An other side of Afghanistan in comic form

(This blogpost was published in Dutch on my blog about the graphic novel project http://afghanistanstrip.blogspot.nl/)

It has been quiet for a long time around the graphic novel project about the Dutch soldiers in Afghanistan. It was actually halted as I was busy with another project. In May this year I went to Afghanistan. Kabul to be precise. Partly because I heard and recorded so many stories, and just because I'm totally fascinated by the country.
Earlier I tried to go embedded with Dutch troops, but my drawings were not very appreciated by defense-information. They found them too shocking and realistic. Exactly! I find it very important to show reality. Nevertheless, I kept looking for a way to go to Afghanistan and I came upon a remarkable event in Kabul via the facebook page of ISAF. Sound Central Festival.

A festival for alternative music and art forms. A safe place where young people can express themselves freely and safely. I found this so special, I had to see this. I emailed the organization to visit the festival and make a journalistic comic for a newspaper, do live sketching and help anywhere needed. They were interested and took me on as one of the artists of the festival. After five months of preparation I left for 10 days to Kabul. Obviously a great experience. Also a chance to see a totally different side of Afghanistan. I met many young, courageous and inspiring people who want to build and develop the country. And of course as a Dutch, it was great to see Afghans enjoy punkrock, hardrock, metal and more. The country deserves a chance!
The graphic report was published Saturday, June 8th in the background and opinion booklet 'Vonk' of the Volkskrant. Thus one of the first journalistic comics in Dutch newspaper.

I chose this form because I found it such a special event, the report also had to impress the reader. A newspaper article about the festival is very good and the festival deserves the attention. But I hope it has a dual efficiency through comic: "Hey a comic in the newspaper! Hey it brings totally different news from Afghanistan!"
This principle is also applicable on the graphic novel project about the soldiers and veterans. I'll soon return working on this project again to try and publish the book this year. There are still some comics waiting to be inked, a number of shorter stories that need to be worked out and six additional items that are included in the book.

Thanks for your ongoing interest. Stay tuned because the project about SCF is far from over. Next week the English version of the graphic report will be published on internet.

More information and pictures about the graphic report on:

https://www.facebook.com/SoundCentralFestival2013AGraphicReport

Let's get to work!

The festival is over so I get to work on the comic. It were five amazing days. Met a lot of good and interesting people, I was amazed by the energy of the festival and had some real cool parties in the evenings.

So for today I was just working on the reportage. The people at the guest house are really hospitable and I can use the conference room as an office. Listening to all the interviews, making notes, mapping, categorizing and grouping information, organizing photo's and sketching.

I don't want to show to much allready, but it might be cool to explain. I made some smaller sketches and call them 'in betweens'. Those were those small things and details that I really pay attention to. Those kind of things that might just a few people notice or pay attention to, or cameo's. The in betweens will be assimilated into the main pictures. So you might have to look for them again!

I´ll give one away. 

You should have seen the crew walking around with the walkie-talkies whole day. I´ll never forget Travis Beard, the organiser of the festival, calling into the radio: "Qais! Qais! Where are you Qais!?". And of course Qais was running around all day being really busy. And that's a fact! 


Oh by the way! I haven't blogged a lot about the rest of my experiences in Kabul. But if you're interested you might like to check out my roommate's blog, Craigus Mcvegas from Australia. I do would like to share one thing. This evening me and Craig went out with the guy from the guesthouse, to withdraw some money at a cash machine. At one of the the supermarkets we went to, some militairy white trucks by with electronic jammers on the roof against electronic devices that might trigger bombs.

So we couldn't unlock the car because it has an infrared key. We had to wait untill they had passed by. But read the rest of it an Craigus's blog.

Stay tuned! And Turn it Up!

Detective Sunday #4: Det. Sgt. Westie

Again I didn't quite managed to take a day off during sundays. A new assignment I took, really takes a lot of time and it has a very short deadline. Even though, after a little time in between I was able to finish a detective. Detective Sergeant Westie is a character I created in style of the crime-noir comics-series Blacksad.

My mother's dog is a West-Highland White Terrier named Stefke. A very cool but quite stubborn dog. So the ideal basis for a character in the comic series. And since canids are most often police officers in the series, I thought of this one as well for a detective. I also took some inspiration from Martin Lawrence's appearance as ex-con Miles Logan and then posing as Detective Malone in the movie Bluestreak.

For the first time I watercolored the inked drawings. Never done it before and got the time to use watercolor for comics. I might give it a chance for a next time.

The characters of Blacksad are always well worked out. 'The animal for the character' as would I say. A German shepherd as a police commissioner, a orangutan as a blues musician or an arctic fox as a member of "Arctic Nation", a racist political organization similar to the Klu Klux Klan. Just to give a few examples.
If you get the chance, you should really check out the comics. Not just the artwork is awesome but the stories are very good as well.

That's it for this Detective Sunday. Not sure when the next one will be posted, but just check the blog to find out! So stay tuned!

Detective Sunday #3: James Giron

Little busy this Sunday, so I left it with only one illustration. I tried a European style for this character of the Smoky Barrett-series bij Cody McFadyen.

James Giron is an FBI-profiler and a team-member who works underneath Smoky. He's a very irritable and quite irritating to everyone. Someone like: "I hate everything!" The team prefers to call him 'Damian'. Like to know why? I'd say read the series, if you like thriller-horror. Still he's a team-player and a very good agent and profiler.
And nonetheless one of my favorite characters in the series. (Next time smaller lines though.)
Till next Detective-Sunday!

Detective Sunday #2: Detective Lena Adams

Todays detective of Detective-Sunday is detective Lena Adams of the Grant County series by Karin Slaugter. The style I derived it from is of The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore.

I chose this style because I find it airing the county feeling. I might give it another try, since I'm not really into the American drawing styles, but I'll get a chance when I work on another character of the Grant County series. She also didn't came out as hardened as she get's to be from the second book on. But I still need to start with the fourth book of the series so I'll get back to Lena again.

But that's for the next Detective-Sunday.

Detective Sunday: Review: Fell Vol. 1: Feral City

Yes! The second Detective Sunday. Let the drawing begin! We'll have to wait for that for a few more minutes, because I would also like to share some short comic-reviews now and then on Detective Sundays.

So let's start with my favourit of all.

Fell-Feral City, by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith
Published by: Image Comics
ISBN: 9781582406930

Cover of Fell Vol. 1: Feral City

I have to be honest, that I do not know a lot about the writer and artist, except that Warren Ellis is a great writer (Transmetropolitan) and Ben Templesmith is a great artist (30 Days of Night). And I'm not going to talk about what other reviewers talked about allready.

Fell Vol. 1: Feral City is the only trade paperback consisting of eight, sixteen page stories about homicide detective Richard Fell. Fell has been transferred from an unnamed city across the bridge to the suburb Snowtown. Something happened which made him be banned from the city, and forced him to work in the industrial nighmare of Snowtown that's literally eating itself and every person in town seems to be insane somehow.

The short storries are presented in a tv-like drama serie. Each short issue is for example a case to solve by Fell and within the greater story there's attention for character development. The reader get's hooked to each story from the first picture to the last, and doesn't get a chance to slow down the pace. 
There has been thought well about keeping up this pace by the two creators (I assume). The lay-out of the page are by most a 9 picture (3 x 3) set-up. Sometimes alternated with a wide-shot. So you jump from the next to the next to the next picture, and you might be able to take a breath when you reach a wide-shot. 

First page of Fell Vol. 1: Feral City

I conclude with Ben Templesmith's artwork. Templesmith proves to produce incredible art. Dark yet fine and quite beautifull. But what noticed me that it is a somehow simple style, which makes it accessible for the reader to place himself in the characters, like novels. The reader could be the character Fell. Helping him solve the cases, trying to make sense of the crazy town and it's insane inhabitants.


Fell is a great example of crime/detective fiction in comics I've read. And I highly recommend! And with me, more reviewers do!

For the Dutch readers who would like the Dutch issue, look for: Fell 1: Welkom in Snowtown.

Now.. Let the drawing begin!