Pieces of my HeartBy: Fanny M. Bystedt
Language: English
60 pages, b&w, softcover
Self-published, 2009
ISBN: 978-91-633-4620-0
All publishers of manga in Sweden are right now downsizing due to low sales and the only comic book containing Japanese comics has been cancelled. This does not mean, though, that manga will dissapear from the Swedish comics culture. Far from it. Several generations who grew up with manga are now making their own comics. I recently reviewed Natalia Batista's A Song for Elise, and here's another example of "Swedish manga".
Pieces of my Heart is, just like A Song for Elise, a self-published debut book. It contains short stories, which are visually clearly inspired by shoujo manga, i.e. japansese comics for female readers, all on the theme of love. Some of these I really like; especially when they are not so formalistic and narative, and simply try to convey a feeling. Others are more predictable and therefore not so interesting. On the whole, this s very clearly a debut by a young artist, one whom I hope we will see more of in the future.
