gustaflord

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I samband med Gävle Pride öppnar vi en utställning i ”Galleri Mittskeppet”, (korridoren) på Kulturhuset. Elin kommer visa tuschteckningar på temat ”klädkod” som avbildar gamla foton på människor som vågat vara annorlunda och brutit mot forna tiders klädkoder. Gustaf har valt att teckna kärleksfulla karikatyrer av hbtq-ikoner från både populärkultur och aktivism med tanke på 50-årsjubileet av Stonewall-upproren (startpunkten för Pride-rörelsen). Vernissage hålles torsdag den 15:e mellan 11-18. Välkommen! Vänliga Hälsningar Elin Hjulström Lord Gustaf Lord ————————————————— #artoftheday #färgpenna #färgpennor #karikatyr #traditionalart #illustration #draw #instawork #artist #drawing #art #design #teckning #zeichnung #dibujo #arte #instaartist #рисунок #derwent #watercolour #konstnär #konst #portrait #caricature #artwork (på/i Kulturhuset Gävle) https://www.instagram.com/p/B06Gu7JiDit/?igshid=1x28tu46xasge

#artoftheday #färgpenna #färgpennor #karikatyr #traditionalart #illustration #draw #instawork #artist #drawing #art #design #teckning #zeichnung #dibujo #arte #instaartist #рисунок #derwent #watercolour #konstnär #konst #portrait #caricature #artwork

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Looking for the Police HQ

English below

Var höll polisen till 1969?

För något år sedan röstades polishuset fram till Gävles fulaste byggnad i en av lokaltidningarna. Ett jätteskjul av korrugerad plåt. Inte särskilt kul att teckna i ruta efter ruta. En annan del av förklaringen till byggnadens inpopularitet ligger säkert i att den ersatte ett mycket vackert badhus från sekelskiftet. När KGB sålde bilar i Gävle utspelas under en period efter att badhuset rivits (1966) men innan polishuset var på plats. Så var fanns polisen innan de fick sitt eget hus? 

Efter lite detektivarbete visade det sig att de höll till i Gävle Stadshus. I en tillbyggd flygel hade de egen ingång mot Rådhustorget med ännu en dörr åt Norra Köpmansgatan. Häktet ska ha funnits i källaren. Stadshuset finns kvar idag men inga spår av polisen syns. Entrén mot torget används av Kommunrevisionen idag. Men det är i alla fall en betydligt roligare byggnad att teckna.

Looking for the Police Station in 1969

A few years ago, the police station was voted Gävle’s ugliest building. A giant shed of corrugated sheet metal. Not very fun to draw over and over again for page after page. The Police Station replaced a very beautiful bathhouse from the turn of the century. When the KGB sold cars in Gävle, is set in a period after the bathhouse was demolished (1966) but before the new Police Station was erected. So where was the police before they got their own building? After some detective work, I found them in the Gävle City Hall wing extension, entrance doors both towards the square and to a back street. The detention cells was in the basement. The City Hall still exists today but no traces of the police are visible. But the City Hall is at least a very fun building to draw.

#Illustration #comics #architecture #research #gävle #sweden

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Visiting the Regiment Day

English below

Regementets dag

I helgen firades ”Regementets dag” i Gävle. Trots att det är mer tjugo år sedan verksamheten lades ner på I 14 samlas entusiaster med ojämna mellanrum och iklär sig uniformer, visar fordon och säljer fika. Jag var på plats för att titta på (och teckna) sådant som användes under perioden 1968-76 - ”antikviteter”, som arrangörerna kallade det.

På ”antikviteternas” tid var Regementets dag ett riktigt spektakel. 1969 fick 7 - 8000 personer se fallskärmshoppning, realistiska stridsövningar, helikopteranfall och paradmarscher. Barnen fick lära sig den nyinrättade högerregeln medelst trampbil. Gävle Lottakår sålde (såklart) lotter och visade hur man med mun-mot-mun metoden räddar liv, vilket jag utgår från var uppskattat även ur ett gubb-fniss-perspektiv. Besökarna kunde också äta i I 14s matsal. Ett kuvert på ”Bocken” kostade 6 kr. I helgen fick man betala 25 kronor för en korv med bröd.

Regiment Day

This weekend the "Day of the Regiment" was celebrated in Gävle. Although it is more than twenty years since the I 14 regiment closed, enthusiasts gather every now and then to dress up in uniforms, show military vehicles and sell coffee. I took the opportunity to study and draw stuff used in period 1968-76 - "the antiques", as the organisers called it.

In the cold war era, the Day of Regiment was a true spectacle. In 1969, 7 - 8000 people vittnesed parachuting, realistic combat exercises, helicopter attacks and parades. The children were taught the newly established right-hand rule by pedal car. The  Women's Voluntary Defence Service sold lottery tickets and demonstrated how to use the mouth-to-mouth method to save lives. Visitors could also eat in the I 14 dining room. A meal was priced at 6 krona. This weekend you had to pay 25 krona for a hot dog.

#parade parachute uniform fallskärm militär regimente I14 serie comics illustration

[gustaflord]

The Rolling Intelligence Agency

English below

Matreco, som sålde de sovjetiska bilarna i Sverige, var aldrig en lönsam affär.


– Vilken företagsekonom som som helst skulle säkert rekommendera nedläggning av verksamheten, sa Säpos byråchef Olof Frånstedt till Dagens Nyheter i oktober 1971. 

Förlusterna täcktes upp med tillskott från flera ryskägda bolag i Finland. Förutom rena pengar kom det också, flera gånger om året, en stor buss med ”bilexperter” från vår östra granne. ”Skolbussen” som verkstadsarbetarna kallade den, innehöll ”mycket fin teknisk utrustning” och användes för att vidareutbilda unga mekaniker i verkstäderna samt sprida information om det senaste på bilfronten från Volgaområdet. Bussen besökte Matrecofilialer i Finland, Sverige och Danmark innan den återvände in bakom järnridån. 

Mellan filialerna verkar den dock ha tagit rejäla omvägar. Blanda annat observerades bussen fotodokumentera Avesta Jernverk och andra platser som låg ”klart utanför bilförsäljningsramen”.

Tyvärr har jag inte lyckats hitta några fotografier på ”skolbussen”. Min illustration är istället löst baserad på en PAZ 672 från samma tid. Dock har jag ritat in en anomali - kan du hitta den?

 (Svar: Det är olika antal fönster på bussens långsidor).

ENGLISH

Matreco, who sold the Soviet cars in Sweden, was never a profitable company.

- Any economist would certainly recommend the closure of the business, said Säpo’s (The Swedish Security Service) agency manager Olof Frånstedt to Dagens Nyheter in October 1971.

The losses were covered by investments from several Russian-owned companies in Finland. In addition to money transactions, there was also a lot of “business trips” between Sweden and its eastern neighbour. A large bus with "car experts" travelled several times a year to all the Matreco dealers. The "school bus", which the workshop workers called it, featured "very nice technical equipment" and was used to educate young mechanics in the workshops as well as spread news from the Soviet car industry. The bus visited workshops in Finland, Sweden and Denmark before returning behind the Iron Curtain.

It did not always take the shortest route, though. For example, Säpo spotted the bus photo documenting Avesta Ironworks and other places.

Unfortunately, I have not managed to find any photographs of the "school bus". My illustration is instead based on a PAZ 672 from the same time. However, I have drawn an anomaly - can you find it?

(Answer: There are different numbers of windows on each side of the bus).

#spy #comic #illustration #bus #secret service #art #ink #drawing #70's

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“Insert joke here” On books on script-writing

English below

Äntligen är arbetet igång med “När KGB sålde bilar i Gävle” igen. I många böcker om manusskrivande rekommenderas att man lägger ifrån sig sitt utkast för att kunna titta på det med nya färska ögon i några dagar. Jag lade undan min text i ett halvår. Mina ögon måste ha varit väldigt grumliga när jag skrev mitt synopsis för det var många luckor av typen “hitta på roligt skämt här”, “där hittar de ledtråd X” och “sen listar du ut hur allt hänger ihop och löser mysteriet”. Den senaste dagarna har därför gått åt till omfattande omarbetningar. Med god hjälp av min fru lyckades jag ge alla ledtrådar mening och hitta på ett helt nytt slut. Huvudpersonens stackars bror har återupplivats och tagits bort ur berättelsen ännu en gång. De böcker jag använt mig av i ämnet manusskrivande är i huvudsak: The DC comics guide on Writing Comics av Dennis O’Neil O’Neil berättar på ett mycket underhållande och pedagogiskt sätt hur han och hans kolleger skapar sina manus till superhjälteserier. Därifrån tog jag främst med mig Scott Peterssons tips att jobba med parallella dokument. Ett som bara innehåller huvudberättelsen i punktform, ett annat med utförligare scenbeskrivningar och ett tredje med lösrykta idéer, scener, miljöer och annat som kan vara med.

Alan Moore’s Writing for Comics En essä av mästaren Moore. Störst behållning är det tillägg han skrev i andra upplagan där han sågar allt annat han skrivit i boken, främst att en rollfigur ska kunna kokas ner i ett fåtal egenskaper för att vara tydlig för läsaren. Precis som riktiga människor tycker inte rollfigurer om att placeras i fack. Vid två exakta likadan situationer kan man bete sig på helt olika sätt. Det brukar jag ha i bakhuvudet när jag möter både verkliga som påhittade människor. Making a Good Script Great av Linda Seger Trots att den handlar om att skriva för film och utgår ifrån något daterade exempel från åttiotalsfilm är det en givande läsning. 

English:

At last, I’m once again working on "When KGB sold cars in Gävle". Many books on script writing recommend that you put your first drafts away for a few days in order to look at it with fresh eyes. I left my text alone for half a year. My eyes must have been very cloudy when I wrote the synopsis because there were many gaps in line with "insert funny joke here", "where the characters find clue X" and "the protagonists figure out how everything is connected and solves the mystery." 

So I have spent the last few days rewriting. With the help of my wife, I managed to give all clues meaning, figure out how everything actually is connected and created a whole new ending. The main character’s brother has been revived and removed from the story more than once.

The books I used on the subject of writing are mainly: The DC comics guide on Writing Comics by Dennis O'Neil O'Neil describes in a very entertaining and educational way how he and his colleagues creates their scripts for superhero comics. From this source, I took Scott Petersson's idea to work with parallel documents. One that contains only the main story in bullet form, another with more detailed scene descriptions and a third with loose ideas, scenes, settings and other things that may be included.

Alan Moore's Writing for Comics An essay of master scriptwriter Moore. The greatest retention is the addition he wrote for the second edition where he dismisses everything he wrote in the book, especially the part about a character having to be boiled down to a few attributes to be clear to the reader. Just like real people characters don’t like to be type casted. Two identical situations can result in two completely different behaviours. Something I try to remember when dealing with people, both real and imagined. 

Making a Good Script Great by Linda Seger Even though this book is about writing for movies, and contains examples from some quite dated films of the 80′s, it's definitely worth reading.

#writng #comic #comics #MakingComics #dennis o'neil #alan moore #linda seger #Scriptwriting

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All set for today’s expo. Welcome at 14.00 o’clock! #expo #comics #poster #draw #drawing #fanzine #smallpress (på/i Söders Källa)

#smallpress #draw #comics #drawing #fanzine #expo #poster

[gustaflord]

FORMER SPY-CENTRAL ON SALE

English below

SVENSKA:

Som tidigare nämnts i den här bloggen så har jag tagit en paus i skapandet av serien ”När KGB sålde bilar i Gävle”. Ett väldigt omfattande jobb med att illustrera läromedel har tagit all min tid i besittning. Men nyligen fick jag höra såpass intressanta nyheter att jag måste bryta mitt egenpåtvingade uppehåll - Matrecos gamla lokaler är till salu! 

Fastigheten med de hemliga rummen, radioutrustningen, den enorma masten på taket och allt det andra som är så typiskt för en bilhall säljs för ynka sex milljoner. Bland mäklarens fotografier syns dock inga rester av spioncentralen från Kalla Krigets dagar. Det ser ut som vilket modernt kontor som helst. Genom att jämföra med äldre foton verkar det som om fönster, dörrar och liknande är på samma platser som när det begav sig- där finns det ett värde för mina interiörscener.

ENGLISH:

As mentioned earlier in this blog, I have taken a break in the creation of the graphic novel "When KGB sold cars". Instead, a very extensive job of illustrating teaching materials has taken all my time in possession. But recently I heard so interesting news that I can’t keep myself away from the blog - Matreco's old premises are for sale! 

The property with its secret rooms, the huge radio antenna on the roof and everything else that is so typical of a car dealer is sold for just over six million swedish crowns.  Nothing spy related from the Cold War days appears to be left, thought, according to the broker's photographs. It looks like any modern office. When comparing to older photos  - windows, doors, and the likes seems to be in the same places as in 1970 when my comic book are set. That could be valuable for my interior scenes.

LÄNK TILL MÄKLAREN / LINK TO THE BROKER 

http://www.swedbankkf.se/kommersiella-fastigheter/fastigheter-till-salu/objekt/3864-hillevaegen-37-gaevle/storhus

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New title, poster and break announced

This amazing 70 x 100 cm poster arrived from the printers today! It will be sort of a temporary farewell, however. Due to busy work schedule the production, and this blog, of Spies in No Disguise, will take a break. The project is delayed but not forgotten. Hopefully it will start again this fall with a release in late 2019. The poster got the new swedish title “Moments from history: When KGB sold cars in Gavle” It is for sale and please send a me i direct message if you want one.

I will be present at Stockholm International Comics Festival, May 5-6. Please stop by to say hello, if you like.

See you later!

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The poster is at the printmaker and this is the final pencils sketch. Can’t wait to see the final result...

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Stora tunga filer (på/i Studio Lord)

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Detail from upcoming poster I’ve been working on lately. #comics #sweden #drawing #retrocar #banddessinee #db #pencils #bluepen #volvo #policecar #draw #illustration #poster #traditionalart #agent #crayon #character #design (på/i Studio Lord)

#sweden #policecar #crayon #banddessinee #pencils #volvo #poster #illustration #retrocar #draw #comics #agent #db #drawing #design #character #bluepen #traditionalart

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The Gävle Theater celebrated 140 years and I had the opportunity to show sketches and studies from my upcoming comic book “When KGB sold cars” #comics #bd #bandedessinee #comic #makingcomics #drawingcomics #characterdesign #conceptart #comicbook #comicart #drawings #concepts #drawing #graphite #lineart #sketch #illustration #ink #inkdrawing #inking #dippen #doodle #picoftheday #instaart #instaartist #instagood #art #artist #studiolord #draw (på/i Gävle teater)

#concepts #art #instagood #graphite #bd #characterdesign #lineart #doodle #inkdrawing #inking #bandedessinee #makingcomics #comic #artist #sketch #comics #dippen #comicart #conceptart #instaartist #comicbook #instaart #draw #ink #studiolord #illustration #drawings #drawing #drawingcomics #picoftheday

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I talk about one of my comic book inspirations - Rob Davies version of Cervantes Don Quixote. All speaking is in swedish but the images are international.

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Cars of the past

Been a while since last update but here we go again…

Spent another day in the archives. This time to browse the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspapers from 1969 to today. Surprisingly only a small notice mentioned the revelation of suspected espionage by soviet car dealer Matreco in 1971. The scoop was first published by SvD’s major competing news corporation, so I guess they didn’t want to play second fiddle. However, the event was heavily discussed in the letter pages. In mid 70’s SvD wrote a lot of Matreco failing to establish a huge showroom next to Swedish defence facilities in Norrbotten. This part of history will be mentioned in the epilogue of my comic, if it all.

Even though I didn’t find any new information to put in the story, the day was very rewarding. By following the advertisements over the years I could follow the events from ”staff wanted” to ”grand opening” and finally a notice in 1982 when Matreco filed for bankruptcy. Inbetween there were tons of ads for new car models and deals. During the first years the Lada was marketed as VAZ in Sweden. In Swedish ”Lada” mean ”barn” and it would be difficult to market a car by that name, as the heads of Volvo told the soviets during a visit to Tolyatti, where the the cars was produced. The city of Tolyatti, by the way, was renamed from Stavropol-on-Volga, after Italian communist leader Palmiero Togliatti. Togliatti had been instrumental in establishing the AutoVAZ (Lada) automobile manufacturing plant in collaboration with Fiat.

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A few test panels to see if the style is right for a Cold War era spy comic.

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Inking a test panel for a comic based on actual events during the Cold War. A car dealer turned out to be a spy central at night. The locals kind of already knew because of the giant transmitter on the roof. Read more about the comic and the history behind at gustaflord.tumblr.com #comics #bd #bandedessinee #comic #makingcomics #drawingcomics #characterdesign #conceptart #comicbook #comicart #drawings #concepts #drawing #graphite #lineart #sketch #illustration #ink #inkdrawing #inking #dippen #doodle #picoftheday #instaart #instaartist #instagood #art #artist #studiolord #draw (på/i Riga, Latvia)

#comicart #studiolord #makingcomics #ink #comicbook #picoftheday #characterdesign #sketch #drawings #conceptart #doodle #artist #drawingcomics #graphite #comics #comic #draw #lineart #instaartist #illustration #instagood #bandedessinee #inking #drawing #inkdrawing #dippen #instaart #art #bd #concepts

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Are you sharking?

(translated literally from Swedish meaning “do you understand? do you get it?”)

At the moment the tabloids are covering the largest Swedish military exercise in 25 years. ”Aurora 17” gathers 19 000 soldiers in an exercise that simulates a surprise attack on Sweden. These exercises where more common during the cold war. In October 1969 a large exercise called ”Operation Näcken” was organised in the surroundings of Gävle. Based on my research in contemporary Arbetarbladet and Gefle Dagblad the papers seemed to be just as interested then. The headlines contained aircraft accidents, presence of mysterious foreign submarines and soldiers guarding the liquor stores from participants looking to enliven the exercise.

Though not originally a part of the ”spy-central hidden in plain sight in a sleepy Swedish town”-story, the timing of the Näcken exercise fit perfectly into my comic and provides a chance to include some visual action, as well as a thesis of what the spies where actually interested in. My theory is that the main points of interest were the development of the Viggen jetfighter and the possible deal between the officially neutral Sweden and NATO. The true objects of the Soviet espionage are still classified by Säpo (Security Service) until 2040. So no one can tell me I’m wrong.

A former officer told me that scenarios like Operation Näcken always featured a clash between superpowers X and Y on Swedish soil. The sides was given playful names by the participants, like X-land (pronounced Kryssland, very much like ”Ryssland”, Russia) and Y.S.A (similar to the Swedish pronunciation of USA). It’s a joke… do you get it? Are you sharking?

#military #army #sweden #gävle #exercise #comic #makingcomics #bd #bande dessinée #serier #teckna #tecknaserier #rita #spies #coldwar #kgb #history