Queer voices in the comics world

The famous Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer animatedly committing his famous praying to paper after a one-night stand. Two femboys who become embroiled in a sexual dynamic of repulsion and attraction while working in a strip club. Two bosom buddies who discover they feel more for each other than friendship. The stories in the comic book collection Dit lichaam van ons are sexy, witty, intimate and relatable. After all, we all have a body. Although all kinds of bodies appear in comics, you do not often see the queer body represented, if at all. The makers hope to change this situation with the publication, which was supported under the Design Grant Scheme.

collective

Eight illustrators from the queer community collaborated on the book, which is divided into three chapters: Head, Torso and Legs. They loosely based their collaboration on the so-called cadavre exquis, a creative technique devised by the surrealists where each artist draws part of a figure. Taking the three anatomical chapters as a starting point gave the group project structure, while the subject matter offered the makers plenty of creative freedom. The collective nature of the project was further enhanced as the illustrators spoke fortnightly and provided feedback on each other’s work. This not only contributed to everyone's professional development, but also laid the foundation for what has since grown into a collective that makes its own mark on the heteronormative comics world.

pulp

Inspired by the history of comics as a pulp medium, the collective creates socially engaged visual stories that at the same time dare to be coarse, pulpy or pornographic. According to initiator and cartoonist Guus Møystad, queer and pulp have in common that they question the mainstream. In the preface, he writes: ‘That we dare to highlight less respectable elements as a strength of the medium (...) is directly inspired by our queer community. A community that insists we are part of society while celebrating sexuality, campness and playful identities (including gender identities) that fall outside the norm.

crowdfunding

And that is not the collective’s only mission. In a field where ‘exposure’ is still too often offered as a means of payment, they want to draw attention to fair remuneration for young makers. The subsidy from the Design Grant Scheme was mainly spent on artists’ fees. To further supplement the project budget, they launched a crowdfunding campaign on the Voordekunst website. This not only provided additional funding, but also proved to be a good lesson for the makers in positioning themselves within the field. By presenting their artistic vision to potential donors, they became more aware of their own signature and added value. They also built a valuable network of interested followers.

follow-up

The professionalisation of the crowdfunding campaign opened new doors, such as an artist-in-residence project at the invitation of culture centre Nieuwe Vide and art platform 37PK at DOC4 in Haarlem. Here, the collective developed an exhibition and a public programme that included workshops and a panel discussion on the importance of fair compensation in the comics world. During the residency period, the illustrators were also introduced to JongFems, an activist collective of young makers aged between 15 and 25. That meeting in turn led to a new collaboration: workshops for the youngest generation of makers (including comic-book makers) .

stripdagen

The opening weekend of the exhibition Dit lichaam exposed and the public programme were part of the Stripdagen Haarlem. At this annual comics festival, the comic-strip collection received a Small Press Award and was covered by various media, including de Volkskrant and Haarlems Dagblad. The project prompted some makers to develop their short story in the collection into a standalone visual story. In addition to Isa Boorsma, Abe Borst, Guus Møystad and Indi Vos, comic illustrators Dido Drachman, Valentijn Hamel, Saint Theophanu and Luwe also contributed to Dit lichaam van ons. Leyla Ali created illustrations for the cover and title pages, and Suuz de Leeuw (De Ambachtelijke Ontwerpers) was responsible for the design.