Just finished this poster/flyer design for the Gogol Bordello after-party my friend Anna is organizing. If you’re a fan of Gogol Bordello and you live in Toronto, don’t  miss the opportunity to see Eugene Hutz in his DJ Hutz persona, spinning Balkan tunes, surrounded by beautiful young women in outfits that don’t leave much to the imagination. I went to their last after-party in Toronto, it was tons of fun – I danced quite a bit and I NEVER dance.

In addition to Heartless there were five new titles by Conundrum Press presented at TCAF this year: Michel Rabagliatti’s The Song of Roland, Sherwin Tjia’s You are a Cat, Britt Willson’s The Greatest Book on Earth, Dave Collier’s Popular Press and Dave Lapp’s People Around Here. For details on how to purchase these books visit the Conundrum Press website.

Truth to tell, I am still buzzing from the energy of this event. I could not sleep at all the night before TCAF; I was nervous as hell since I had not seen my book yet; it had literally arrived from the printers just the day before. I kept tossing and turning and picturing myself sitting at the signing table like an arsehole, signing books with blurry print and misaligned pages.

There’s an old Serbian saying: “Sto je brzo, to je kuso”, which roughly translates into “whatever’s been done in haste is bound to yield crap”. Andy, the publisher of Conundrum and I have only exchanged our first introductory emails in February of this year; three months later we had the product. Imagine that, negotiations, contract signing, book layout and design, first draft (actually, there was only ONE draft) – all in THREE months. And guess what: the book looks FABULOUS. The printers did an amazing job! The quality of print, the color, the paper – all better than I had hoped it would be.

Not only did the print quality exceed all my expectations but the number of copies we had available for signing sold out by 2pm on Sunday. Unfortunately, this did not help me sleep the following night… Or the night after; as a matter of fact, I am writing this on two hours of sleep, slightly euphoric.

The greatest part of the event was meeting the Conundrum posse I have not had a chance to meet before: Andy Brown, Joe Ollmann (two handsome fellas in the picture above), Billy Mavreas  and Dave Collier. Andy Brown was a pleasure to collaborate with; he was very professional, efficient, fair and easy to communicate with. He answered all my silly questions with patience, questions like: “Hmmm,I don’t understand this, isn’t Pantone the same as CMYK?” or “DWA (The Doug Wright Award), does that stand for The Doctor Who Appreciation Society?”

I liked Joe Ollmann’s work before we met; it’s not pretentious and it deals with issues that anyone could relate to. His new book Mid-Life (Drawn & Quarterly) is witty, honest to the core, intelligently narrated and it leaves a lasting impression. Joe also happens to be a really nice guy. His time during TCAF was divided between the Drawn & Quarterly table and Conundrum Press.

Just look at how god-damn happy I look in this picture!  I’ve been looking forward to meeting Collier for some time since we both had work published in Mineshaft which, kind of, makes us feel like family (the Canadian limb); I run the risk of sounding like a broken record here but, what a nice guy he turned out to be! He kept telling people to buy my book instead of his.

Dave Lapp’s 2008 Conundrum book Drop-In is one of my favorite comics; it is a collection of stories inspired by years of working with at-risk youth in Toronto’s Regent Park neighborhood – beautifully told, with an abundance of compassion. Drop-In offers a unique (and nonjudgmental) look into the lives of people many of us cross the street to avoid, or merely walk by, without noticing.  I look forward to reading People around here, I’m pretty sure I’ll be blown away once again.

It was also nice spending some quality time with my good pals Dalton Sharp (editor of Grawlix) and Jordan Bursach (JB’s Comicstories with the Vancouver-based Comix Company).

In short, this weekend has left me feeling tired, but so damn happy, and honored to be around such lovely people. As I like to say over and over: It’s all about the company we keep. And – speaking of good company – a big thank you to my dear friend Dejana Erich Harman for providing such amazing photos.

A friendly reminder that my new book Heartless will debut at TCAF 2012, May 5th and 6th. The book is scheduled to hit the bookstores in September, however, there will be one box available for sales just in time for the festival. I’ll be signing available copies on both days, alongside Dave Lapp, 11am – noon on Saturday and 1pm – 2pm on Sunday. I will also have some merchandise available, T-shirts and totes, in limited quantities. 

See my previous entry about Heartless.

When Aleksandar Zograf’s book Regards from Serbia came out in 2007 with Top Shelf,  North American audiences had a chance to witness life in Serbia through the eyes of – how Aleksandar refers to himself, as a “regular guy”, or “small fry”, confronting the disasters of war and political turmoil.

The artistic accomplishments of this highly prolific, yet humble cartoonist can only be surpassed by his contribution to the cultural scene of his home town of Pancevo, located some 17 km northeast of Belgrade – a town he never left behind, in spite of having achieved international success.  His latest books to come out with Serbian publishers, Secondhand World and Revenge of the Red Witch are collections of strips originally created for the Serbian weekly magazine Vreme – with subjects ranging from history and archeology, to popular culture and strange flea market acquisitions. So far his Vreme stories has been translated and published in Italy, France, Portugal and Hungary, where they have achieved critical acclaim. 

I recently interviewed Aleksandar for Bturn. To access the interview click  here.

During my last visit to Belgrade I had a great privilege of meeting Marc Schneider, aka Marko Krojac, a German photographer, former member of the Berlin squat scene and a resident photographer aboard the MS Stubnitz. Since 2002, Marc has been dividing his time between Berlin and former Yugoslav republics, particularly Belgrade, where he acts as a band manager, photographer and a chauffeur of the local group, “Klopka za Pionira”.

What Marc is perhaps best known for is his photographic documentation of the WWII monuments which had been originally commissioned by the former Yugoslav president Tito between the 1940s and the 1980s. Though created by top sculptors, architects and master craftsmen, most of these monuments were erected in isolated and remote areas, marking locations where some of the crucial WWII battles took place. Marc makes a point of going back and revisiting the same monuments over and over again; the resulting  before and after shots show an interesting range in attitudes towards history in former Yugoslav republics; some show utter neglect and desecration, some show – surprisingly so – some amount of care, even renovation. Naturally, this lead Mark into an ongoing search for public art in all former Yugoslav republics, including pieces that were commissioned after disintegration of Yugoslavia by their newly formed governments. Looking at all these photographs combined, one could easily piece together a clear picture of the history of Balkan states.

I recently interviewed Marc for Bturn, to read the whole interview click  here.

Top image: Podgaric, Croatia; monument designed by Dusan Dzamonja, 1967. 

Bottom image: Berane, Montenegro; designed by Bogdan Bogdanovic , 1972-1977.

Both images – courtesy of Marc Schneider.

I am happy to announce that my book “Heartless” will be launched in the Fall of 2012 with Conundrum Press, with an amazing introduction by Jay Lynch. There will be an advance preview in May 2012 at TCAF (the Toronto Comic Arts Festival) – if you desire to get a signed copy please come by.  In the meantime, check out what people are saying about “Heartless”:

“Heartless” is just amazing! I laughed out loud a lot. It is chock full of great stuff and I’m hard to please!  Nina Bunjevac’s art is a pleasure to look at.  The writing is seriously demented, but in a totally brilliant, highly entertaining way.  It is its own thing, imitating no one. – Kim Deitch

This book is a wild thrill ride through hell on a Tilt-A-Whirl!  It’s a triple-dip banana split with a live cockroach at the bottom!  I dig it the most, and so will you!  -  Jay Lynch

The most vitally reinvigorating change in modern comics is the unstoppable rise of women, as creators, as readers, and as characters. In her impressive debut collection, Nina Bunjevac stuns as a distinctive, innovative voice, adept at hyperdetailed cartooning and deliciously disturbing as she probes the darkest depths of desire and despair. –  Paul Gravett

Powered by an expressive black&white drawing style, reminiscent of Robert Crumb and the meticulous pointillist technique of Drew Friedman, the dark undertone of Bunjevac’s humour brings into light the range of socio-political issues her comics deal with, such as gender, nationalism or urban alienation, always from an ironic feminist perspective.  Her chain-smoking, slightly alcoholic and manically depressed character Zorka may just be today’s ultimate antiheroine. A Balkan immigrant in the Brave New World, working in that same meat factory for the last twenty years, tormented by family constraints and her own secret desires… we simply can’t get enough of her. - Bturn magazine

Although Novi Sad has been known as one of the major cultural centers of former Yugoslavia, in this day and age, it has no spaces that could be used by non-governmental agencies, or offer cultural and outreach programs for its citizens, especially youth, women and LGBT minorities. The city of Novi Sad claims it has no funds to purchase the building which is supposed to be up for sale by its owner, the Ministry of Defense, with an estimated worth of 6 million Euros. However, the activists were told that they could remain in the building for as long as it stays abandoned and not used by its rightful owners.

Since occupying the building in question, the newly-found Community Centre DC Novi Sad has organized three art exhibits, eight educational and humanitarian workshops, nine round table discussions, twelve music programs, five performances, six film screenings and numerous fitness programs.

Aleksandra Sekulic, who assisted in curating my exhibit for the Novo Doba festival at the Center for Cultural Decontamination and later on curated my show at the Animanima animation festival in Cacak, Serbia, suggested setting up the same exhibit on the 14 of January at the Community Center as well; as a supporter of this initiative I accepted gladly. The staff of the Novo Doba festival, Johanna Marcade and Mileta Mijatovic (Fanzin Ceger), were invited to present the exhibit and do a live, free of charge silk-screening session of my designs as they had previously done in Belgrade.

Occasional visits by the military police went by without any incidences, until last Friday, January 13th, only a day before my exhibit was to open. Shortly after 9am, local time, members of the military police, appearing somewhat rougher in their approach than during previous visits, informed all non-military personnel to vacate the building. The activists saw this as a definite sign that they should peacefully vacate the premises at once, having no choice but to leave their personal belongings and works of art behind, none of which have been returned so far.

The activists have decided not to give up on the idea of forming a legitimate Community Center; on the contrary – they are planning to go on with the planned exhibits, on the street itself, in front of the building – should they manage to get the confiscated artwork back. The mayor of Novi Sad, Igor Pavlicic expressed his remorse that “the events unraveled this way”, but reminded the public that the initiative has not been approved by the municipal authorities and the Ministry of Defense; he also promised some kind of compensation for the Community Centre in the near future – how and when – remains to be seen.

On their Facebook page the Ministry of Defense and the Army of Serbia issued the following statement: The Ministry of Defense and the Army of Serbia fully support all cultural and social activities as evidenced by numerous exhibitions, concerts and book presentations in which we have participated. We appreciate the idea of ​​a community center and dissemination of culture and tolerance; however, on this occasion, we wish to point out that we do not support the way the Community Centre has attempted to provide the space for such cultural activities.

All photos courtesy of the Community Center DC Novi Sad.

New Mineshaft is out!  Support independent publishing and order a copy today. This issue features more new drawings and dream entries by Robert Crumb, an impressive collection of portraits by Jim Blanchard, a comic on the capture of Osama by Pat Moriarity, review of Joyce Farmer’s Special Exits by Mary Fleener, new comics by Aleksandar Zograf and much more. Cover art and a five page comic by yours truly.

Authors: Helena Klakocar Vuksic, Magda Dulcic Todorovski, Ivana Filipovic, Ivana Armanini, Anna Ehrlemark, Katie Woznicki, Evelina Daneva Rajninger, Ivana Pipal, Branka Hollingsworth Nara, Mina Zabnikar – Mina Fina, Kaja Avbersek, Ljubica Heidler, Neda Dokic, Dunja Jankovic, Bojana Dimitrovski, Maja Veselinovic, Irena Jukic Pranjic, Nina Bunjevac, Ivana Guljasevic Kuman, Helena Janecic, Sonja Gasperov, Sara Divljak; introduction by Aleksandar Zograf;

Gathering together the work of over twenty contemporary Balkan women, Balkan Comics – Women on the Fringe introduces the English-speaking world to some of the world’s finest, and least known, comics. The original version of this book, Balkan Women in Comics (by Fibra, Croatia, 2010), edited by Irena Jukic Pranjic and Marko Sunjic, became an immediate success the moment it came out. It attracted wide media coverage and critical acclaim in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia, eventually making it to Paul Gravett’s top ten books from the east of Europe.

The English version of this book titled Balkan Comics – Women on the Fringe is scheduled to come out in June 2012 with Mark Batty Publisher in New York. This version is slightly different, some new names have been added, some removed – selecting what went in and what stayed out was a long and painful process; however, the end result is sure to satisfy every taste. I will keep you updated, but for now, the book is available for pre-orders through Random House and Amazon.ca.