Francine

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

With its fascistic imagery, pubescent sexuality, raucous humor and complex political allegory, the anonymously posted webcomic slechtemeisjes became an instant cult phenomenon, hailed as the "Greatest Comic of All Time" by CBR.

Michiel Budel revealed himself as slechtemeisjes creator, publishing a pair of slechtemeisjes comic books under the loosely translated title of Wayward Girls. His comics have since appeared in several print anthologies and journals including the internationally acclaimed ku! anthology, Lumpen Magazine and Smoke Signal.

He still posts comics at slechtemeisjes.nl and at Medium. Budel and his Wayward Girls were even the subject of a news feature on VRPO, Dutch public television. Francine represents Michiel Budels debut graphic novel, but he is an artist with a following.

Another first: Budel's American fans will have the opportunity to see him in person as he tours in support of Francine.

Reviews

"Budel's brilliant comic features pubescent girls in various states of undress as they discuss imperialism, economics, and constant war, among many other global-political topics germane to the 21st Century. . . . Maybe the quintessential comic of the two-thousand-and-teens." -- John Porcellino, author of the Hospital Suite

"This is drawing to change people's ideas of what exactly "beautiful comic book art" looks like, and it's also the perfect match for the surreal, logic-light world of the stories it brings to life. It's rare indeed to see a comic both this far removed from anything else and this aesthetically unified, but here it is: something that manages mastery with almost no visible influences. There isn't a whole lot else like Wayward Girls, and there certainly isn't much else this good out there at the moment." -- Matt Seneca, CBR

"Dutch cartoonist Michiel Budel's wildly idiosyncratic webcomic, Slechte Meisjes, stars a rotating cast of Lolita-esque girls in surpassingly strange, hilarious, often Sapphic adventures that are mixed with political allegory... ...While Budel's comics are perhaps known and discussed mostly for their seriously pervy qualities, they should also be appreciated for their great humor and wonderfully wrought, even lyrical, dream logic. Many folks will immediately correlate Budel's work to artists like Henry Darger and Balthus, who also trafficked heavily in pre-adolescent sexual imagery. But like Darger himself, Budel has a guilelessly bonkers sensibility that keeps itself to itself." -- The Comics Journal

"One of the trickiest aspects of reviewing comics is trying to describe something when I come across a style that is completely new." -- Optical Sloth

Author Bio

Michiel Budel lives and works in Amsterdam (Holland). He studied Illustration and Theater Design at the Minerva Art Academy in Groningen. He subsequently held several office jobs and studied to become an art teacher. He has published his drawings and comics on his website, slechtemeisjes.nl, since 2011. Budel draws his inspiration from the work of Joost Roelofsz and film audio commentaries by directors and film connoisseurs. He wishes to become a director of horror movies. Sadly, since he has no cameras and no education in this field, he enjoys writing and drawing his own comics.