Aimée de Jongh(1988) is a dutch animator, graphic novellist and illustrator. Her gag-strip 'snippers', a semi-autobiographical slice of life comic, was shown in the free dutch tabloid Metro from 2011 to 2018. She eventually quit Snippers(1) to focus on more graphic novels.
By then, her first Graphic Novel, 'De terugkeer van de Wespendief' (2014) was already a fact. The story follows a man and the people around him as he deals with trauma, as well as the choice to keep or sell his fathers book store. It has some dark moments, portrayed brutally honest without being excessively violent. But for me the novel really shines in the intimacy shared between characters. Their anger, care or vulnerability is palpable, and de Jongh doesn't rely on text to communicate complex emotions like some authors do.
I was going to write a bunch about her works from there on, actually I was halfway there, but it turns out Bas Schuddeboom did a better job than I ever could for Lambiek.nl (in english)
I do want to close with her current exposition in de Kunsthal (Rotterdam). It shows a lot of her process for her latest rendition of 'Lord of the flies' by William Golding. For this Graphic Novel she switched to india ink and pen/brush to support her technique and style. Besides that, most of her recent works get some nice coverage, as well as an upcoming project she is working on. The show is definitely worth a visit, especially since de Kunsthal also has a couple of other nice expo's going at the moment. De Jongh's expo is called Storylines, and is open untill the end of January. If you intend to go, especially if from outside the NL, feel free to send me a PM if you need some trip-tips or want to have a coffe and geek out about strips :)
Zum schluss, some links Lord of the flies book tour Her site An adorable little duckling Wiki (I linked the english page, but I highly recommend the dutch or french ones if you speak the language, as they are waaay more elaborate)
I feel like American comics are made with an entirely different intent than the European ones. Or at the very least the publishers have a different approach. I think is due to big cultural differences.
If you ever want an interesting read; Alessandro Baricco wrote a series of essays for an Italian newspaper using the fall of the roman empire to the barbarians as an example for trying to understand why all sorts of cultural 'barbarians' have a tendency to not respect their predecessors, rich as that heritage might be. He uses all sorts of examples close to the Italian heart (Wine, soccer, food ect.) to explain why other countries barbarize these institutions. All to eventually paint a picture of the modern 'barbarian' and why they act the way they do. It was a real eye opener for me, and since then I look at other comparable situations (like the difference between european, american and eastern strips) with entirely new eyes.
Nothing Graphic about this, still I recommend: (2006) I Barbari - [Alessandro Baricco] (It's been translated in quite a few languages)
Edit: Hmm, maby that is a bit of an off topic leap. The reason why I'm bringing this up, is because I've often been annoyed with a lot of american comics, to the point of being snobbish. Having had the privilege of growing up around Gaston/Guust, Thorgal, Suske & Wiske, Asterix, ect. I've always felt that what the americans offered, seemed kinda empty in comparison.
But then again, those strips aren't perse empty in comparison (as much as it pains me to admit it) but just cater to needs different than my own. which... brings me again to Baricco.
Ces barbares ne sont pas si fous après tout ;)
Still, we have the right to our own preferences