NatsuCon

While NatsuCon as usual has a focus on Japanese culture, this year’s festival will also give room for a small comics event. With international guests, “Comics Sunday” will present modern, European comics. Artists from several countries will show and talk about their art, and there will also be a panel discussion on comics where the artists will contribute.

From Norway you will meet Anja Dahle Øverbye. She was recently awarded a prize for best Norwegian graphic novel in 2015. Her graphic novel, “Hundedager” (“Dog Days”), deals with topics such as friendship and bullying, and it is more or less autobiographical.

The German artist Karolina Chyzewska has also been dealing with autobiographical topics in her first graphic novel, “Fast wie zu Hause” (“Nearly Like Home”). Chyzewska grew up in a Polish family in Germany, and her graphic novel deals with topics like migration and identification. An important question in the book is whether Chyzewska is German, Polish, both or something else.

Belarus’ Rufina Bazlova has an intriguing way of making comics. Bazlova is questioning the comics definition in her works, and she has made unusual comics. One of her most important works is a dress with a story told through embroidery. She has also made comics out of chocolate and rubbish.Important in her works are pre-slavic philosophy and mythology.

Representing the Czech Republic, Tereza Drahoňovská from Laydeez Do Comics Praha will do an interesting lecture on Comics characters with undefined gender. Drahoňovská is writing about comics on among others the Laydeez Do Comics Praha blog.

Kristian Hellesund will do a lecture on Norwegian comics history. Hellesund is a comics journalist, and at the moment he is working on a book on Norwegian comics. He will also moderate the panel discussion together with Tereza Drahoňovská.

Timeline:

Sunday 21 August

11:00: Introduction
11:05: Kristian Hellesund: Norwegian Comics History (in English)
11:35: Rufina Bazlova: My comics (in Czech)
12:05: Karolina Chyzewska: Comics reading (in German). A short Q&A: My comics (in English)
12:35: Tereza Drahonovska: Comics characters with undefined gender
13:05: Anja Dahle Øverbye: My comics (in English)
13:40: Panel discussion (Moderators: Tereza Drahonovska and Kristian Hellesund)
14:00: End

Links:

A presentation of Anja Dahle Øverbye (in English):
http://serienett.blogspot.cz/2016/07/close-up-and-personal.html?m=0

A presentation of Karolina Chyzewska’s graphic novel (in German):
http://centrala.org.uk/pl/fast-wie- zu-hause/

A portfolio of Rufina Bazlova’s work:
https://issuu.com/rufinabazlova/docs/rufina_bazlova_portfolio-bookii

Laydeez Do Comics Praha’s website:
http://ldcpraha.weebly.com/

A presentation of Kristian Hellesund (in Czech):
http://old.komiksfest.cz/2012/hoste/hellesund_kristian_n