Using Budapest as a base of operations have begun incursions into the Balkans in search of what has been described by locals as the Cold War’s forgotten treasure trove. Part mockumentary, part quest a la ‘the Da Vinci Code’, this rakia-infused walk on the wild side promises to deliver much moola to our cofers. Or so we wish.
Back in Lisbon over the Summer of 08 was struck by how much of a movie set the town really is. Buildings, angles of light against white-washed walls and slippery cobblestones have a drama that make it a comic strip “natural”. Of course a lot of that can be credited to the earthquake and resulting fire of 1755 that leveled the city and allowed the powers-that-be to create a coordinated framework of palaces, houses and avenues from scratch. Using that cathartic event as a point of departure tried to imagine modern Lisbon once again ravished by apocalyptic forces and what it would take to bring it back to its “original” splendor. This is the never-ending story of a quest for those things that keep us going.
Feel that movies such as “Cidade de Deus” and “Tropa de Elite” glamorize the way of life of the favelas. In some ways, the recent light shone onto the social blight they represent has been a positive one; but overall tend to think that this sudden attention has done more harm than good, glorifying vice and somehow provoking a spike in crime and corruption. Suddenly it’s cool to aspire to be a drug lord or a card-carrying member of a “Esquadrão-da-Morte”. The stuff reported in the papers everyday is ripe for a comic strip. SACANATION, a play on the quintessential Brazilian word “sacanagem”, is a take on word-of-mouth accounts, real news stories, and a bit of my own experience living in Brazil in the mid-80s.
Together with MISS SENSE H have begun development of a new single-strip comic that takes a piss at the present state of Barcelona (and Catalonia as a whole) thru its statues, monuments and buildings.
cuz friends don’t let friends drive Chrysler LeBarons... ‘nuf said.
