Cumbé, A Graphic Novel Portrait of Slavery in Brazil
“Much of today’s racism stems back to the 16th century and the 300 years that followed, in which five million slaves were shipped to Brazil from Africa. (That’s around 11 times more people than were sent to to North America.) Slavery was abolished in 1888, yet black Brazilians are still forced to live on the outskirts of society in a country that many argue is in denial regarding its racial prejudice.
To address Brazil’s dark and hushed history, d'Salete crafted a searing and personal account of enslaved Bantu peoples, revealed in vivid black-and-white illustrations. Even more radical than the novel’s subject matter is the fact that the story is told through the perspective of the victims, most likely for the very first time.
Marcelo d’Salete is an illustrator, professor and historical author whose previous works include 2008’s Night Light and 2011’s Crossroads, which explore the stereotypes projected upon and endured by black Brazilians.”
A gorgeous, magical story of a broken friendship, stretched across two lifetimes. Ignatz nominated creator. Bird Girl and Fox Girl is the third book in the Sparkplug Minis Series, a series of short-run (500 copies) mini comics by new and/or underappreciated artists.
32 interior pages, B&W with color cover, saddle-stitched.
Publication Date: December 6th, 2014
“With her tender drawings and gentle words, Sakugawa shows us that fantasy and an illustrator’s gaze upon the world can make everything seem tender and special…" Lexi Cary, TCJWW.
In honour of hitting 200 followers, I’d like to announce to all 200 of ya that either side of Uni, Neon Noir and a couple of other interesting comics projects that will be revealed soon, I will be working on my first creator owned series … Artificial Lights.
It’s something I’ve been developing for the past 2 years so It feels bloody good to be able to properly announce this. The series focuses on the life of Yannik, a man who wants to aspire to certain things but lives in an uncompromising world coupled with his uncompromising state of mind.
Artificial Lights consists of three individual chapters, Each being around the 50-70 page mark:
Inversion Detector
Ultraviolence
Artificial Lights
I’m looking to ultimately see this in print, through what channel I’m not sure but I’m glad to share bits with you along the way.
Included in this post are pages for Inversion detector and some artwork I dabbled with for the series’ overall design.
As a Latina growing up in the U.S. “fitting in” can be quite challenging. Gringa! express years of personal struggle with cultural identity through assimilation, racism, and fetishization of Latinx culture.
Debuted at RIPExpo, now this 17 page pdf is available thru Gumroad for just $3!
And please feel free to share your experiences dealing with your own cultural identity (especially from non-Latinx POCs)! I would love to hear em! <3
Hey all! I hope you had safe and fun holidays! I getting back into my rhythm here at Sparkplug, wrapping up our Kickstarter rewards, adding new distro books to the store and getting together our travel and publishing schedule for 2015.
I wanted to remind everyone in case it was overlooked during the hectic month that is December - Sparkplug put out the last of our Kickstartered books, Bird Girl and Fox Girl by Yumi Sakugawa. Bird Girl and Fox Girl is the story of the end of a friendship and how it echoes forward through the main character’s lives. It is, like so much of Sakugawa’s work, a phenomenal example of minimalist storytelling with maximum emotional impact. Her linework is loose, simple and ragged-edged; the tale it weaves is heartbreaking.
