Saskia Gullstrand

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.

Romance: A possessive black and white kiss in an impossibly uncomfortable angle. A mad dash with no consideration for overworked airport security staff. Boomboxes held high. Roses, carnival prizes and the warm light from a fire. Romance is a narrative and a script, and yet in that moment when we share a look and know instantly that we’re stuck, that this is it, every cliché feels justified. Perhaps not ideal, but understandable. C’est Bon Anthology is an anthology of graphic short stories from artists from all over the world. The selected works are based on a will to experiment and a passion for telling good stories. A mix of established artists and new talent.

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?

Innehåll B&B 227: 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: Hjältedåd av Daniel Thollin s. 28: Intervju: Simon Hanselmann s. 40: Porträtt: Lisa Scott s. 36: Artikel: Joe Kubert s. 46: Artikel: Åshöjdens BK s. 50: Intervju: Rikke Villadsen s. 60: Ateljébesök: Peter Bergting s. 62: Reportage: Stockholm Toy Museum s. 75: Webbserier s. 78: Fanzin s. 82: Recensioner s. 91: Intervju: Noah van Sciver

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.