Guests

But guests also come from the other side of the Atlantic, including Tara Booth from the USA and Cecil Castellucci from Canada.

Of course, the lion's share of the Swedish comics industry is present – from established names such as Sara Granér and Joakim Pirinen to newer talents such as Iris Hautaniemi and Klara Nordin Stensö. Tere is something for everyone at the Stockholm International Comics Festival.

Even more guests participate in panel discussions and satellite events.

International guests 

Tara Booth [USA]

Perhaps best known for her cartoons on Instagram, where she has over 142,000 followers, Tara Booth’s sensitive, funny, sad and rough comics have also been published in several books, such as Nocturne (2018), Things to do instead of killing yourself (2019) and Diary comics (2022), and in magazines and anthologies such as New York Times, Vice, and Best American Comics.

In Swedish, she has appeared in Det grymma svardet, but just in time for this year's comics festival, her Swedish book debut Rattfylleri comes from Lystring – a true-life, self-revealing and expressive story about how Tara is caught by the police after a drunken drive and then gets her life back on track. Life as a sober person is depicted in shorter episodes, often wordless but constantly filled with both neuroses, body shame and an enormous amount of humor. The book has previously been published under the title DUI in the US (2016 and 2019), but the Swedish edition contains previously unpublished extra material.

Cecil Castellucci [CAN/USA]

Novelist, indie rocker, film director! Cecil C. Castellucci (born 1969) has many epithets, but at this year's comics festival she is above all invited as a comics writer! She has been a professional writer since 2005 (when she debuted with the young adults novel Boy proof). In the world of comics, she debuted as the author of Plain Janes (with Jim Rugg, 2007) and since then had many successful comics out on the market. From ”coming of age” graphic nocels like Girl on film (together with multiple artists, 2019) to quirky superhero titles like Shade the Changing Girl (with Marley Zarcone, 2016–2018) and Female Furies (with Adriana Melo, 2019) and ecological science fiction like Shifting Earth (Flavia Biondi, 2022).

Darryl Cunningham [UK]

Darryl Cunningham (born 1960) is an acclaimed British comics creator who has specialized in contemporary history. The book Supercrash: How to Hijack the Global Economy became a New York Times bestseller in 2014 and with Billionaires he received the 2019 award for best non-fiction graphic novel at the Broken Frontier Awards. He is a frequent lecturer at the London School of Economics. The highly topical Putin's Russia: The Rise of a Dictator (Putins Ryssland: en diktator blir till) is the first of his books to be translated into Swedish.

Presented in collaboration with Galago.

Patrick Gaumer [FRA]

Patrick Gaumer (born 1957) is a French writer, teacher and journalist specializing in comics. He has organized around fifty exhibitions and written around thirty books about comics, including the standard work Dictionnaire mondial de la bande dessinée (together with Claude Moliterni), originally published in 1994 and subsequently published in several new editions, as well as biographies of comic book giants such as René Goscinny, Tibet, Raoul Cauvin , Grzegorz Rosiński and Jacques Martin. Recognized as a world authority on cartoons, Gaumer has been invited to speak at numerous international conferences. We are happy and honored to have him present at this year's edition of the Stockholm International Series Festival.

Presented with the support of the French Institute in Sweden.

Dominique Goblet [BEL]

Dominique Goblet (born 1967) works in Brussels as a cartoonist and visual artist. Her works are performed in many different styles, but they are almost always experimental and poetic, and quite often autobiographical. Since her book debut Portraits crachés (1997), she has established herself as one of Belgium's most distinctive and appreciated alternative comics artists. Her perhaps most famous graphic novel, Faire semblant c'est mentir, came in 2007 and is now finally coming out in Swedish from Lystring publishing house under the title Att låtsas är att ljuga. The story combines several autobiographical elements: childhood experiences of alcoholism and abuse, juxtaposed with an adult dysfunctional relationship. The design and form presents a brilliant display of the comic medium's storytelling ability.

Presented with the support of Wallonia-Brussels International (WBI).

Paul Gravett [UK]

London-based Paul Gravett is a legend not only in the British comics community, but internationally as well. He has been working with comics in various ways since 1981, founding the legendary comic book Escape Magazine, writing about comics for countless publications, appearing at countless comics conferences, and giving countless talks at comics festivals. He has written books such as Manga: Sixty years of Japanese comics (2004), Graphic novels: stories to change your life (2005), Great British comics (2006) and Mangasia: the definitive guide to Asian comics (2017). The cartoonist Eddie Campbell has portrayed him as "The Man at the Crossroads" in his Alec comic.

Gravett’s new book in Swedish, Illustratören Tove Jansson (Förlaget M, 2022), delves into the beloved Moomin author's illustrator career. Showcasing and analyzing her drawings from the first Moomin troll, which was drawn on the wall of a privy in Pellinge, via the cartoons in the satirical magazine Garm during the 30s, to the creation of the Moomin Valley characters in the 1940s. Pictures are reprinted that not even dedicated Tove Jansson lovers have seen before. The book was published in English (with the title Tove Jansson) by Thames Hudson last fall, but in March it came out in both Swedish (from Förlaget M) and Finnish (from Otava). Paul Gravett closes the comics festival with his talk about Tove Jansson on Sunday May 14 at 17.00, and this iis also the highlight of Sunday's Tove/Moomin day in the Klarabiografen Biografen Cinema.

Gravett alsso appears in the bookstore Arts & Office in Stockholm’s Old Town on Monday May 15.

Presented in collaboration with Publisher M and Moomin Characters.

KutiKuti [FIN]

The Helsinki-based comics collective KutiKuti have visited us many times before, but are always just as welcome back. They are perhaps best known for Finland's leading alternative comics magazine Kuti, where many Swedish comic creators have also been published.

Representing KutiKuti on our festival this year is a veritable palette of greatness: come and say terve to Kaisa Leka (On the outside looking in), Amanda Vähämäki (Bullefältet), Hanneriina Moisseinen (Pappa, Näset) and Hannele Richert (Enimmäkseen hyvä näkyvyys).

Sylvain Runberg [FRA]

Frenchman Sylvain Runberg, who lives part-time in Sweden, has been a previous guest at our festival (most recently last year) and is behind the scripts for comics such as Hammerfall, Zaroff (in Swedish from Albumförlaget) and Den mörka sidan (in Swedish from Ordbilder) as well as the French graphic novel versions by Karin Alvtegen’s Svek (from Ades Media) and Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy (from Cobolt förlag). Since 2006, together with artist Serge Pellé, he has created the popular space opera Orbital, which is published in a number of languages, including Swedish via Cobolt förlag,

Presented with the support of the French Institute in Sweden.

Emmi Valve [FIN]

Prolific comic artist and illustrator Emmi Valve is originally from Porvoo in Finland and has been published in numerous books, magazines and zines, as well as on her own blog Emmi Valve Fan Club over the last ten years. Her comics are darkly humorous, open-hearted and outspoken and often based on personal experiences, frequently around themes such as love, sex, loneliness and death. She likes to portray personalities that don't get to be seen anywhere else.

She also boasts a huge interest in food. In Sweden, she has mainly been published continuously in the magazine Det grymma svardet between 2015 and 2019, but now her Swedish book debut Nåden is published by Lystring förlag. This autobiographical graphic novel depicts Valve's own experiences of clinical depression during her youth, how she slowly slips into the swamp of hopelessness, only to get back on her feet after contacts with mental health care. Emmi Valve displays an impressive color management, which she uses to portray emotions, and which later plays an important role in her struggle to live a "normal" life. Emmi Valve often appears in the Finnish comic book Kuti, which has its own program slot at this year's festival

Presented with the support of Creative Europe/The Swedish Arts Council. Co-founded by the European Union.

Swedish guests

Rolf Classon 

Comics publisher Rolf "Roffe" Classon was born in 1952 at Reimersholme in Stockholm, started Lidingö Musikfront in the early 1970s and then the magazine Galago and the publishing companies Tago and Kartago. Over the years, Rolf Classon has also worked at Schibsteds, Bonnierförlagen and Ordfront förlag. He retired in 2017 and moved to Österlen, where he has been organizing the Skillinge Comics Festival since 2018. This spring, Roffe is highly topical with Galagoboken (The Galago Book) – an epochal account and memoir about the author's own history with the magazine and publishing company. In 1979, Rolf Classon, Olle Berg and Kerold Klang founded the punk and genre-crossing magazine that has upset and amused Sweden for over 40 years. At the time it was called Tidsmagasinet, and contained poetry as well as photo reports and comics that many thought were too strange. From the revival meetings in the childhood Pentecostal movement to wild cultural parties at Gärdet to an established publisher in a suit, Rolf Classon tells his and Galago's closely interwoven story. On Stockholm's (then ungentrified) streets, Rolf rushes forward and picks up cartoonists, poets, photographers and other loose people on the way to what would become one of the country's most influential satire and comic magazines.

Presented in collaboration with Galago.

Jonas Darnell

Now an elderman of the Swedish comics community, Jonas Darnell works in many artistic areas – comics creator, illustrator, beer connoisseur (with his own beer brand) and now also publisher. He began his career as a cartoonist for the Swedish classic 91:an in 1986, but is today mainly known for the humor series Herman Hedning that he created in 1988 for the Swedish Phantom magazine, and also appeared in comic books such as Svenska Serier and Bacon & Egg. In 1998, Herman Hedning got his own comic book published by Egmont, which lasted until 2018 when it was shut down due to falling sales figures for the entire comic book industry. So what do Darnell and friends do? Well, starting Sweden's most successful Kickstarter campaign, starting his own publisher Evil Ink and republishing the comic book – today one of the leading publishers of Swedish humour comics. This year Herman Hedning himsel turns 35 and it should be celebrated!

Presented in collaboration with Evil Ink.

Sara Granér

"Sara Granér's powerful imagery has a drastic humor that hits the viewer in the middle of the solar plexus. We laugh uncontrollably, but also get food for thought about contemporary prejudices and black holes." – From the motivation for the EWK Prize, 2010. Sara Granér (born 1980) debuted in 2008 with Det är bara lite AIDS. Since then, you have been able to read her comics publications such as Galago, Aftonbladet, ETC and Dagens Nyheter. She has participated in exhibitions in Rome and Tokyo and had solo exhibitions at, among others, the Kulturhuset Stadstetatern in Stockholm and Dunkers Kulturhus. At Galago, she has released books such as Med vänlig hälsning (2010), All I want for Christmas is planekonomi (2012), Jag vill inte dö, jag vill bara inte leverera (2015),Allas lika mellangärde (2020) and her latest Den sjunde vännen (2022). In 2017, Sara Granér debuted as a poet with the visual poetry book Blixt från oklar himmel. Today, she is one of Sweden’s most well-known satirists and artists.

Presented in collaboration with Galago.

Dennis Gustafsson

Sweden's own horror master Dennis Gustafsson is back with a graphic novel about his occult 1920s detective Viktor Kasparsson. With seven printed Kasparsson albums (plus one digital), this is shaping up to be one of the most impressive Swedish comics album series ever. Part 8 is published this year by Albumförlaget and is titled Viktor Kasparssons arkiv. Gustafsson also participates in our exhibition BD på svenska in Serieteket.

Jenny Hannula

Jenny Hannula is a cartoonist with a passion for fantasy and representation. They published their first comics on the Internet (on a self-made website) in 1998, and so it goes. They have got their comics published in several anthologies. They have worked with their comic SPEJS since 2015, a light-hearted space opera with a lot of humour, action and drama. Space Debris is a romantic space opera and something of a prequel to SPEJS. For their many years of production of engaging comics in many genres and a continuous distribution outside the established channels, they were awarded Serieteket’s Kolehmainen prize for aspiring comic creators in 2022 (together with Adrian Malmgren) and therefore participates with the festival exhibition Wicker is Fine! + SPEJS in the gallery Lilla Kilen on plan E. When Jenny is not drawing comics, they work as a UX designer in the gaming industry.

Iris Hautaniemi

Iris Hautaniemi (born 1998) is a cartoonist, artist and illustrator based in Stockholm. She has studied graphic design and illustration at Konstfack, the University of Arts, Crafts, and Design. In 2022, she self-published her own project, the semi-autobiographical graphic novel I think I need a new heart, in a limited edition. It has now been reworked and published by Kaunitz-Olsson under the title Ensam ung kvinna söker. Hautaniemi is a strong representative of the new generation of contemporary Swedish comic art and the newspaper Dagens Nyheter recently named her one of the year's six literary stars – read the article here. 

Presented in collaboration with Kaunitz-Olsson.

Magnus Jonason

As early as in the 1980s, you could read Magnus Jonason's series in the magazines Galago and Elixir, but only last year he released his impressive and acclaimed graphic novel debut Måste ringa brorsan, an autobiographical and incredibly well-drawn story about Magnus' own handling of his brother's death. An authentic and beautiful journey through the phases of grief. Magnus Jonason also participates in our exhibition BD på svenska i Serieteket.

Ulrika Linder            

Ulrika Linder a.k.a. Diskbänkstecknaren (="the Sink Artist") is a professional artist educated at Valand. She made her book debut and breakthrough with Återvinningscentralen (2020) about her work at a recycling center, a book that was loved by readers and critics alike. It has been dramatized and become an exhibition.

On Instagram, she is known under the name Diskbänkstecknaren where she draws snapshots from a chaotic life as a struggling parent of small children. She usually draws her line art on old window envelopes, brochures or whatever is at hand. In the spring of 2023, her collected drawings were published in the book Diskbänkstecknaren. On the side of her artistic works, Ulrika Linder works with creative activities for children in her homtetown of Örebro.

Presented in collaboration with Galago.

Adrian Malmgren

Adrian Malmgren is a queer artist who entered the comics world in 2013 and has made a name for himself on the Swedish indie scene with the sci-fi comic Wicked Hero, which is currently in new production under the title Wicker is fine. His comics have one foot in queer politics and one foot in the love of sci-fi fantasy. He has illustrated for both Ottar and Rabén & Sjögren as well as participated in several series anthologies with political themes such as Drömsyskon and Draw the line, and appeared in Galago and ETC. Recently he was also published in the magazine Portal with the series Batty and now also takes over the editorship of the magazine. In 2022, he was awarded the Kolehmainen prize by Serieteket (together with Jenny Hannula) for his "creative handling of genre conventions combined with strong commitment and impressive world-building". For that reason, he participates with the festival exhibition Wicker is Fine! + SPEJS in the gallery Lilla Kilen on level E.

Niklas Natt och Dag

Niklas Natt och Dag has made a big name for himself with his novel 1793, the first part in his Bellman noir trilogy and one of the most successful Swedish historical depictions in recent times. Niklas will discuss the adaptation of the book into a comic with moderator Robert Aman.

Niklas Natt och Dag's novels have been praised for their depictions of late 18th-century Stockholm, an aspect that was further deepened when the first book in the trilogy, 1793, was published in a new form – as a graphic novel. The book is complemented by a newly written commentary by the author, which provides insights into the books' historical background and rich source material, making the volume a must-have for dedicated readers as well as newcomers and comics connoisseurs. The production has been done by a team consisting of prominent Italian screenwriters and cartoonists in collaboration with the author himself.

Klara Nordin Stensö

Klara Nordin Stensö (born 1991) debuted in the spring of 2022 with the children's book Den lilla lilla sjöjungfrun at Rabén & Sjögren, and has, among other things, made illustrations for columns in the New York Times and campaigns for the Red Cross. She has also animated short films for Jujja & Tomas Wieslander's nursery rhymes. In the spring of 2023, her autobiographical debut graphic novel Den ömma modern will be published by Galago, where Nordin Stensö draws on her own experiences of giving birth and breastfeeding, and the clash between expectation and harsh reality. Klara Nordin Stensö has a degree in Graphic design and illustration from Konstfack, the University of Arts, Crafts, and Design.

Presented in collaboration with Galago.

Joakim Pirinen

Joakim Pirinen (born 1961) is one of Sweden's foremost comics creators, also recognized as a visual artist, illustrator, writer and playwright. His first comics album was Välkommen till sandlådan in 1983. The breakthrough came two years later with the character Socker-Conny in the album of the same name, which opened up the new adult Swedish comics scene and. His last graphic novel was the brilliant Hundratvå år av ensamhet, published in 2021 by Kaunitz-Olsson. But it is rumored that he is currently working on an upcoming comics project.

Presented in collaboration with Kaunitz-Olsson.

Ola Skogäng

For the past thirty years, Ola Skogäng (born 1974) has worked with advertising, television, film, comic books, newspapers, photography, computer games, and taught series creation, dramaturgy and art. During that time, he also had time to write and draw the first seven comic books about Theos ockulta kuriositeter (Theo's Occult Curiosities), the first of which presented him with Svenska Serieakademin’s Adamson statuette. The books have so far been published in seven countries. Together with Per Demervall, he made the August Strindberg-inspired sci-fi story Döda rummet (The Dead Room) in 2012. Skogäng has also drawn several children's books. Since 2002, he has worked for various museums with everything from advertising to series courses. Since 2016, he has run a series education in Skellefteå and lectures at various other schools on series creation. Skogäng also works with design, animation and storyboarding for film, both at home in Sweden and in Hollywood.

At this year’s Stockholm International Comics Festival, Olas Skogäng’s relevance is threefold – the seventh Theo book, Den magiska cirkeln, is released by Albumförlaget during the festival, a new book, Palle och energitjuvarna, has just been released by Cheap Energy, and of course there is the fact that Ola Skogäng is also the creator of this year's official festival image..

Malin Svedjeholm

Malin Svedjeholm (born 1980) is a Swedish cartoonist, illustrator and communicator from Luleå. She has created the series Plåstra, which has been published in several magazines newspapers as well as two albums. She has been a publisher for her own publishing company Svenska Serieförlaget and has been an editor for anthologies such as Serienörden's kokbok (2014) and Jag vill inte göra slut: serier för klimatet (2016).

This year she will publish her first longer graphic novel at Kartago förlag. book Hårda sanningar start with a Googling on how to deal with anger. What happens to a relationship and a family when the mother's uncontrollable anger affects those closest to her?