Swedish Comics 1
Emelie Östergren Emelie Östergren’s (b. 1982) ima
ges are dense and evocative. Her world is a place that’s equally cosy and creepy, created in pastels and populated by things we think of as pretty: peonies, flower blossoms, girls in swishy dresses and idyllic stretches of sandy beach. Danger lurks on the margins: unseen, unnamed threats; secret doors and black holes. Östergren’s debut work, Evil Dress (Sanatorium förlag) — about a low-key yet terrifying game of hide-and-seek — was published in 2009. It was followed in 2011 by the equally dreamlike The Duke and his Army — A Dream Revisited. In her latest book, Bortbytingen (‘The Changeling’, Kolik förlag, 2014) Emelie Östergren presents her take on a folk tale as told by Nobel Prize-winner Selma Lagerlöf. It’s a story about difference, intolerance and daring to stand up for what you believe in — a narrative that has gained resonance in a Europe regarded by many people as being influenced by increasingly conservative, nationalist tendencies. IMAGES FROM BORTBYTINGEN (THE CHANGELING)