Scratches 2

A new international anthology in the tradition of RAW

In the 1980s Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly had a dream to bring the North American and European avant garde comics together. The result was the highly influential RAW “graphix magazine.” Now one of the regular contributors to RAW, internationally acclaimed Dutch artist Joost Swarte, has launched his own anthology with a similar mandate.

“It’s been a dream of mine,” says Swarte, “to show work by unconventional comics artists from the Netherlands and Flanders, as well as big names from the international world of graphic novels.”

Much of this work has never been available in North America to an English audience. Contributors to the first issue included Robert Crumb, Chris Ware, and Art Spiegelman himself. Contributors to this second issue include Swarte, R. Crumb, Typex, Erik Kriek (In the Pines), Lucas Verstraeten, Wagenbreth and more.

About Joost Swarte

Joost Swarte is a Dutch cartoonist and graphic designer. He is best known for his ligne claire or clear line style of drawing, and in fact coined the term. He is also known for his The New Yorker covers, and stained glass and architectural projects. In 2011 Fantagraphics released his collected book of comics Is That All There Is.

Publication Details

ISBN: 978-1-77262-020-7
120 pages, 9×13 inches, full colour, paperback
April 2018