Roodbaard de bandiet 1894 - 1959

This comic strip, “Roodbaard de bandiet” by Monogrammist G.J., tells a story through a series of small scenes using printed color. I wonder what it was like to be this artist, carefully laying out the scenes, maybe feeling a little like a stage director. Each box is like a little window into a different moment, and the colors feel cheerful, almost like a kid's book, even though the story seems to have some dark turns! The figures are outlined, and the colors are neatly filled in, which gives the whole thing a charming, old-fashioned vibe. I can imagine the artist carefully choosing each color, making sure everything pops. The whole thing makes me think about how stories get told, and how much can be packed into simple images. Artists are always borrowing, stealing, and riffing off each other through time, like a big, ongoing game of telephone. And it’s really all about embracing the mess and seeing what emerges.