New Swedish Books, autumn 2019 1
39 Autumn 2019 From the newspaper rack to the boo
kshelf Fabian Göranson, a seasoned publisher, translator and graphic novelist, writes about how comic art has developed its unique identity and international appeal. Just as Japan developed in isolation from the wider world for several centuries, for the last few decades Swedish comic culture has been characterised by very little international influence. But bridges are gradually being built, and Swedish graphic novels are now ready to step out into the big wide world. The 1990s were the Dark Ages. In the wake of economic crisis publication of comics almost ground to a halt. In its stead, a fanzine culture began to emerge, where comics, often with an element of autobiography, were scrawled, photocopied and distributed to those in the know for cash on delivery. “Poorly drawn autobiography” became a unique ” Swedish comic art has found its own identity“ Swedish genre, which has reached its peak in recent years with artists such as Åsa Grennvall, Mats Jonsson and Henrik Bromander. Several politically radical cartoonists such as Liv Strömquist and Sara Granér were featured in trade journals and political weeklies, widening their circulation. The books published at this time were simply collections of previously published comic strips and series. The early 2000s saw the conversation about a Swedish comic revolution really begin to grow. Despite their naivistic expression, new comics were praised in the cultural pages of daily newspapers and attracted more and more readers. But they were still rarely translated, and Swedish cartoonists were conspicuously absent at international festivals. It is only in recent years that two international trends have come to influence Swedish comic culture. Firstly, more and more students and teachers in art schools across the country have started experimenting with the comic medium, such as Matilda Ruta and Anneli Furmark. Secondly, more and more cartoonists have invested time in creating graphic novels instead of collections of shorter works. This tradition, which made its breakthrough with Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus, combines the complexity and storytelling of a novel with the graphic craft of a comic. This new format has also influenced the choice of genre, which has branched out from fantasy and humour, towards drama and realism. In this way, comic culture has moved away more and more from the world of newspapers and towards the world of books, making it easier for comics to be translated and to find their artistic siblings in other countries. Developments have also been accelerated by the economic crisis affecting newspapers, which can rarely afford to pay for original comics these days. Hence why comics have been able to move from the newspaper rack to the bookshelf. Perhaps it is precisely at the meeting point between these styles – punky fanzines, punchy comic strips in newspapers, and art school subtlety and craftsmanship – that Swedish comic art has found its own identity.