At our WebComicsNation page I've just added a story by Slovenian artist Matjaz Bertoncelj. Bertoncelj is a former editor of the Stripburger comic anthology and has published numerous comics in Europe. Not too many people in North America have been lucky to read his work... until now. We proudly present to you- Malleus Maleficarum ("The Witch Hammer").
In the story, the inquisitor Lupus is schooling his rabbit apprentice on the finer points of torturing young women to extract their confessions of witchcraft. Lupus is a sadistic pervert convinced of his righteousness. I think Matjaz does an amazing job of walking the tightrope of being absurd yet brutally real, wry yet over the top, alternatively touching and wince-inducing.
I had hoped for a long time to publish a book of Bertoncelj's work through the Red Flag label and still hope to, but the market for small indy publishers is dead without first having created a reliable online audience or by having the dedication to attend every convention for a couple of years (perhaps both, actually). Deciding to first attempt the former strategy, we hope you check out this free story (maybe not even the best one to start with for various other reasons but it seemed the best introduction to the characters and the world) and hopefully somebody at Fantagraphics stumbles upon it and puts him in Mome or commissions an Ignatz book from him because I want to see more work from this guy!
I had hoped for a long time to publish a book of Bertoncelj's work through the Red Flag label and still hope to, but the market for small indy publishers is dead without first having created a reliable online audience or by having the dedication to attend every convention for a couple of years (perhaps both, actually). Deciding to first attempt the former strategy, we hope you check out this free story (maybe not even the best one to start with for various other reasons but it seemed the best introduction to the characters and the world) and hopefully somebody at Fantagraphics stumbles upon it and puts him in Mome or commissions an Ignatz book from him because I want to see more work from this guy!
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Sorry but due to recent spamming I'm going to have to turn on word verification. Half the time I can't tell what those damn letters are supposed to be!