Mina Rassouli

Maybe I’m Going Home

My particular interest is in autobiographical comics. The first time when I read one, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, was the moment I realized that the comic medium can be so much richer and diverse than what popular media shows us. Usually, if you’re not involved in the comic world, your first interaction is superheroes or manga or Donald duck strips, however, the richness and diversity of comics, especially of personal stories, can open up a whole new perspective on storytelling.

Autobiographical comics are unique because they’re usually created by the person who’s story it is, that creates a more sincere experience. The mixture of visual and textual language gives the author the tools to create their story in a much more creative way than other mediums. And because it’s an accessible medium, you can make comics with just a pencil and paper, minorities can use the opportunity to tell their stories in a way they themselves choose to be represented, so comics can give freedom of expression in a very authentic way.

These are some of the elements that interested me in the comic medium. In this essay I follow further philosophical thoughts on the subject and the power of comics.

My graduation project was a personal struggle of figuring out how to tell my own story. Usually, I create silly comics that use colourful palette and cartoony drawing style with which I want to express freedom and playfulness. However, this time I challenged myself with creating a more sombre story and I found that my usual style didn’t fit anymore and had to explore a different way of illustrating personal inner struggles.

I’m inspired by comic artists like Marjane Satrapi and Art Spiegelman, specifically their storytelling styles and how they interpret their reality with the comic medium.

My story is intertwined with that of my grandmother, who also faced a lot of struggles and lived a very colourful life. Mixing both past and present, I currently have the script for a whole comic book. This graduation project is just the beginning chapter of a much larger story, and I hope it acts as an introduction for what’s to come. After graduation I hope to continue working on it and continue exploring the possibilities of the comic medium and how to creatively tell stories.

Deze pagina is voor het laatst gewijzigd op 27 mei 2022

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