It all started in 2011 with three buckets of sand from Kamp Holland,
Afghanistan. For a few weeks they just stood in a corner of my studio.
Now in 2015, they are still there, still untouched. But they form the
catalyst that led to the comic book that I want to publish this spring.
'From Brabant to Afghanistan... and back." In Dutch as well in English.
Jules
Calis (1985) is a Dutch comic artist and illustrator specialized in
political engaged comics, and representing someone’s experiences. He
studied history and Fine Arts and graduated at the Willem de Kooning
Academie, Rotterdam, in 2012. During his study he focused on
journalistic comics as a medium and now works as a freelance
illustrator, cartoonist and graphic journalist. Calis has illustrated
stories for Dutch newspapers De Volkskrant, NRC.Next, De Correspondent
and BN DeStem.
In 'From Brabant to Afghanistan ... and back' six
Dutch veterans and servicemen from my hometown Dongen, a village in the
south of the Netherlands, tell in my studio about their experiences
during their deployment and how it was to come back home.
"It is
spoken. You have literally quoted the interview and made pictures with.
That makes it very confrontational." - Eric Corton about 'From Brabant
to Afghanistan... and back"
De Nieuwsbv (Dutch radio)
I find it
fascinating how people act in violent situations. You go on a mission
and the experiences stay with you your whole life. How do these
experiences influence you as a person? How does it feel to come home and
how do you deal with your experiences?
The book presents the
reader what Dutch veterans and servicemen have experienced in
Afghanistan. A glimpse into the everyday life of the soldier on a
mission, the choices you have to make and their personal take on it.
Why comics?
Stories
are there to be told and that drives me to capture them, to distribute
and to place it. A monument, only on paper. In the comic book, I hope to
bring the experiences close to the reader.
The comic will be
published by the end of June 2015, by Publisher
Pix4Profs / Jan Stads. A
small regional publisher who publishes primarily cultural and socially
oriented books.
The money will be spent on the last developments which include, book design, text-editing, and printing.
It would be great to achieve the first publication with your help.
Follow
this link to the crowdfunding,if you want to participate in this project.
Do
you have any questions, help with donating (since the payment method is
described in Dutch), ideas or comments? E-mail us at
afghanistanstrip@gmail.com or post a comment here.
More information and images about the project can be found at http://afghanistanstrip.blogspot.nl/
