Intervju med fanzinisterna: Felipe Kolb Bernardes & Julia Nascimento!

Tell us a little bit about yourselves, who are you?
We're Felipe Kolb Bernardes and Julia Nascimento, Brazilian artists currently living in the countryside of Västra Götaland. Before moving to Sweden we lived in Tokyo for nine years. Now Felipe works full time as a graphic artist for a Swedish-American company, and Julia works as a freelance illustrator and cartoonist.

What kind of comics do you make, and how did it all start?
Felipe: I make silly and weird comics about zombie detectives or fika obsessed monster hunters. I always had a desire for making comics when I was a child but nothing serious. In 2016, Julia and I decided to experiment making a comic together and ever since we haven't stopped.
Julia: Most of my work is autobiographical, especially about my experience as a foreigner living in other countries. Sometimes I also make journalistic comics about social themes such as transphobia and racism. I probably started drawing narratives in high school, but there was a long long hiatus until it became a professional activity.

What are you going to sell at Malmö Comics Fest?
Felipe: A mixture of old and new things, fantasy and satirical stories. Among them there's a brand new comic freshly printed in risograph about mailboxes I hate, some older American sized comics made in an art residency in Gothenburg, and comics about when Julia and I lived in Japan.
Julia: I’ll bring risograph printed comics and visual stories, comics about my life in Sweden, and a brand new diary about spending summer in an art residency in Kaunas, Lithuania. Also some riso posters and postcards.

Any tips you’d like to give someone who wants to start making comics and/or fanzines?
Felipe: Just do it. Don't overthink it, choose a subject or a story you want to tell or work with and start making something. It doesn't need to be good, most of my stuff isn't, but it's important to keep working. You will learn more and grow more the more you do.
Julia: I think it’s very important to keep it short at first. Just one or a few pages per project, something doable within a reasonable time frame. And be kind to yourself, telling compelling stories is much more important than just drawing pretty pictures