Description

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Available for the first time in English, this first-ever Dutch graphic novel is a tour-de-force in all its 1960s psychedelic, pop art, and playfully erotic glory.

The characters’ emotions drive the anti-capitalist, dystopian narrative in Iris: A Novel for Viewers, the earliest graphic novel produced in the Netherlands. A young woman, Iris, has her heart set on a singing career, and, despite her boyfriend Mark’s warnings, is seduced by the capitalist producer, “dream lover M.G.” He molds her into a megastar, which leaves Mark peddling her merch: a life-sized Iris (sex) doll. Attempts to rescue Iris come to nothing; all they accomplish is allowing the dream lover to go on playing his games.

Thé Tjong-Khing’s Iris marks the peak of his career as a comics artist. He and scriptwriter Lo Hartog van Banda wanted to reach the socially motivated young people of the late 1960s, who were growing up with comics and television. Khing’s style here, drawn with virtuoso élan, shows an affinity with his contemporaries, such as Guy Peellaert, and Iris herself is reminiscent of Barbarella. This edition includes an afterword by graphic designer and colorist Rudy Vrooman, which provides fascinating context about the historical and artistic significance of the work and its restoration process.

About the Author

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Thé Tjong-Khing (b.1933) studied for three years at art school in Bandung, Indonesia. In 1956, he came to the Netherlands, where he worked at the studio of the most celebrated Dutch cartoonist, Marten Toonder. Until the end of the 1960s, he mainly drew comics like the Arman & Ilva series; Iris (1968) is his zenith as a comics artist. Then followed a rich career as a children’s book illustrator. Tjong-Khing has received many prizes for his work, including the Max Velthuijs Prize for his children’s books.

Comics scripter Lo Hartog van Banda (1916–2006) worked for Toonder Studios and wrote stories for the Lucky Luke series.

Laura Watkinson is an award-winning literary translator with a particular interest in the unusual and the mysterious. Laura has worked in England, Scotland, Germany, and Italy, and she now lives in a tall, thin house on a canal in Amsterdam with her husband, their cat, and lots of shelves of great graphic novels.

Praise For…

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Tjong-Khing draws on psychedelic and pop art influences, using exaggerated figures, flamboyant gestures, and vivid color to evoke an uncanny sense of movement and unbridled emotion in this fascinatingly surreal dystopian science fiction pop fantasia.
— Library Journal Starred Review