Elsewhere

In this book Norwegian comic artist Fredrik Rysjedal and Chinese comic artist Shuo Wang (also known as anusman) make stories on the same topics, using radically different structures, narratives, and styles. 

Readers will be able to read the stories side by side, thus get a general idea of the relatively ordinary lifestyles of those living in China and those in Norway. There are both differences and sometimes astonishing similarities. 

This was the first book published by Kinakaal Forlag. We chose independent comic art because it’s a universal visual language that conveys profound information independently of words. 

  • Fredrik Rysjedal (b. 1980) is a Norwegian comic artist, illustrator, and visual artist living and working in Bergen. He has been an important part of the Norwegian alternative comics scene, creating comic fanzines and working with self-publishing since 2010. He has also experimented with digital comics, both in the form of publications and stage performances. Alongside these alternative and experimental activities, Rysjedal also creates editorial comics, satire, and comics for children. In 2019, he received a Ph.D. for his research project Frozen Moments in Motion at the Faculty of Fine Art, Music, and Design at the University of Bergen. This was an artistic development project in which Rysjedal explored digital comics and aspects of using motion, film, and animation in comics.

  • Wang Shuo (a.k.a. anusman, b. 1984) primarily works with ink and brush on paper, drawing childlike outlines of people, animals, and objects. He gives his drawings titles or narratives written in the clerical script of Chinese calligraphy, using his idiosyncratic style that mixes traditional and simplified characters. Different from most illustrations and traditional comic narratives, Shuo’s works emphasize a single word, a sentence, or sometimes an entire paragraph. Pictures and words are of equal importance. His works are marked by intelligence, humour, and sometimes a little sarcasm. By addressing daily life, everyday food, animals, and even art theory, he playfully changes the context of these subjects to deliver the audience a fresh viewing experience. With more than 10 independent publications and a book on the theory of comics, Shuo is a comic illustrator, academic, and artist. He graduated from the Academy of Arts & Design at Tsinghua University in Beijing. After completing his MA in comics at the prestigious European School of Visual Arts in Angouleme, France, he received a Ph.D. in comic art at CAFA and taught comics in CAFA’s print-making studio before becoming a full-time artist.