Iris

The Tjong-Khing, Lo Hartog van Banda

Iris
Format
Paperback
Publisher
Fantagraphics
Country
United States
Published
13 August 2024
Pages
160
ISBN
9781683969556

Iris

The Tjong-Khing, Lo Hartog van Banda

The characters' emotions drive the anti-capitalist, dystopian narrative in Iris: A Novel for Viewers, the earliest graphic novel produced in the Netherlands. A young woman, Iris, has her heart set on a singing career, and, despite her boyfriend Mark's warnings, is seduced by the capitalist producer, "dream lover M.G." He molds her into a megastar, which leaves Mark peddling her merch: a life-sized Iris (sex) doll. Attempts to rescue Iris come to nothing; all they accomplish is allowing the dream lover to go on playing his games.

The Tjong-Khing's Iris marks the peak of his career as a comics artist. He and scriptwriter Lo Hartog van Banda wanted to reach the socially motivated young people of the late 1960s, who were growing up with comics and television. Khing's style here, drawn with virtuoso elan, shows an affinity with his contemporaries, such as Guy Peellaert, and Iris herself is reminiscent of Barbarella. This edition includes an afterword by graphic designer and colorist Rudy Vrooman, which provides fascinating context about the historical and artistic significance of the work and its restoration process.

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