Marisa Kröpfl works as a bookseller in Vienna, but is best known for translating graphic novels for the Austrian publisher bahoe Verlag. Her translations include several biographies of women, such as Frida Kahlo by Dominique Osuch and Freiheit im Blut by Christophe Girard and Kudret Güneş, which tells the story of the Kurdish woman Rojîn and her fight against jihadists. Both works were translated from French. Marisa Kröpfl is an expert on the subject of “Pionierinnen in Graphic Novels”. Her work moves between languages, cultures and perspectives, weaving them together.

Sorina Vasilescu aka Sorina Vazelina (born 1986), is a Romanian graphic designer, illustrator and comic artist. In The Silent Escape, she tells the story of the artist Lena Constante (1909–2005). During the communist regime, Constante was arrested for political reasons and spent almost ten years in prison. After the fall of the dictatorship, she published her autobiographical memoirs, in which she documented her experiences of repression, isolation and inner resistance. The Silent Escape is based on these memoirs. The work translates Constante’s memories into the visual language of contemporary comics, bringing her inner world, resilience and power of imagination to life. The graphic novel combines historical memory with an artistic reflection on freedom, identity and human resilience.

Nina Six was born in Orléans in 1998 and now lives and works in Belgium as an illustrator and comic artist. Her delicately drawn stories, created in colourful watercolours, often revolve around childhood memories. In her latest work, La Sorcière de Londres, she tells the story of the British writer Stella Benson (1892–1933), who was known as an author of fantastic literature, a feminist, journalist and traveller, but has since been largely forgotten, in contrast to her friend Virginia Woolf. In her graphic novel, and soon also in a novel, Nina Six brings Stella Benson’s remarkable life back into the spotlight.

Jenya Polosina is an artist and comic artist from Kyiv, Ukraine. Together with Anna Ivanenko, she founded the “Seri/graph Studio” in 2015. Following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they shifted their focus towards creating comics dealing with war-related themes. Their books have received numerous distinctions, including the “White Ravens” award. Around 60,000 women currently serve in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In sensitively drawn portraits and documentary interview passages, FEMALE MILITARY PERSONNEL introduces us to three women whose names have been changed for security reasons: Lena, Anna and Nadiya. The protagonists speak openly about contradictions, sexism within the armed forces, the stereotype that “war is a man’s business”, queer identity and activism alongside life as a soldier, marriages taking place within military units, and the exhausting worry about family members and children back home.

Moderation: Lara Keilbart

Book table: Modern Graphics