Metaphrog
Encyclopedia
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
creators Sandra Marrs and John Chalmers, best known for making the Louis series of comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
.
History
Marrs is originally from FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where she studied art. Chalmers is from the west of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and has a scientific background with a PhD in Micromachining
Micromachining
Micromachining may refer to:*Superfinishing, a metalworking process for producing very fine surface finishes*Various microelectromechanical systems**Bulk micromachining**Surface micromachining**High-aspect-ratio microstructure technologies-See also:...
. They live in Glasgow.
In general, Marrs draws the comics while Chalmers writes the scripts. They started their first comic together, Strange Weather Lately
Strange Weather Lately
Strange Weather Lately is the title of a series of comics created and released between 1996 and 1999 by the Glasgow-based Franco-Scottish duo Metaphrog....
, in 1995. The Sunday Herald in Glasgow described Strange Weather Lately as "the existential adventures of Martin Nitram, an unpaid theatre worker engaged in an attempt to mount a cursed play, The Crimes Of Tarquin J Swaffe."
They then moved on to the Louis (graphic novel)
Louis (graphic novel)
Louis is a graphic novel series created by metaphrog, the Franco-Scottish duo Sandra Marrs and John Chalmers.-Series overview:Louis is an unasumming worker who lives in Hamlet with his companion FC , his pet mechanical bird. He spends his days filling bottles with air, making fruit, and writing to...
series, which includes Louis - Red Letter Day, Louis - Lying To Clive, Louis - The Clown's Last Words and Louis - Dreams Never Die.
Louis is, according to The Herald
The Herald (Glasgow)
The Herald is a broadsheet newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, and available throughout Scotland. As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 47,226, giving it a lead over Scotland's other 'quality' national daily, The Scotsman, published in Edinburgh.The 1889 to 1906 editions...
, "the thoughtful, sensitive, baby-faced protagonist of their cult-hit comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s. He's a lovely little thing - pudgy arms, round tummy, two hug-me eyes popping out of his smooth egg-shell head. Children love him, and you just know he could sell in his millions. Easy."(Wild,September 18, 2004, "Punks of publishing; Their comic books have become cult hits". The Herald (Glasgow), p. 3.
). The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
wrote of The Clown's Last Words, "the bizarre storytellers chronicle the complicated adventures of a Caillou-looking character, and readers should expect more surreal shenanigans than they can shake a brick of Cheddar at. ... This bulbous-headed Gumby for the 21st century should appeal to the most unassuming of children and cynical of adults."(Szadkowski, August 17, 2002, "Books that give color to mankind's darker side". The Washington Times, p. B2.)
In 2003 Metaphrog were part of a collection of 80 artists from three continents to express their "visions and thoughts on the oft forgotten aspects War" for the book Warburger published by Stripburger. Metaphrog have also published Louis - Red Letter Day as a webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
on serializer
Serializer
serializer.net is a website featuring many free and subscription-based alternative comics created especially for the web. It was launched in October 2002 by Publisher Joey Manley, Editor Tom Hart, and approximately 20 professional cartoonists...
.
Their latest book, Louis - Dreams Never Die, was released in 2004 in association with the UK based label Fat Cat Records
Fat Cat Records
Fat Cat Records is an independent label based in Brighton on England’s South Coast. Their output includes electronica, post rock, indie, downtempo, minimal techno, noise and punk-pop...
. For this, Hey (from Berlin) and múm
Múm
múm are an experimental Icelandic musical group whose music is characterized by soft vocals, electronic glitch beats and effects, and a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments.- History :...
(from Iceland) wrote two music tracks inspired by the Louis books, and metaphrog made a special short animation. The result was a multimedia project with a graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
and cd/blue vinyl 7".
In 2009, Metaphrog were commissioned by the Association for Scottish Literary Studies
Association for Scottish Literary Studies
The Association for Scottish Literary Studies is a Scottish educational charity, founded in 1970 to promote and support the teaching, study and writing of Scottish literature. Its founding members included the Scottish literary scholar Matthew McDiarmid...
to adapt a poem by Edwin Morgan (poet) in comic form. On National Poetry Day, 35000 copies of The First Men on Mercury comic adaptation were distributed to all Glasgow Secondary Schools.
Their new graphic novel, Louis - Night Salad, was released in October 2010.
Graphic novels
- Strange Weather Lately:
- Vol. One (1998)
- Vol. Two (1999)
- Louis:
- Red Letter Day (2000)
- Lying to Clive (2001)
- The Clown's Last Words (2002)
- Dreams Never Die (2004)
- Night Salad (2010)
Comics
- Strange Weather Lately #1 - #10 (1996–1999)
- The Maze Part One and Part Two (1997)
- Vermin (1999)
Short stories
- 9/11 Emergency Relief9-11 (comics)9-11 comics emerged following the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, and cartoonists turned to art to express their grief and support...
, Alternative Press (US - 2002) - Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary GentlemanAlan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary GentlemanAlan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman is a tribute to comics creator Alan Moore edited by Gary Spencer Millidge and Smoky Man and published by Abiogenesis Press in May 2003...
, Abiogenesis Press (UK - 2003) - Warburger, Stripburger (Slovenia - 2003)
- SPX Anthology (US - 2003)
- Autobiographix, Dark Horse (US - 2003), Ediciones Glenat (Spain - 2005) and Kappa Edizioni (Italy - 2005)
- Variant (Winter 2004)
- The Big Issue in Scotland (Xmas Special 2005)
- Variant cover art + illustrated story (Winter 2006)
Awards
Louis - The Clown's Last Words was nominated for an Ignatz Award, while Louis - Red Letter Day was nominated for the 2001 Ignatz Award for "Promising New Talent" and the 2000 Eisner AwardEisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
s for "Best Title for a Younger Audience" and "Best Graphic Album - New".