Swedish Comics 1
Linda Spåman Linda Spåman (b. 1976) is an artist
and comic artist. She is a master at combining social realism, surrealist absurdism and bleakness in her books. In her latest graphic novels, including BRF Ensamheten (‘The Lonely Tower Residents’ Association’, Kolik, 2012) about a cynical residents’ association on the outskirts of Gothenburg, as well as Äkta Spåman (‘Genuine Fortune Teller’, Kolik, 2014) she has stitched together a sizable patchwork quilt of human neuroses, dark recesses, dreams and shortcomings by zooming in on apparently ordinary people. In Äkta Spåman, Linda Spåman describes her melancholic feelings towards her job as a breakfast server at a seedy hotel by the motorway, then grabs hold of life and begins telling strangers’ fortunes. That marks the beginning of a frenetic adventure and a narrative about hilarious encounters with suicidal middle-class men and disgruntled allergy sufferers. PICTURES FROM BRF ENSAMHETEN (THE LONELY TOWER RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION) AND ÄKTA SPÅMAN (GENUINE FORTUNE TELLER) 5