Big in Europe
This January, caressed by the cool Mediterranean breeze, the annual Angoulême International Comics Festival took place in France; the bustling festival is Europe’s oldest comic-focused event, and is one of the two biggest international comics events, alongside San Diego Comic-Con International.
In the Angoulême festival, the nominees for the Prize for Young Talent are considered the ones to watch. There are no restrictions on theme or content, giving the artists full freedom to demonstrate their creativity and critical thinking. The only restriction is that each entry can be no longer than three pages.
In Nettoyeur, Ahn depicts a street sweeper in a yellow raincoat silently collecting garbage from the streets under a pink sky. Walking across the black, garbage-covered earth, his eyes land on a black chimney which seems to be constantly crying for help.
The street sweeper asks, “Is there something I can help with?” The chimney responds, but unintelligibly. The street sweeper’s hands reach out and pull down the chimney, and from the hole spurts out a huge black tower of water, erupting into the sky. The “camera” zooms out, and we see that the street sweeper is in fact walking along the back of a whale, alongside which are dozens of other whales similarly covered in garbage and waiting for help.
Ahn’s outstanding framing and storytelling earned him nomination for the Prize for Young Talent. Later, in March, he was again successful at the Fumetto International Comix Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland.
The theme of the Lucerne festival was “justice,” and Ahn’s entry depicted the rich–poor gap in Taiwan, telling the story of a fat child eating ice cream as he sits on a robot powered by innumerable laborers. The robot strides across half the globe, eventually reaching Santa’s home at the North Pole, where the child demands a present.
In The Gift, the fat child represents the rich and powerful, calling to mind associations with capitalism. By cutting to the heart of the idea of “justice,” Ahn’s work earned him the Young Talent award. The judges said it was both playful and profound, and set an example for aspiring young artists.
Even after busy days at work, Ahn still finds time to draw whatever in the day has inspired him, further building his creative skills. Ahn’s The Gift (left) earned him a New Talent award at the Fumetto International Comix Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland.