Comics are a series of pictures (strip) that tell a story. In cartoons, the narrative punch line is condensed into an image. The issue Slanted #17—Cartoon / Comic has fallen for these narrative forms and their typographical peculiarities from beginning to end.

Also in this issue: Ken Johnston of Corbis (New York) has immersed himself in the archives and has brought to light a grotesque photo story of nuclear bomb experiments in a patriotically charged world: "Doom Town," a dark comic as life writes it. Patrick Tsai (Tokyo) keeps a photographic diary: "Talking Barnacles" is a narrative in picture sequences paired with very personal texts.

A number of essays and reports are also included: "Motorscream Landscapes—About writing in graphic literature" by Alexander Negrelli (Berlin), "Beloved and Hated: Comic Sans" by Rieke C. Harmsen (Munich), "Manga & Graphic Design, Hands On and Where The Wild Things Were" by Ian Lynam (Tokyo), "PAT! BON! DOKAAAN!—Writing thunderstorms and onomatopoeia in Asian picture stories" by Steffen Zillig and Sohyun Jung (Hamburg), "Something like Max & Moritz," by the inventor of the comic Tim Eckhorst (Kiel), "A very subjective and casual comics overview from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY 11222" by Paul Hoppe (Brooklyn NY), "Survival is possible" by Michael Schmidt (Munich) and "Sans Comique" by Frank Wiedemann (Berlin).

Interviews with Nora Krug (Brooklyn), Dirk Rehm (Berlin), Alessio Leonardi (Berlin), Fred Smijers (Antwerp) and Matthew Carter (Cambridge) provide insights into their living and working environments.

Edited by MAGMA Brand Design

Designed by Julia Kahl

Published by Slanted, 2012
In English and German

Softcover, 162 pages, color and b&w, 9.5 × 12.6 inches

ISSN: 1867-6510