Climbing the light (Patreon)

Hey pals!

This is a comic that was commissioned by Québec en toutes lettres, a literature festival taking place in Québec City this October. The theme for their 15th edition is "climbing the light" (escalader la lumière), an excerpt from a poem by Jean-Paul Daoust.

My intention with the comic was to show the way that artistic creativity can inspire others throughout space and time. Artists tend to live normal, localized lives, but their work can expand far beyond that to touch distant parts of the world over decades. I also wanted to hint on how one doesn't know what one is capable of before trying.

I chose an Eastern Whip-poor-will for the bird since it is 1. local to me/Québec, 2. sings at night, and 3. is pretty darn cute! Here's a link to what they sound like. If you live in Eastern North America, it may be familiar to you.

The comic is wordless partly because I think it's an interesting challenge (I'm a fan of silent comics like Simon Bossé's Loiterers and most things by Nicolas Presl), and partly because the comic will be shown in Québec City to a mostly French-speaking audience, and I didn't want to have something that needed to be translated.

Apparently they will be printing it on large aluminium panels to be displayed outside as well as on little cards that will be free throughout the city.

Happy Sunday!

-Joshua