Now that digital comics are an established thing, I find myself interested in comics that can’t be digitized. The below papercraft works use the physical object in unique ways, mostly in how they unfold. All of these were found at TCAF last month.
The Birth of Linda and The Death of Linda by Tess Eneli Reid are two of the three Estonian Tales that, as Reid describes them, “transform into murals in your hands.”
They’re wordless, told in muted colors, and expand in an accordion-like fashion. Fun to fold, unfold, and play with.
The Ballad of Bug by Meggie Ramm is constructed in similar fashion, although the cover is wood (!) instead of cardboard.
The interior is bright, with rhyming narration, a path to follow, and an encouraging message.
Ramm also created Billy Bones, a rotating infinite comic about death.
By far the most visually impressive was Flute Song, story by Sylvia, art by Fumika. The monochrome cover doesn’t really show what’s inside:
There are several gorgeous, die-cut, multi-layered spreads in this fairy tale. Fumika also had available a tiny book, Ema and the Apple, that came in a matchbox.
