Mister K. Webcomic
Olá senhoras e senhores!
Let me present to you another new character from our upcoming story, "The Taxi Driver". However, we’re not yet sure about how he will look exactly. But there’s one thing we’re sure about. His first language will be Portuguese. He’ll be as mighty as King Louie, as street-wise as Huggy Bear, he’ll be a prince with six servants, ... … or none of the above. PK
Thanks for stopping by! If you do not do so already, you can follow us on facebook, twitter or instagram. Just click on the links above. If you want to contribute to the production of our Mister K. comic book, click on the red "Support"-button to make a donation via PayPal. We're also very grateful if you leave any questions, request or suggestions in the comment section below. Next time, we'll explore the Austrian Roots of Film Noir. You'll be surprised how much this genre is entangled with this small country. In the meantime, we're working on our next Mister K.-story, and will be able to show you some sketches soon! Till then!
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The slow descent to hardboiled cynicism
There are many inspirations for me that come from actual Films Noirs. However, we are trying to approach something like an "idea" of film noir, instead of just copying them structurally and aesthetically.
One aspect is captured in the characters and the rules of their world. The characters of André Franquin are a particularly interesting example. His characters seem to reflect his life situation in terms of their rhythm and dynamism. The longer his career went, the less energy his characters seemed to have. And it’s no wonder. Being a comic book artist in the 1950s and 1960s meant to have incredibly long working hours. (In the following, if you want to buy one of Fraquin's comics, you can get directly to the according Amazon page by clicking on one of the images.) There are four important stories of Franquin. His first one was Spirou and Fantasio, where Spirou is a bellhop that goes on adventures with his snobby best friend Fantasio. Spirou is young, full of energy. He beats you to the punch. While working on Spirou, Franquin invented a fictional animal called the "Marsupilami". It was so successful that it got its own series of comic books. The “Marsupilamus fantasia” or “Marsupilamus franquini” has got the colors of a leopard, the body of an ape, the speech pattern of a parrot, and a tail that’s eight meters long. According to its name, a marsupial and a friend. The marsupilami is as dynamic as Spirou. But there is also an escapist aspect to it. It lives in the Palombian rain forest, a fictional latin American country, and its main concern is to escape a hunter that wants to sell it to a zoo. It seems very joyful and happy in its own world, but faces the threat to be expelled from its paradise. Where Spirou receives a call to adventure, the Marsupilami is on the defense against slavery. Yet Franquin’s third character, Gomer Goof (fr. "Gaston Lagaffe"), is already enslaved. Gaston Lagaffe is forced to work in a dull office where everything must be done in strict accordance with the rules. Sometimes he is charged with sorting out a huge pile of letters that fills up an entire room. But his spirit is unbreakable. He struggles constantly to escape the misery of his job. He gets very creative whenever there is a task to avoid, and cannot spend a moment not trying out any new seemingly pointless invention. Unless he’s sleeping. As he is very reluctant to following the follow the orders of his co-workers and superiors, his rhythm is very much in contrast to Spirou or the Marsupilami. He’s walking slow when pushed to rush. He’s slouching. His most famous phrase is a surprised "m'enfin?" ("This can't be true!"). And finally, when Franquin was working on "Les Idées Noirs" (eng. "Franquin's Last Laugh"), it seems like this last hope has gone. Cynicism fully develops. Where Gomer Goof, even though a slave, could not be bothered to be oppressed, the only message in the Idées Noires seems to be the pointlessness of the world. Franquin's characters make the idea of Film Noir more tangible for me. You start with stout-hearted idealism, but are busy defending your private paradise. You pass on to merely sabotaging the system until all your ideals are lost. This is how you end up in the place where Films Noirs are set. It's a slow descent to cynicism. If you have the chance, read one of Franquin's great comic books. And even though Franquin's work might make you think so -- it won't be your last laugh. PK
Thanks for reading! Stay in touch by following us on facebook, twitter or instagram. If you want to contribute to the production of our Mister K. comic book, just click on the red "Support"-button to make a donation via PayPal. For any questions, request or suggestions, leave a comment below and we'll respond! Next time, we'll present to you another little sneak peek from the our new story, "The Taxi Driver". It will be a completely new character who, nameless still, is already indispensable for the entire Act 2. See you then! Here’s a man who knows what’s going on. Who won’t take all that they hand him down. Here’s a man who stands up for himself. You might have guessed it. It’s the taxi driver of our next story “The Taxi Driver”.
What? You liked the old Lou better? You think a gilet makes him less of a ruthless, cold-blooded, hardboiled film noir detective? THAT WAS SO CLEAR!!! Nothing’s ever good enough for you! PK
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