Monthly Archive for September, 2011
After almost a decade of living abroad, I’m now back in my home city, Copenhagen. So much has changed through the boom-and-bust years that I was away, and although I’ve of course visited regularly along the way, living here again brings it home. I stepped out for nine years and suddenly every major street has acquired the obligatory set of gleaming juice bars with a barista fetish in a seeming effort to look like any other capital city in Europe. Plus rent has shot through the roof.
Much has stayed the same, of course, and Copenhagen is Copenhagen, but I find myself a little out of the loop on a lot of mundane knowledge — going about installing ourselves here has been really interesting and somewhat baffling. Poignantly however, I arrived here at the day of our general election where the Danes finally — and by the slimmest of majorities — got rid of the increasingly fatigued and dysfunctional right-wing coalition that has steered the country toward greater prosperity, militarization and dispassion through the boom years. The replacement, an uneasy center-left conglomeration headed by Denmark’s first female prime minister, has now been in negotiations for a week and a half. We’ll see what they can do, but let’s just say that so far most of the people involved haven’t been all that impressive. Still, we need a change.
And it’s good to be home.
Stranger in an Un-Strange World: An interview with Brad Neely
Christoffer Zieler talks to graphic artist/cartoonist/video maker Brad Neely.
The picks of the week from around the web.
Chester Brown Interviewed
Our 2004 interview with the creator of Louis Riel and Paying For It.
“The struggle for justice doesn’t end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davises who came before me and all the ones who will come after me. I’m in good spirits and I’m prayerful and at peace.”
– Troy Davis’ last words to his supporters.
Mark MacPhail RIP
Troy Davis RIP
American justice system DOA?
The state of Georgia is about to follow through on another gross potential miscarriage of justice today as it plans to execute Troy Davis. Convicted in 1991 of killing a police officer, Mark McPhail, the majority of the prosecution witnesses have since recanted their depositions, but the conviction has been upheld by the state, which has consistently refused a retrial and yesterday denied a last-ditch effort to obtain clemency for Davis.
As I’ve written about here before, this is not a singular case. There are many such dubious convictions, primarily of minority individuals, who consequently have served long prison terms and face the ultimate punishment for crimes they may well not have committed. The establishment seems to have a blindsided trust in the infallibility of an American justice system, which refuses to consider that it might be at fault, even when presented with evidence that overwhelmingly suggests that they may be about to kill an innocent man. That so many Americans continue passionately to defend the death penalty (some going as far as cheering Republican presidential frontrunner Rick Perry for the number of people he has killed), only makes the situation more chilling.
Please consider the case (Davis’ Wikipedia entry has the basics and there’s more here), but don’t spent too long: join Bishop Desmond Tutu, President Jimmy Carter and thousands of others and go and sign the petition to grant Davis clemency before it’s too late.
UPDATE: Read the New York Times editorial on the execution “A Grievous Wrong.” An excellent summary.
The picks of the week from around the web.
Kolor Klimax cover illo by Aapo Rapi
Helsinki. The comics festival here is just starting up and it’s looking good. In addition to the full program of events, signings and parties, the festival sees the European release tomorrow of KOLOR KLIMAX — Nordic Comics Now, an anthology of Nordic comics edited by me and designed by Frederik Storm with invaluable assistance from Thomas Thorhauge. It is published by Fantagraphics Books under the patronage of the Finnish Comics Society.
I will be talking about a lot more here and elsewhere, but if you’re in Helsinki do stop by, pick up a copy and meet some of the contributors. Stay tuned for news on other events related to the book and eventually for the American release in the Spring of 2012
Here’s the text I wrote for the press release:
KOLOR KLIMAX unites twenty-two Nordic artists to present the best in Nordic comics right now. Focusing on work from Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, it offers a wide range of approaches and genres displaying amply the diversity and innovation in comics today.
Despite their small size and language groups, the Nordic countries have long had a strong comics culture. The per capita readership is remarkably high and distinct national traditions were shaped during the course of the last century, spanning the field from traditional newspaper strips to small press experimentation. And while the mass markets of the last century have declined, today’s Nordic comics are healthy and ever-diversifying embracing everything from the generalist graphic novel to avant-garde cross-pollination with the fine arts.
KOLOR KLIMAX focuses on personal creation, made independently of the traditional genres. It unites a very diverse field of short stories by the following artists: Mari Ahokoivu (F), Vanessa Baird (N), Mikkel Damsbo & Gitte Broeng (D), Joanna Rubin Dranger (S), Joanna Hellgren (S), Bendik Kaltenborn (N), Kolbein Karlsson (S), Peter Kielland (D), Johan F. Krarup (D), Tommi Musturi (F), Christopher Nielsen (N), Emelie Östergren (S), Signe Parkins (D), Joakim Pirinen (S), Ville Ranta (F), Aapo Rapi (F), Jenni Rope (F), Mårdøn Smet (D), Rui Tenreiro (Mozambique/N), Thomas Thorhauge (D), and Amanda Vähämäki (F).
Edited by art historian Ph. D. Matthias Wivel, KOLOR KLIMAX inaugurates a series of Nordic anthologies under the auspices of the Finnish Comics Society’s Nordicomics intiative. It is published in partnership with seminal American small press publisher Fantagraphics Books. By making it available on the American market and, by extension, for worldwide bookstore distribution, it aims to expose an international audience to the best in Nordic comics today.
Kolor Klimax – Nordic Comics Now, Fantagraphics Books 2011, 256 pages in color, suggested retail price $29.99.
The Syrian regime’s disgraceful behavior is current headline news and the brutal beating by Syrian forces of treasured cartoonist Ali Ferzat the week before last is but one of many horrific examples of its efforts to contain the rebellion there.
In support of Ferzat and his beleaguered profession, as well as freedom of expression everywhere, cartoonists Allan Haverholm and Maria Sputnik have launched a site devoted to publishing cartoons commenting on the assault on Ferzat and on freedom of expression more broadly. Called “One Thousand Ferzats,” it aims to compile a thousand cartoons. They accept original contributions as well as ones initially published elsewhere.
Go check it out, and consider submitting a cartoon.
Cartoon by Pedro X Molina, originally published in El Nuevo Diario.
The picks of the week from around the web.
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