InfoAnda - Belgian graphic artist breaks with comic tradition |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Australian PM Gillard calls for leadership vote | | 23 February 2012
Bayreuth opera festival threatened by strike | 15 July 2009
Opium takes over entire Afghan families, villages | 10 August 2009

Amazon reshelves Macmillan titles but not e-books | | 7 February 2010

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Belgian graphic artist breaks with comic tradition |

Edition: U.S. Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Aerospace & Defense Investing Simplified Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB Dividends World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Africa Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus Nicholas Wapshott Bethany McLean Anatole Kaletsky Zachary Karabell Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Reihan Salam Frederick Kempe Mark Leonard Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Pictures Pictures of the year: Entertainment Our best entertainment photos from 2012. Slideshow Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Colorado students accused of sickening class with pot-laced brownies 09 Dec 2012 Atheists around world suffer persecution, discrimination: report 09 Dec 2012 Europe backs Monti reforms as Italy crisis hits markets 10:46am EST U.S.-Mexican singer Jenni Rivera dies in plane crash 12:38am EST Court hearing could mark end of Strauss-Kahn civil lawsuit 8:51am EST Discussed 161 Egyptian protesters breach presidential palace cordon 139 IRS aims to clarify investment income tax under healthcare law 93 ”Fiscal cliff” talks down to Obama and Republican Boehner Pictures Reuters Photojournalism Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption Syria in ruins Images of a landscape devastated by war. Slideshow Gay marriage in America A look at the legal battles and the controversies over gay marriage. Slideshow Sponsored Links Belgian graphic artist breaks with comic tradition Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Art fair showcases growing cultural scene in Miami Thu, Dec 6 2012 Male artists lead 2013 Grammy nominations Thu, Dec 6 2012 Critics' darling Price scoops UK's Turner art prize Mon, Dec 3 2012 Analysis & Opinion Occupy Art Related Topics Entertainment » Fashion » Arts » By Madeline O'Leary BRUSSELS | Mon Dec 10, 2012 9:26am EST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Comic artist Brecht Evens decided to break away from the traditional comic strip images of clear lines and pencil sketches developed in Belgium more than half a century ago. After surviving at first on government subsidies, in 2010 he produced a graphic novel featuring vibrant watercolours and smudged scenes of sexuality and riotous nightlife, with characters blurred into their surroundings. "The Wrong Place" - a graphic novel about the angst-filled night-time escapades of Robbie, a mysterious party animal - became an international success and made Evens the darling of the new wave of experimental comic artists currently sweeping across Belgium. Traditional comics "seemed limited in what they could do and show", 26-year old Evens told Reuters. "They couldn't suck you in and just looked like toys laid out, or puppets." His new style "lends movement and hustle and bustle". Evens' success comes as graphic fiction, or comics, search for a new direction. Traditional comic strips - with speech bubbles and clear pencil lines giving shape to the characters - are seen as old-fashioned. Even though they have die-hard fans in Belgium, that market is declining and was anyway tiny. In big comic markets, such as Japan, South Korea and the United States, fans have long since moved on to new media, starting with television and now taking in smart phones and tablets. But these new media have flopped in Belgium, as readers are attached to the book-and-picture format. Without new styles, the industry will not survive, says Johan Stuyck, professor at the Sint-Lukas School of Arts in Brussels and publisher at Oogachtend in Leuven. "Those who stick to the old fashioned way of making comics, they are doomed," he says. "They will disappear." Reverence for the past is perhaps unsurprising in a country with such a glorious history in comics. Georges Remi, who worked under the pen name Herge, created Tintin in 1929 while working at Belgian newspaper Le XXe Siecle. "The Adventures of Tintin" series became an immediate success and remained a top seller until the 1970s. "Spirou", the eight-page weekly magazine that disseminated comics to the Belgian public and gave artists exposure, was created in 1938. Belgian artists pioneered the use of clear black lines to outline characters precisely and make them stand out against the background in the earlier half of the 20th century. Belgian comics went through another boom with the advent of the Smurfs in 1959. But when new electronic and animated media emerged from the 1980s - and Hollywood eventually turned Tintin into a movie - Belgian artists largely shunned the new forms, as their conservative readers at home weren't interested. Recently, however, Belgian artists have innovated in their own ways. Traditional comics required solid plots, like Tintin's traditional, documentary-style. For strips appearing in newspapers, artists had to provide a daily cliffhanger. These are now disappearing in favor of vaguer, more psychological themes. "Artists used to think more about their audience, what will work and what won't work," says Koen Van Rompaey, general director of Strip Turnhout, a Belgian comic festival. "Artists don't do that anymore. They do whatever they want." They no longer stick to orderly strips to arrange their stories. And they sometimes don't outline their figures. That leads some illustrations - like Evens's - to lack structure and clarity, giving them an appearance of modernist paintings. "Some are just drawing without tracing," says Stuyck. "The text is not necessarily put in balloons. It's experimental." The new experimental styles are commercially risky, and publishers need to be patient with new artists. Most first works flop, selling just a few hundred copies and losing money. Success often comes only with a third book. "Without those first two, the artist wouldn't have made a third," says Stuyck. "The publisher must take risks." Even then, the Belgian market is saturated, with comic book production at a historic high, even as overall sales decline. Around 800 professional comic artists currently live and work in Belgium, says Willem De Graeve, director of the Belgian Comic Strip Centre. One source of support is the Flemish Literature Fund, which provides government grants for illustrators working on the national art form in the Dutch dialect spoken in the northern half of Belgium. "Without support from the Flemish Fund, this new wave of Flemish comics would not have been possible," Van Rompaey said. "It would have been five to 10 percent of what it is now." During his final years at art school, Evens survived with help from this fund as he struggled with early drafts of "The Wrong Place". His new style consisted of broad swathes of color with minimal line work. He then adds details in a series of layers. "There are no pencil sketches. It differs from traditional comics because the lines and surfaces are independent," he says. "Traditionally, artists will make a pencil sketch, then trace over it in ink and add detail, then add color." Critics loved "The Wrong Place", which has been translated in six different languages, placing Evens in the elite group of young, experimental Belgian artists that achieve more success globally than locally. And now Evens has found a winning formula... he's going to change it. "I wouldn't be happy with the feeling of pedaling in place," he said. (Editing by Sebastian Moffett and Paul Casciato) Entertainment Fashion Arts Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Monday, 10 December 2012
Nigerian finance minister's mother kidnapped |
Romania government headed for parliament majority |
Ghana opposition cries foul ahead of election results |
In giant garage sale, Japan's TV giants hawk $3 billion of assets |
Plane carrying U.S.-Mexican singer Jenni Rivera is missing |
Top films at the North American box office |
Bond movie Skyfall beats Lincoln at box office |
Gabrielle Aplin tops UK charts with Power of Love |
Analysis: Franco-German chill reshuffles cards in Europe |
North Korea to extend rocket launch period to December 29: KCNA |
Eight killed as Taliban bombers attack Pakistan police station |
Philippines, leftist rebels declare truces in disaster areas |
Analysis: North Korea a looming problem for whoever wins South vote |
U.S. and Russia still back Syria settlement: UN envoy |
As Tibetan self-immolations rise, Beijing tightens grip |
Bomb kills provincial Afghan police chief |
Italy's Monti says his political future unclear: press |
Yahoo and NBC Sports Group to combine sports content |
Tech guru McAfee's legal appeals win him respite in Guatemala |
Renesas to receive $1.8 billion in government-backed bailout |
In giant garage sale, Japan's TV giants hawk $3 billion of assets |
Lenovo Group's parent plans China IPO as early as 2014: report |
TSMC November on-year sales up 24 percent |
U.S.-Mexican singer Jenni Rivera dies in plane crash |
French film Amour named best film by LA critics |
French actor Depardieu seeks Belgian residency: mayor |
Egypt army gets temporary power to arrest civilians |
Chavez faces surgery in Cuba, vows I'll be back |
Ghana opposition contender might challenge election results |
Russia hits back at U.S. over rights legislation |
Berlusconi sex trial flares up as Italy election nears |
Mandela faces more tests in hospital |
Yemen says 17 soldiers killed in ambush |
Germany expels four Syrian embassy staff |
Turkish police destroy smuggler's oil pipeline with Iran |
France's Hollande backs first lady in defamation case |
Britain's Pace approaches Google over Motorola Home |
Judge muzzles Goldman, lawyers at Dragon speech recognition trial |
Huawei to double staff in European expansion |
Honeywell sees slow 2013, to buy Intermec for $600 million |
Spotify investor sees music streamer listed in coming years |
STMicro to quit ST-Ericsson mobile chip venture |
Australian DJs break silence over UK royal prank tragedy |
Belgian graphic artist breaks with comic tradition |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01