Aiden Kvarnström

The new volume of CBA features international comics dealing with the erosion of language. How do we talk when words that used to mean certain things have become so vague that they can be freely appropriated by anyone, for any purpose? And what’s up with the currently so prevalent flirting with war, fascism and the dehumanization of anyone who doesn’t fit into the unspoken and conveniently unspecified national identity? Objective truth (if there ever was such a thing) and even language itself seems to be sacrificed on the altar of rhetoric and propaganda. What are the consequences when you can string any random, misspelled words together and people will make their own connections and decide to aggressively either agree or disagree, wholeheartedly even though the sentence actually makes no sense?

The pandemic was supposed to have a deadline, most of us agreed on a year. CBA deadlines are like the pandemic:we’re still open for submissions for the theme PLACEHOLDER. The world is paused for an indefinite time. What does this do to our experience of our existence? How do we replace our routines? We’re waiting, and in our wait, we imitate the “real” we hope will soon return. Like placeholders in our own lives.

New issue of the international comics anthology: From hospital staff to comic creators to basically any job in the gig economy. Anyone who doesn’t have a steady income, or who is expected to do more work in less time than is reasonable, can feel it. This volume of CBA explores BURNOUT. Not so much stories of depressing social realism, but rather artistic expressions of that feeling, suggestions for solutions, wishful thinking and visual abreactions. Expressions of rage rather than apathy, insurrection rather than complicity. Something to read for strength in times of austerity.

CBA is an international comics anthology for experimental storytelling. The theme of this volume is Worst Case Scenario: What’s the worst that could happen? And if that happens, what’s the worst that could happen? And if that happens, what’s the worst that could happen? And so on… There’s a psychiatric method in cognitive behavioral therapy called “The Downward Arrow Technique” where you begin by writing down the answers to this repeated question and we thought it’d be the perfect theme for our upcoming CBA vol 40. Especially since this is an election year in Sweden. Especially since war and famine and climate change and personal disasters are on the horizon. So how bad can it get?

One day, Gregor Samsa woke up and found himself transformed into an insect. Do you think that bugged him? Puns aside, insects are fascinating. Many people find them disgusting and associate them with filth and decay, but without them we wouldn’t have anything to eat, considering they’re also the main pollinators of our plants. How could we survive in a world with no bugs? Then again, fleas were quite significant in spreading the plague. Insects are hailed as the protein of the future and shunned as vectors of disease. They’re pests, pets and objects of fear and fascination. But they aren’t the only kind of bug out there. If you’re sick, you’ve caught a bug. If your computer program doesn’t run as intended, it’s due to a bug. If you experience a glitch in the matrix, there might be a bug in the very fabric of our reality. If something is bugging you, you can’t stop thinking about it. And remember: shrimp are also bugs. Comics by: Aiden Kvarnström [SE], The Chemical Jam [IT], Matteo Galasso [IT], Angela Schmold [CA], Monica Nielsen [SE], Sandra G [RS], Adrián A. Astorgano [ES], Jon Högman [SE], Susanne Johansson [SE], Vlad Gaast [PT], Jason Song Quinn [US], Mattias Elftorp [SE]. Text & illustration by: Mattias Elftorp [SE]. Cover & main editor: Aiden Kvarnström [SE].

In CBA vol 69, we’re doing it! And by “it”, we mean, well, haha: SEX. We’re diving into sex; queer, straight, emotional, horny, funny, serious. Comics that explore intimacy, desire, awkwardness, joy. Stories where sex moves the plot, reveals character or simply celebrates pleasure and the sheer joyfulness of a great fuck.

No theme, just more stories. Let’s all go to the stars! Or maybe the future, if there is such a thing? These are stories to take you away and to bring you back, possibly changed. You just have to try it! This volume of CBA, the international comics anthology, has no theme, it’s just stories created freely by the writers and artists and compiled in the best combination by the CBA crew.

Latest issue of the international comics anthology series: Step into the world of KOLAZ, where images are discovered, altered, and transformed — merged with sketches, digital twists, and layered reconfigurations. It’s a creative process of cutting, rearranging, and reimagining, where fragments are pulled apart and pieced back together. Story themselves are patchworks of moments stitched into something new, where unexpected contrasts may emerge and magic happens when each reader brings their own meanings, their own interpretations, their own fragments to the pasteboard. Comics by: Pavol Bratský, Mattias Elftorp, Tom Mortimer, Damir Stojnic von Ktonsky, Susanne Johansson, Markus Samnell, Julia Nascimento, Adam Boman, Mette Norrie, Helena Menanda, Aiden Kvarnström, Mileta Mijatovic, Mårten Edman, Miku Maria Gustavsson. Cover & main editor: Kinga Dukaj.

Liminal space, a concept that deconstructs the notion of fixed boundaries and absolute realities. It is a space that challenges the dualities of self and other, inside and outside, past and future. A bridge to cross, a door to open. A place to question and transcend. Liminality has always been a part of humanity. Maybe not as a state of transition but rather as a state of constant becoming. It is a space that disrupts the linearity of time and questions the stability of identity. That area of blurred boundaries is very much an integral part of the creative process for us as humans and artists. A realm of ambiguity. A pause in time, a shift in state. A realm of potentiality. Where form and meaning await. Here (or in there) we can push the boundaries of the unexpected. With comics, the idea of the liminal space can be used to craft stories and narratives that exist between different realms of reality.

New issue of the international comics anthology CBA: Have you ever had to just stop what you’re doing and go: “Wait, is this a dream?” When the unknown starts bleeding into reality and you are forced to question your sanity, if just a little bit. You know the sort of thing that happens in dreams that makes you sure it’s just a dream? How do you cope when it happens in the waking world?

The Underworld exists in many forms: an invisible realm of all deceased, a torturous prison for sinners, whatever alien societies rule a ‘hollow earth’, as well as the non- mythological but equally weird organisms that really do scurry around below us. Less literally, it could imply unseen aspects of any organisation, or the darkest moments in an individual’s journey. This volume comes with a specially made poster by Sajan Rai. Something to look at and feel that even though this final issue of 2020 was a bit late, even with the pandemic and all the other catastrophes going on, there is still some beauty in the (under)world.

Innehåll B&B 225 s. 6: Aktuellt: Sverige s. 8: Aktuellt: Norden s. 10: Aktuellt: Europa s. 12: Aktuellt: Nordamerika s. 14: Aktuellt: Asien s. 16: Aktuellt: Världen s. 18: Förhandstitt: Baby Blue av Bim Eriksson s. 24: Intervju: Cosey s. 32: Artikel: Paco Roca s. 36: Porträtt: Olle Forsslöf s. 38: Artikel: Philippe Druillet s. 44: Nekrolog: Rolf Gohs s. 52: Artikel: Olivier Schrauwen s. 60: Ateljébesök: Kim W. Andersson? s. 62: Intervju: Olivia Skoglund s. 68: Artikel: Skräck i manga s. 75: Webbserier s. 78: Fanzin s. 82: Recensioner s. 91: Intervju: Ed Piskor

New issue of the international comics anthology: CBA vol 48 is about cats. Cats and the lifelong friendships we form with our furry friends. Bonds so strong and endearment so deep and ancient, it permeates our lives through time. You find cats in scary stories, in cute stories, they’re a sign of bad luck in some cultures and good luck in others, worshipped as deities or shunned like pests. Remnants of our relationships with the floofy furs are found not just all over the world, but all over the internet as well. Here’s our contribution to the Cat Library of Time.

Innehåll B&B 223: s. 6: Aktuellt: Sverige s. 8: Aktuellt: Norden s. 10: Aktuellt: Europa s. 12: Aktuellt: Nordamerika s. 14: Aktuellt: Asien s. 16: Aktuellt: Världen s. 18: Förhandstitt: Mörkt album av Coco Moodysson s. 26: Artikel: Nordens bästa serier 2019 s. 34: Artikel: Arvet efter mangaboomen s. 42: Ateljébesök: Li Österberg s. 44: Artikel: Nordsken s. 48: Intervju: Frida Ulvegren och Johan Jergner-Ekervik (Jannah) s. 54: Intervju: Joakim Waller (Penguin Rumble) s. 60: Intervju: Alessandra Sternfeldt s. 64: Intervju: Olle Dahllöf s. 64: Intervju: Fantomen på export s. 70: Porträtt: Bitte Andersson s. 79: Webbserier s. 82: Fanzin s. 86: Recensioner s. 90: Artikel: Göteborg Seriefestival

So many LGBTQ narratives end in tragedy as a consequence of the LGBTQ-hood of the characters. Those stories are important because LGBTQ people are still being targeted by prejudice, discrimination and violence, but in this volume of CBA we encouraged artists to do something different. To tell queer stories where the queerness isn’t a narrative catalyst for bad things, but rathera source for joy or love or just one characteristic among others. Queer tales about situations involving LGBTQ characters. Utopian queer tales in the sense that everything might not be perfect, but at least the horrible things that happen don’t have anything to do with the characters’ sexual orientation.

Folklore – it’s the stories our parents told us as children as well as a glimpse into another world, of fairies, trolls, and magic. But folklore is more than just stories about bad children who get eaten by witches; it’s our shared fears, hopes and dreams and they often share similar themes across the world. Folk tales have been told by an infinite number of people with equally infinite motives; some to warn, others to encourage and some who just try to make sense of the world around them. In volume 44 of CBA we want to dig deep into the roots of folklore from different cultures and explore what it has to say about ourselves as human beings regardless of nationality.