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Fredrik Strömberg

Author, journalist, PhD, curator and professor – working with comics

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Tag: AltCom

Swedish comics artist Mattias Elftorp talks about the international comics festival AltCom at the Comic Art School.

May 20, 2016 By Fredrik Strömberg 0

fredrik_stromberg

Instagram post 18035589620078981

Instagram post 18035589620078981

Another text I had almost forgotten about is now o

Another text I had almost forgotten about is now out in the world. Last spring, I interviewed the incredible artist @craigthompsonbooks in Warsaw, where his new mammoth graphic novel Ginseng Roots made it’s official debut. We had a long, interesting discussion about creative processes, which is now up at my old haunt, The Comics Journal: https://www.tcj.com/for-me-its-always-exploratory-discussions-with-craig-thompson/

The events I attended in Brazil about a month ago

The events I attended in Brazil about a month ago was the pre-release of my new book IMAGENS NEGRAS NOS QUADRINHOS: UMA HISTÓRIA VISUAL. Now is the official release, as everyone can order it, through the following link: https://blogdaaspas.blogspot.com/2024/12/imagens-negras-nos-quadrinhos-uma.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2jOS-sjvqSOqFdbU0leKNUVF8C8S6-tSWGksJgffYH1asBa-jOWfj3aB8_aem_YlEUir93Yj_6iII42sCNMA&m=1 Thanks to everyone at @aspas_hq for making this such an enjoyable ride.

Mailbag: In my collection of merchandise connected

Mailbag: In my collection of merchandise connected to older Swedish comics, there is an abundance of comics characters carved out of wood, seemingly a major past time in Sweden throughout the 20th century. Often it’s the usual suspects of of popular characters, but sometimes I get hold of something more unusual. Meet Albert Engström (1869–1940), Swedish painter, author, cartoonist, editor and publisher of satirical magazines, and such a major personality around the turn of the century 1900 that there are not only folk art based of his most famous comics character Kolingen, but also of himself.

As we won last year, we are right now organizing C

As we won last year, we are right now organizing Comiquiz, the Nordic Championship in Comics Knowledge. The event starts in less than an hour, with participating teams on the ready all around the Nordic countries. May the best team win!

It’s Friday night and I really, really, REALLY d

It’s Friday night and I really, really, REALLY deserved this, after a loooong week of so much work, and taking care of the family, while only slowly, incrementally recovering from a really bad cold. Cheers everyone!

Mailbag: @joannarubindranger does it again! After

Mailbag: @joannarubindranger does it again! After the success of the graphic novel Ihågkom oss till liv, she has already the next one out, and again, it’s gorgeous and seems incredibly interesting. Dolda judiska liv (Hidden Jewish Lives) feels like a direct continuation of Rubin Dranger’s last book, as it again builds on her research into Jewish lives in Sweden, although now they are not Rubin Dranger’s family and relatives but Jews that have chosen to hide their Jewishnes in their everyday lives. Really looking forward to read this one!

Mailbag: I constantly get albums, graphic novels a

Mailbag: I constantly get albums, graphic novels and/or manga collections sent to me for review and few things gets me as excited as a new album in the Marcinelle style. This is the latest album in the official Spirou et Fantasio series, and a continuation of the previous volume that announced the death of the main character …. We’ll, I do love the retro/Yves Chaland inspired style of Schwartz, but the story by Abitan and Guerrive doesn’t really deliver for me. It’s ok, but feels a bit contrived/condensed, combined with far too much fan service in the form of references to the long history of Spirou et Fantasio. Feels like we need a hard reboot of this series …

What with book release in Brazil and comics confer

What with book release in Brazil and comics conference in Malmö and so on, I quite forgot that I had a review/essay in @svenskadagbladet about the latest book Pythian pratar by the one and only @leifstromquist. https://www.svd.se/a/nymLEm/recension-pythian-pratar-av-liv-stromquist Sorry, but it’s in Swedish, and it seems, behind a paywall … Anyway, chances are you’ll get a translation of the book into your language of choice in a not so distant future, as Strömquist is by far THE most translated and read Swedish comics artist of the 21st century.

Second day of the comics conference in Malmö, wit

Second day of the comics conference in Malmö, with more incredibly interesting talks on comics from several very different angles. I gave a talk about my own initial research into how the Tintin comics were repurposed for publishing in Swedish weekly magazines in the 20th century. I also hosted a tour of @seriearkivet, together with archivist Thomas Storn, showing of some of our most treasured possessions. Happy with how the conference turned out, but now I’m really, really tired and will sleep for a week or so …

The first day of the comics symposium in Malmö is

The first day of the comics symposium in Malmö is over and it’s been great. Love the energy, the passion and the knowledge collected into one room. Now, beer!

Today is the day before the big symposium, and com

Today is the day before the big symposium, and comics researchers are arriving in Malmö in droves :) A Finish delegation made it to @seriearkivet (The Comics Archive) for a pre-conférence tour before we close for the day.

The next two days, we’re hosting a major comics

The next two days, we’re hosting a major comics symposium here in Malmö, titled “Drawing Connections: Comics as Art and Inquiry”. The symposium is organized by @oskar_aspman and @gunnarkrantz from Malmö University, together with us at the @seriearkivet (The Comics Archive). There will be some incredibly interesting lectures, by some incredibly interesting researchers, which I’m really looking forward to, but also just to meet everyone and be able to talk about comics research for two whole days. The second day will be held at the Archive and will contain, among other things, a short report by me about my finds on the subject of publication of Les aventures de Tintin in Sweden, as well as a tour of the Archive by our archivist Thomas Storn, The whole program can be found here: https://comics.uni.mau.se/drawing-connections-comics-as-art-and-inquiry/

Today I’m back at the familiar grounds of @serie

Today I’m back at the familiar grounds of @seriearkivet (The Comics Archive), where I’m continuing my research into how the @tintin comics were cut up, reorganized, redrawn and remade to fit into Swedish weekly magazines in the 20th century. The production material we have at the archive is all in pieces due to the glue having come undone after the decades. Tintin puzzles anyone?

Back in Sweden, where I’m spending the day at @l

Back in Sweden, where I’m spending the day at @lundsstadsbibliotek (Lund University Library), where they keep a copy of everything ever published in Sweden. Today, I’m investigating how @lesaventuresdetintin (The Adventures of Tintin) was published in Swedish weekly magazines in the 20th century, and how the resizing, redrawing and refitting of the panels affected the visual storytelling.

Heading home after a very satisfying book launch i

Heading home after a very satisfying book launch in Brazil. I’ve had so many interesting meetings, made many new friend and generally been so well taken care of by everyone that’s it’s all been a treat.

I’d like to thank @patcordeiro at the Swedish embassy, @morgabaldissera at the book fair in Porto Alegre and the indefatigable @nogueiranatantiaas at @aspas_hq for planing everything and setting it up so that it all worked seamlessly. And also Lucio Luiz, for making the book in what to be honest was far too short of a time period.

And especially, I’d like to thank all my handlers/fixers/translator in the different cities, i.e. @guilherme_s_braga, @natyfernandesz, @luisaarantes2 and @myalvim . Oh, and @lary__salenave__, who saved me at the airport in Campo Grande. You all went out of your way to make my stay highly enjoyable. Thank you!

@swedeninbrazil

Another great meeting at the EIASPAS conference wa

Another great meeting at the EIASPAS conference was the other keynote speaker, the impressive @luytensonia, who I of course knew of, but had never met. Well listening to her talk and realizing just how much of a pioneer she’s been in comics research, all the way back to the early 1970s, and all over the world, Sonia is my new hero.

Sonia is seemingly completely fearless cosmopolitan, and a really funny person to hang out with. We became good friends in the few days I got to spend in Campo Grande, and we also made plans for future collaborative projects, which I do hope will become realities. @swedeninbrazil

So, my last night in Brazil, I held a keynote at t

So, my last night in Brazil, I held a keynote at the EIASPAS conference, talking about feminism in Swedish comics. Even though I have a, by now really bad chest cold combined with asthma, it all went ok, probably mostly since I had a great translator (@myalvim), which meant that I got to rest my voice while she was relating the information in Portuguese. Anyway, the talk went over well, and there were a lot of interesting questions afterwards, showing that what I was afraid might be too an obscure a topic in Brazil, was really engaging the audience.
Afterwards, a long cue formed for signings of my new book, even though I’ve been signing all the time here the last two days. I can now say officially, that this is the most I’ve ever signed on a book launch anywhere in the world. And the enthusiasm I’ve met over the book has been overwhelming. A big thank you to ASPAS for making this happen! @swedeninbrazil

I’ve had so many great meetings here in Brazil,

I’ve had so many great meetings here in Brazil, but I wonder if this wasn’t the best. The author Nobu approached me at the comics conference, presenting me with his dissertation on Black people in Brazilian comics, which I love since I’m always looking for more information on this subject.
But, he then went on to tell me that the whole project was inspired by my original book Black Images in the Comics from 2003, and produced said tome for me to sign.
When I research a topic and write about it, it’s always based on my own curiosity, and a lack of established literature on said topic, but I also really hope that others will be inspired and add to the knowledge in new books and articles. In fact, that’s how I end the book, asking for continuations to my initial foray into this subject.
There has, since the first edition of my book in English, been several books on Black culture in comics, Black comics artists and so on, but this was one of the first time someone actually acknowledged my book as an inspiration, and that really made my day. @swedeninbrazil

Ok, so this was a bit strange, but in a good way.

Ok, so this was a bit strange, but in a good way. I was just honored by the city of Campo Grande for my “contributions to social development through comics”. Granted that IS one of the goals with a lot of my writings. but having it stated in an official, honorary document like this felt a bit … strange. Still, of course happy for the recognition. #swedeninbrazil

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