Archive for the 'Tom Furtwangler' Tag

Say it with pictures

Saturday, November 24th, 2007

I’ve blogged before about instructional and awareness comics that my friend Tom Furtwangler has produced over the years, often in collaboration with soon-to-be well-known alternative cartoonists, such as Jason Lutes or Dean Haspiel.

This time, we present a two-page comic that Furtwangler did together with Scott Faulkner about how comics can be used in awareness and grassroots campaigns. It reminds me of the pamphlets and posters the Finnish World Comics group publishes for projects in the third world, most notably in India and Africa.

I quite often worry about spending so much time on something as trivial as comics, and so it is really heart-warming to see my favourite medium also being used for good causes.

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El Brillante

Friday, November 9th, 2007

A while ago I posted a comic that Dean Haspiel did together with Tom Furtwangler, and that was aimed at informing people about the risks of unprotected sex. Tom was kind enough to send me another of his public awareness comics, this time with art by Jason Lutes.

Like Celia Learns To Protect Her Baby, El Brillante - Protecting Your Children’s Teeth was published in a two-language flip format (English-Spanish). I’ve never been keen on the use of superheroes for advertising purposes, since somehow this seems t0o easy, and also because the line between a “good” superhero design and a derivative one is very thin.

El Brillante, however, is different. I like the way his name, his costume (with the tooth shield) and his blickering teeth have different, contradicting meanings; On one level they underline the message he is bringing across (take care of your teeth), while at the same time they add a good dose of parody and self-mockery, by referring to the archetypical salesman and his empty, shiny white grin. We’re a long way away from a very serious Robin telling kids that you can’t get aids from sharing a soda.

El Brillante - Protecting Your Children’s Teeth was published by the Washington Dental Service Foundation. Art by Jason Lutes, Art Direction by Tom Furtwangler. Reproduced with kind permission.

(Read on for the complete book)

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Vintage Haspiel for Aids awareness

Tuesday, June 19th, 2007

Celia00_resize.jpg

‘Celia Learns To Protect Her Baby’ is a minicomic that was published in 1997 by the University Of Washington Novela Health Education bureau, which specialises in bilingual awareness publications .

It was published as a two-language flip book, with an English and a Spanish version. The story was written by Olga Sanchez and Tom Furtwangler, with art by Dean Haspiel. I like the way Dean succeeds in emulating the typical photonovela style the story seems to refer to.

This book is reproduced here with kind permission of the writer and artist. A full bibliographic note is available at the Michigan State University Comic Art Collection Website.

Read on for the whole story.

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