Margreet de Heer's Blog, page 3

Workshop

I rarely give workshops for kids anymore, but when I was invited by my local primary school for an interview with the editors of the school magazine, I thought it would be a good idea to make the event into a mini-workshop. And it worked out great!

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There were six kids and they were all so enthusiastic and creative! One of them even had made me a special drawing, with me in it!

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I had not really planned anything solid, but as soon as I drew some examples of how you can set up your own comic c...

Proofreading

 

 

I translate my comics from Dutch to English myself, but I would be nowhere without my trusted Californian proofreader Dan Schiff…

 

 

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There’s so much more to comics proofreading than to “normal” proofreading, as Dan himself explains:

 

“I take the proofing seriously and think hard because I know translators will be using the English language version. I know it is easier to not go back and redo comics as a deadline approaches, so I feel I need to let Maggie know when a change might simply...

Comic Artist Laureate of the Netherlands

I’m proud to announce that as of yesterday, I can call myself the first Stripmaker des Vaderlands, which translates to the impressive sounding Comic Artist Laureate of the Netherlands – and well, it is pretty impressive: for the next three years, I’ll be the ambassador of Dutch comics!

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I’m extremely honored to receive this task, and have been bowled over by the amount of media attention today. Who said comics are under the radar? I’m especially happy with a 5-minute item on national TV, whic...

On Television

I was on Dutch TV, in a 25-minute interview that covered everything from my image of God to the upcoming Stripmaker des Vaderlands election. The program is called ‘Het Vermoeden’ and set in an old-fashioned train compartment, to facilitate guests talking about their life’s journey and the next station they expect to arrive at.

Of course, it was all done in a studio, and this is what it looked like:

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The interview was done by Marleen Stelling, and felt like a very pleasant, almost casual conve...

Food for Thought

Two years ago, I drew comics to illustrate the 17 Global Goals, and this year, I was asked by The World’s Largest Lesson to draw a follow-up poster. It’s designed to be used in schools, introducing the Global Goals through examining what’s on your plate – literally:

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The project is neatly divided in different chunks and accompanied by handy notes for teachers – check it out on the site of The World’s Largest Lesson!

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All the materials are free and can be used in the age groups of 9-14 year ol...

You’ve got mail!

Physical mail (the stuff that gets delivered to your door by a postman, as opposed to digital mail in your inbox) is under fire in The Netherlands. There’s less of it, so there are huge cuts in delivering hours and postman wages, while stamp prices go up and up.

Nevertheless, nothing beats the thrill of getting a personal letter by snail mail. And it’s been a thrilling time for me in that respect – here’s some stuff that got delivered to me recently:

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My wonderful Californian proofreader Dan...

Dutch elections

It’s time to vote again in The Netherlands – not for government this time, but for a Comic Artist Laureate (Stripmaker des Vaderlands). And I am one of the four nominees!

In October the result will be announced – until then, I’m campaigning like crazy, shunning no means, including bribery and blatant sexism. Vote for me because I have boobs!

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All kidding aside: I do think I am a good candidate for the job – which would entail being the ambassador of Dutch comics for three years, starting up a...

Resist!

It’s the Fourth of July, and all over the United States people are celebrating (the memory of) Independence. Renowned comics publishers Françoise Mouly, Nadja Spiegelman and Gabe Fowler have compiled a special edition of Resist! for this occasion – a 96-page tabloid that is distributed for free, and guess what – I’m in it!!!

The Minnie comic I posted a few months ago made it into this issue, and I couldn’t be prouder. To celebrate, I’m sharing a new Minnie comic here today, also on the theme...

Comics, Cats and Commandments

Yesterday, a new book was launched in The Netherlands with my comics in it – a collaboration with poet and writer Karel Eykman, who wrote the most influential children’s bible in the 1970s, among other things. Both his and mine position towards Christianity are much the same: we’re not exactly devout believers, but fascinated by its stories and teachings, and each in our own way trying to translate them to modern times.

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This book, titled ‘Zodat het je goed gaat’ (‘That you may prosper’) cont...

Drawing for Free

Making cartoons or illustrations for free can be a tricky subject. It involves an ongoing discussion which raises points such as:

are artists “businesslike” enough to ask professional compensation for their work? how fair is it for viable companies to ask an illustrator to contribute work in exchange for “exposure”? are artists who work for less than they deserve undermining the market? are artists valued at all in monetary terms?

I’m not going into these points here; I just want to show a...