Clairikine Comics: some other place

Showing posts with label some other place. Show all posts

May 24, 2022

Vessel

A two-page comic in black and white, captioned throughout with lines from a poem. On the first page, the first panel shows an empty hallway in a small apartment, with windows on the left, a door in the back, and a few doors and a mirror on the right. Text above says "I have learned not to trust that anything will last." The second panel shows Sondra and Lex standing in the hallway and getting ready to leave. Sondra, a short woman with long black curly hair, is wearing a nice black cardigan and a black skirt and holding a purse, and is chatting animatedly while Lex, a taller woman with short red hair, is pulling on a vest and smiling. Caption says "Not the good, not the bad." In the third panel, Lex leans over and kisses Sondra on the cheek; Sondra is delighted. Text says "learned to not get attached". The fourth panel shows Lex and Sondra standing outside, downtown, at night, near a subway, while a few people are walking by. They are both checking something on Lex' phone. Text says "I've learned not to believe those who leave will come back." The fifth panel shows them sitting on a subway next to a person with curly hair and glasses reading a newspaper; Lex is cuddling Sondra, who has her head on her shoulder and is smiling with her eyes closed, while Lex is resting her chin on her head and staring off at something off-panel. Text says "And I've heard otherwise, but those lies never track."

On the second page, the first panel shows the sign at the entrance to an outdoor cinema at night, with a movie reel projector and a deer head painted onto it. String lights are hanging off both sides of the sign. Text says "But deep inside your eyes," The text follows into panel 2, where we see Sondra and Lex standing in a line with other people, including a person with a plaid shirt and long black hair, a couple of men smiling at each other (one with short curly hair and the other bald), a woman with an undercut and curly hair and glasses sitting in a wheelchair, a woman with long black hair standing behind her and chatting with a taller woman with broad shoulders and black curly hair, and a small child with curly hair standing in front of them. Sondra is checking her phone and Lex is looking up at the lights. Text says "something turns on the light". In the third panel, Sondra and Lex are saying hi to friends of theirs they've run into: a tall woman with long blonde hair and a striped sweater; a shorter person with glasses and curly hair, holding a drink; and a small blond man with stubble and a plaid shirt. Text says "And it feels like I'm worthy, like I'll be alright". In the fourth panel, Lex and Sondra are holding hands while making their way over to an amphitheater style seating to sit down. Various people are sitting there already. Sondra is pointing to an empty spot. The fifth panel is a close-up of Lex and Sondra's handholding while sitting down. Text says "I have learned that my heart's in a shell made of glass". The final panel shows the amphitheater from behind, with everyone including Lex and Sondra and a couple of men (one wearing a cowboy hat, one wearing a plaid shirt) sitting down to watch the movie on a large screen pitched on the grass in front of a fence, with a handful of stars visible. The screen shows five wavy lines, almost like a rainbow. Text says "And - I know now - it's safe for that vessel to crack."

Lex and Sondra return! I drew this for Comic Invasion Berlin's Queer Movie Night, featuring a queer comics exhibit and a screening of the documentary No Straight Lines.

Thanks to everyone who came by and made this a very special evening — and also to everyone at the main festival who stopped by my table, asked me what I was fangirling, bought zines and generally made my first IRL Comic Invasion since 2019 a resounding success! Special thanks go to Ash and Henna aka HX for being such awesome tabling buddies.

My new zines collecting autobio comics from 2016 to 2022 are now all available for purchase in my store!

[ twenty one pilots - Formidable ]

July 28, 2020

Some Other Place: Fighter

[ Jenny Owen Youngs - Vampire Weeknight ]

Lex returns! You might remember her from short stories of mine here, here and here; you can find other stories set in that universe here.
I wrote this short comic as a poem many moons ago (remember pre-2020? I sure don't) and turned it into an exercise in drawing fiction again (I say "fiction", but of course Lex basically looks like me minus glasses, plus facial piercings and an undercut). I hope you like it!

***

Stay safe out there and take care of each other! The curve in Berlin has been flattened since I last wrote, but the virus is not gone -- and in fact there is an uptick in cases in Germany at the time of posting. Please remember that indoor gatherings have been shown to be a major vector of transmission, keep social distancing even when you're outdoors, and wear a mask (including over your nose!)

If you're in Germany, in light of the most recent terrible decisions made by what passes for the ministry of the interior at the moment, I recommend picking up a copy of the very good collection of essays Eure Heimat ist unser Albtraum, and reading up about police brutality and the widespread practice of racial profiling in this country. I also suggest following and supporting the work of I nitiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland e.V., on this and many other issues affecting Black lives in Germany.

October 6, 2017

Départ imminent

Access authorised... Doors closing... Module departure imminent...

You're happy to start university, though, aren't you?

Your mom wanted to come along, you know, to see your apartment and everything... But she needs to rest, you saw that.

***

This comic will be in the next issue of BETON! More on that soon. Have a great weekend.

[ Linkin Park - Iridescent (Live) ]

May 2, 2017

BETON #10

I contributed this comic to BETO N's 10th issue on the theme of Work! You can pick up the new issue at BETON's stand at Comic Invasion Berlin, Berlin's local comics festival, which is taking place this weekend at Urban Spree.

And speaking of Comic Invasion Berlin, as every year, I will be there!! Once again I shall be located next to my too-talented-for-words table buddy Ash Pure, and I am working on having at least one brand-new collection of Clairikine comics, a thing which I have not put out since 2015!

Come say hello!!

And if you see me standing in line to vote at the French embassy in Berlin on Sunday morning, say hello too. (Please go vote on Sunday.)

[ Paramore - Hard Times ]

November 15, 2016

Nothing

I wrote this comic in the week following the attacks in Brussels on March 22 of this year, and planned to post it this week in remembrance of last year's November 13 shootings in Paris. Those weren't the only times it has been relevant for me, and I know they won't be the last.

***

In other news, Christmas is around the corner, so I am doing limited portrait commissions for $25. Drop me a line at clairykin at gmail if you would like one - orders close December 1.

I have also added For The Ones That We Love, my new zine collecting the English-language versions of fictional comics I've put out over the past two years, to my store. It includes this comic and other comics originally published in French and German in the BETON anthology zine. The Glücklich in Berlin sticker has also returned, and both are currently on sale.

[ Placebo - Soulmates ]

support these comics on Patreon

July 19, 2016

Surprise (BETON #7)

"That's pretty cute actually, he just wanted to give you a present, didn't he?" "I don't give a crap, it was disgusting!!"

Issue #7 of the Franco-German comics zine BETON is out! This is the entry I contributed following the theme of "Fressen/Bouffer" (which is a particularly complex set of words to translate into English; in this case it pertains to when animals eat).

***

In other news, I am off to Stockholm this weekend! It has been too long.

April 19, 2016

Est-ce que... (BETON #6)

"Why didn't I leave ... Why did I give everything ..."

"Can I... forgive?"

***

This is my contribution to issue #6 of BETON, on the topic of Voyage/Reise! Check out these fine folks' website to order yourself a copy and freshen up on both your French and your German.

Also, last weekend was Comic Invasion Berlin and it was awesome! Thank you to everyone who came by, bought comics, chatted about TV shows, brought me coffee, offered hugs and generally made it what it was - a great weekend full of cool comics and the cool people who make them and read them. Until next time! I am sleeping forever now.

[ Kiasmos - Drawn ]

January 26, 2016

Pirate Song

"Awaaaayyy, boarders!!!"
"Down with motivation!" "No quarter!" "Her happiness is ours!!"

"Lex, honey? I'm gonna make dinner, what do you wanna eat?" "Uh... I really don't care, actually..."
"... You don't look so good..." "No, no, I'm fine... Everything's fine, I'm just going to finish this and I'll be right there."
"You sure?" "YES Sondra, don't worry!" "I'm not w-" "LEAVE ME ALONE!" "..."

"Come back to me... Come back to me... In the shadows and in the darkness... I am here... I am yours... So come back ... Come back to me..."

"Hey, Sondra, I'm..." "..." "So I ended up putting some pizza in the oven..." "I thought we could watch an episode of 'Card House', if you wanted."
"... Hey, thanks... Thanks for everything."

This was my entry for the pirate-themed issue 5 of the Franco-German comic zine BETON, which came out this month! You can check out the project online here and locate stores that carry it here.

Also, if you are in Paris on February 8, you can meet the team at the local Goethe-Institut! Originals (including mine from issue #3) will also be on display there.

This has been my regularly scheduled Franco-German moment. As you were.

[ Linkin Park - Papercut ]

July 21, 2015

Narcolepsie

English translation below.

I had the pleasure this year of meeting the folks behind the Franco-German comic zine BETON during their issue #2 launch (part of the Comic Invasion Berlin 2015 satellite events). As a result, I also had the pleasure of contributing this two-page story to their new issue, which came out this month!

BETON comes out about three times a year; each issue has its own word as a theme, and the comics are printed in both French and German. For the good of my English-speaking public, I have included a translation of my entry below the cut.

This comic is reproduced here with kind permission; you can get your hands on the whole 56-page deal for 7€ + shipping by e-mailing betonfanzine at gmail. You can also check out their Facebook page and follow them on Tumblr!

If you like this comic and would like to see more like it, you can also support me on Patreon!