Stripburger / Forum Ljubljana
Stripburger no. 52 brings you a very special treat: an extensive showcase of contemporary Czech comics. Filling more than half of the issue, the Czech special is one of the largest ever in Stripburger. As in many other East European countries, Czech comics didn't fully come to life before the collapse of the communist system. Today, two decades after this turning point, the Czech comics scene seems to be one of the most vibrant in the Eastern Europe. You will learn more about it in an extensive interview with Tomáš Prokůpek (a Czech comics scriptwriter and theoretician) and a shorter one with Juraj Horváth, (a Czech designer and publisher). Among the Czech cartoonists featured in the section, there are some distinguished ones (at least in Czech republic): Lucie Lomová, (who's making a name for herself in France as well), Jaromir 99 and Jiří Grus. There's a number of other authors as well, not so known perhaps, but no less interesting: Jaromír Plachý, Tomáš Kopřiva, Tomáš Pŕidal, Voyager, Petr Korunka and Karel Jerie. Last but not least, you will also enconuter some of Stripburger's old pals: Vhrsti, Dora Dutková in Pavel Čech.
The rest of the issue consists mostly of comics by Slovene authors (Koco, Matej Lavrenčič, Andrej Štular, Tanja Komadina, Domen Finžgar and Gašper Rus), which makes it the most Slavic issue ever (this is a sort of a record). Not to be missed are also some beautiful comics-like illustrations by Peter Kuper.
The 49th issue of Stripburger features a special section, "The 8th Mortal Sin". The section, being a spoof on the traditional seven mortal sins, features 8 authors: Rémi Lucas (France), Michael Sterckeman (France), Rina Ayuyang (USA), Dunja Jankovic (Croatia), Kaja Avbersek (Slovenia), Domen Finzgar (Slovenia), Nejc Gazvoda (Slovenia) and Malin Biller (Sweden). In their comics, they demonstrate what should be characterized as a mortal sin according to them. The issue also features two interviews, one of them with Andrej Štular, an experimental artist from Slovenia, notable for his unconventional approach to cartooning. The other interviewed artist is Sara Colaone, the acclaimed italian cartoonist, whose comics are much more firmly rooted in traditional storytelling than those of Stular. The issue also features comics by both interviewed artists. Not to be missed is also a short illustrated story (in prose) by Nejc Gazvoda, a feature unique to Stripburger. Appearing for the first time are Daniel Bueno (Brasil), Jon McNaught (UK) and Jure Engelsberger (Slovenia).
The 48th issue of Stripburger features two special sections. The first one introduces us to Dongery, a group of comics artists from Norway (Bendik Kaltenborn (www), Flu Hartberg (www), Sindre W. Goksøyr (www) and Kristoffer Kjølberg. The second sections reveals one of the youngest comics scene in Europe – that of Latvia (Anete Melece (www), Kaspars Groshevs (www) and Ingrīda Pièukāne). Also in the focus of this issue is Marco Corona (www), perhaps one of the most intriguing Italian cartoonists at this moment. Corona was interviewed by Paola Bristot. Stripburger no. 48 also boasts an unusually high percentage of Slovene authors. Domen Finžgar (www),makes his debut in this issue, while Damijan Sovec (www)returns after a long absence with a series of travel comics. Other highlights of the issue include works by Olive Boogerja (Francija) (www), Janek Koza (Poljska) (www), Tea Hvala (Slovenija) (www), Gašper Rus (Slovenija) and ustvarjalnega dvojca Mateja Lavrenèièa (www) and Koco (Slovenia) (www), to name just a few of them.
Stripburger enters the summer season with a new image; the magazine now has a smaller, more handy format and is almost entirely redesigned. In the focus of Stripburger #47 we find Matthias Lehmann, the Franco-Brasilian scratchboard master and a long-time friend of Stripburger. Alongside Matthias, this issue features names such as Juhyun Choi (France), Filipe Abranches (Portugal), Thomas Vieille (France), Jakob Klemencic (Slovenia), Mawil (Germany), Askold Akišin (Russia) and Gunnar Lundkvist (Sweden). There are also other authors, less known perhaps, but no less original: Sasha Egoroff (Russia), Matei Branea (Romania), Bendik Kaltenborn (Norway), Kaspars Groshevs (Latvia), Anneli Furmark (Sweden), Olive Booger (France), Matej Lavrencic (Slovenia)... A new feature of this issue is an illustrated short story, created by writer Matjaz Brulc and artist Marko Kociper. (Slovenia). Finally, as always, there's also a handful of reviews, bringing to you comics from Slovenia, as well as those from the big wide world.
Stripburger #46 special feature pages Laugh Out Loud! were prepared in collaboration with City of Women, the Ljubljana-based international festival of contemporary arts. The festivals' mission and the main purpose of this issues’ feature pages is promotion of women in art.
The selection includes previously unpublished comics and two older comics made by artists who have been fighting for their visibility and their right to create for decades. Both the Scottish-Canadian political cartoonist Cinders McLeod and American comic artists Roberta Gregory (legendary among feminist and lesbian readers) use sharp wit to fight stereotypes which accuse women, especially artists and feminists, that they have no sense of humor, that they don't know how to draw, that women have nothing to do with comics anyway etc. This ancient beast of burden consists of, among other things, comics wrapped in cellophane, written by men for men who believed that stories about muscular guys in tights, as Dunja Janković.
Contributors: Andreja Kladnik, Saša Kerkoš (Slovenia), Maja Veselinović (Srbia), Anna Ehrlemark (Sweden/Slovenia), Malin Biller, Karolina Bång (Sweden), Ludmilla Bartscht, Claire Lenkova, Ulli Lust (Germany), Kati Kovács (Finland), Chiquinha! (Brasil), Dora Dutkova (Czech Republic), Cinders McLeod (Canada), Roberta Gregory, Fly, Mary Fleener (USA) and Dunja Jankovic (Croatia/USA) who also contributed the cover and answered annoying questions about women, feminism, comics and work. Other featured artists in Stripburger #46 are: Kati Rapia (Finland), Laurent Dandoy (Belgium), Jakob Klemencic and Koco (Slovenia). puts it, are interesting for »everybody«. Female readers, who were excluded from this imaginary totality, have used their imagination or read between the lines in order to appropriate superheroes to their own needs. Even the most misogynist comic can be read against itself, suggesting that non-ideal women like I and you not only exist but happen to be brave, smart and beautiful. Needless to say, such »cross-examining« of a medium that is supposed to relax you is quite tiresome and boring. This makes it easier to understand why Roberta Gregory's most famous characters, bitter and cynical Bitchy Bitch and frustrated dyke Bitchy Butch were so warmly received by female readers. Instead of addressing »everybody«, her characters speak to a specific variety of genders and sexual preferences – just about everybody except machos in tights.
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