibition is accompanied by CBA vol 35: BLEED that includes a wide array of comics on the same theme.

Participating artist in the exhibition are:
Vladica Čulić
Merima Dizdarević
Kinga Dukaj
Mattias Elftorp
Bekim Gaši
Aida Ghardagian
Susanne Johansson
Vuk Palibrk
Stefan Petrini
Henrik Rogowski
Rakel Stammer
more may be added…

Music by Markus Samnell (better known as Feberdröm)

See you there!

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See also:
Tusen Serier
CBK
Facebook event

The exhibition is a cooperation between Tusen Serier and CBK, with support from Malmö Kulturstöd.

Exhibition @ Novo Doba 2016 + Myling @ Hybriden

I’m having an exhibition at CUK Imago in Beograd, Friday Sep 23, starting at 19!

As far as I understand, there will also be a couple of other exhibitions (Great Libertine Comics, Unobserved) at the same place, and also live music (Feberdröm, Nike Eyes).

It’s all part, of course, of the NOVO DOBA festival.

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It’ll be a mix of prints, mostly Wormgod stuff, and a painting or two. And my books will be there, we’ll all be drunk, it’ll be great!

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Also, don’t miss the Myling exhibition this Friday (Sep 16, 18-22) at Hybriden. Original drawings by Yossra El Said, Ida Mårdhed will read from Amanda Casanellas‘ short story, we’ll all be drunk, it’ll be great!

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The Hybrid is open.

Last Friday’s opening of The Hybrid was a great success!

The exhibition will be up until the end of this month, possibly longer, and the opening hours are:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday: 16–20

So come on in and have a look at the combined release exhibition for CBAvol30 (with guest appearances from Tusen Serier) and samples from upcoming Tusen Serier books, look through our comics library and buy our books in the shop section!

Photos from the opening can be found at the CBK or Tusen Serier sites.

Kara Thrace is the harbinger of death.

End of line.

The coming of The Hybrid

We’re finally ready to open The Hybrid, the new space we’ve been building since the beginning of the year!

The Hybrid is Malmö’s new comics hang-out! A space for exhibitions and workshops, an artists’ studio and comic shop/library, open for anyone (if not necessarily at all times). Here, you will be able to see exhibitions of comics you’ve never heard of, by recognized and unknown comic creators. Join workshops to learn how to draw comics or experiment with new forms of storytelling. In our shop you will find books from CBK, Tusen SerierWormgod and exquisitely selected international comics found at various festivals in different countries. We also have a comics library section where you with zines, anthologies and graphic novels where you can sit and read in our sofas.

WHAT: Opening/exhibition/release/workshop
WHERE: Hybriden @ Mitt Möllan, Claesgatan 8, Malmö
WHEN: Friday, March 11, 16-22

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EXHIBITION
The comics in the international comics anthology CBA have been called “supposedly poetical”. They have also been called “witty, challenging and eye-opening”. Judge for yourself when the all-new editorial crew show their own comics and artworks.
Same goes for Tusen Serier, where the inner circle shows their own works along with samples from the upcoming titles.
Artists: Amanda Casanellas, Christina Cromnow, Henrik Rogowski, Kinga Dukaj, Luddvig Melin, Mattias Elftorp, Oskar Aspman, Stefan Petrini, Steve Nyberg, Susanne Johansson, Shko Askari, Amalia Alvarez, Tanja Komadina, Jorge Varas Varilla, and Yossra El Said.

cbavol30coverRELEASE: CBA vol 30: A NEW HOPE
The members of the new crew have made the comics in CBA vol 30: A NEW HOPE, to signal a kind of new beginning for the series, and because we wanted to find out what we’re actually doing. Anything from angst-ridden animals to a psychosomatic virus to a postapocalyptic Malmö and fragments of lego. You have to see for yourself what all this means in the new issue…

JAM COMIC WORKSHOP
Between 16-19 you can join a jam comic workshop where we collectively create a story on the theme of WHATEVER. No pressure, we’re just drawing togehter because it’s fun! No experience required, just bring a bit of imagination!

COMICS!
And of course, all our books will be available, as well as a few extra titles, in the bookstore section.

We’re going until 22 or when we fall asleep/run out of wine!

www.hybriden.tk
www.tusenserier.com
www.cbkcomics.com

+ You will also find us at the SciFi-mässan (Malmö) this weekend, March 5-6, where CBK & Tusen Serier share a table with Wormgod and the comics course of Malmö Högskola!

+ Also do not miss the ongoing (until Monday, March 7) special offer at our new webshop!

WELCOME!

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