Alec Wilkinson, author of The Ice Balloon, also references this photograph as being the first he saw of the many images Strindberg captured with him camera. In the first chapter of his book, he describes the eeriness of the photo’s lack of horizon, due to the whiteness of the snow blending with the whiteness of the sky. He says at first he assumed that it was staged, and, upon realizing it was not, was filled with a sense of dread for the two men pictured. “Their craft is wrecked and the landscape is forbidding,” he says, “and something about the static quality of their forms makes their situation seem utterly hopeless.” Like Wilkinson, it was this photograph that inspired me to seek out more information on Andrée and his journey, and eventually create a short comic about the incident.

In 1897 Andrée’s ambition to be the first person to reach the North Pole, and to do it using a hydrogen balloon, seemed such a fantastically modern concept that is could have been ripped from the pages of a Jules Verne novel. The expedition captured the world’s attention, and the European press flocked to Sweden to cover the sensational launch of Andrée’s balloon, taking many photographs as part of their coverage.

After the team had embarked on their journey, it had been young Strindberg’s responsibility to map the area from above using a highly specialized cartographic camera. Once they were grounded, however, Strindberg used his camera to document the harrowing trek the men made across the ice in their attempt to return to civilization.

Strindberg was a skilled amateur photographer, and had even won a photography contest before leaving on the expedition. Many of the nearly 200 photos he took of their journey have excellent compostions, and capture chilling moments. In 2004, Tyrone Martinsson published an article including digitally enhanced versions of some of Strindberg’s images.

I was also very lucky to have discovered the Facebook page of the Grenna Museum in Grenna, Sweden, where many of the artifacts of Andrée’s expedition are kept. Their page on Facebook includes several photographs of their collection, including many items significant to Andrée’s story.  

You can read my story about Andrée’s adventure in my new minicomic, Unfortunate Mishaps in Aviation History – now available for only $2 in my Etsy shop!

For anyone living in the Vancouver, BC area, I’ll also be at the Vancouver Comic Arts Fest in two weeks, selling these and other minicomics, and of course copies of the Hic & Hoc anthology, Unknown Origins & Untimely Ends!!

Me, looking skeptical behind my table for some reason.

It should come as no surprise to readers of this blog that I spent the majority of my time at the show hawking Hic & Hoc’s brand new anthology, Unknown Origins & Untimely Ends, the collection of nonfiction mystery comics that I spent the last year editing. It seemed to go over well with the show attendees, and I sold more of them than expected. If you’d like your own copy, you can pick one up at the Hic & Hoc online store!

I also had two brand new minicomics debuting at the show last weekend. I finally got around to putting out a print edition of The Unusual Death of Gregory Biggs, a short true-crime comic based on a strange murder that took place in Fort Worth, Texas in 2002. I also had copies of Unfortunate Mishaps in Aviation History, a little minicomic collecting my story about Franz Reichelt (previously seen on The Hairpin), and a brand new, never-before-seen story about S. A. Andrée, the Swedish balloonist who tried to be the first person to reach the North Pole in 1897 by flying over it in a hydrogen balloon. If you’d like to learn what became of Andrée and his team, you can pick up a copy of the new minicomic in my Etsy shop (Gregory Biggs minis are available also!).

I spent the majority of the show behind my table, so I didn’t leave at the end of the weekend with the usual haul of new comics. I did, however, pick up a few gems on the rare occasion that I ventured out onto the floor. I managed to grab volumes 1 & 2 of Maryanna Hoggatt’s Adult Babysitting, her collection of beautifully water-colored stories about being a bartender here in Portland. I also made sure to get book three of Tyrell Cannon’s story Gary, about the notorious Green River Killer. I was pleased to have the pleasure of meeting, among other folks, the very talented Andy Warner, who was graciously willing to trade with me for a copy of his The Man Who Built Beirut and a collection of his Brief Histories of Everyday Objects. I’m such a fan of Andy’s work, and for those of you who don’t know, he is totally the next big thing in nonfiction comics. You heard it here first, y’all.

My modest haul from STCF2013.

Stumptown Comics Fest 2013 was a fantastic show, and now that it’s over I feel ready to tackle VanCAF in a couple of weeks and then CAKE. If you’re going to be in Vancouver or Chicago during those shows, please swing by and say hello!

Illustration by Mike Russell and Bill Mudron

At the show I’ll have copies of the brand new Hic & Hoc anthology, Unknown Origins & Untimely Ends (edited by Yours Truly), all of my old minicomics (SPAZ! #1-5 + The Collyer Brothers), plus two BRAND NEW minicomics: The Unusual Death of Gregory Biggs and Unfortunate Mishaps in Aviation History. You can come find me and my kickass tablemate, Max Young, at table J03.

I’ll also be selling a few books from Hic & Hoc Publications, specifically, these ones:

Graham Kahler poses with a copy of the anthology.

Ron Randall, making his purchases.

Sam Alden, hanging out.

Julia Gfrörer, chatting.

Matt Rainwater holds a copy of the book.

Julia reads to Franklin.

Julia, Rebecca, + Graham.

Everyone seems to enjoy the book!

If you couldn’t make the release party, I’ll have plenty of copies of the anthology for sale this weekend at the Stumptown Comics Fest! I hope to see many of you there!

You can read Mike’s story, and many other nonfiction mysteries in our book, which will be available for purchase at Floating World Comics tomorrow night from 5-7. Be there or be square, Portland!

First! Let’s not forget about the Hic & Hoc release party for Unknown Origins & Untimely Ends in Portland, OR, this Wednesday, April 24th at Floating World Comics from 5-7pm. I’ll be there along with contributors Julia Gfrörer, Sam Alden, and Graham Kahler. We’ve really put together a kickass collection of comics, if I do say so myself, and it won’t be available online until after TCAF – so come get yours on Wednesday! You can RSVP to the event on Facebook right here. 

Directly following the release party, I’ll be spending the weekend (April 27th & 28th) right here in Portland, OR, exhibiting at the Stumptown Comics Festival. You’ll be able to find me at table J03 with my esteemed colleague, Max Young. I’ll have copies of the anthology for sale there, as well as my two (count ‘em, TWO!) brand new minicomics, in addition to all my old stuff and a few other books from Hic & Hoc Publications. You can buy tickets for the event right here!

Then, next month, I will be traveling to Canada for the very first time to attend the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival in Vancouver BC. I’m incredibly excited about this! The event is being held on May 25th & 26th, and a ton of outrageously talented people will be in attendance. If you live in or near British Columbia, please do come say hello!

In June I will be returning to my home state of Illinois to attend the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo in, on June 15th & 16th. I’m looking forward to this for a number of reasons, not least of which being I’ve been a little homesick (sorry, Portland!). I’m definitely going to enjoy spending time with old friends, but I’m also looking forward to this trip because CAKE is going to kick ass! The fifth issue of The Cartoon Picayune will be making its debut at the show, featuring a story by me, as well as work from the ever-talented Andy Warner. CAKE was a really fantastic show last year, and that was only their first time throwing the event! This year’s expo promises to be even better and I can’t wait.

Later on in the year, I’ll be attending SPX! I know I said I was going last year and then didn’t – but I’m going this year, I swear. For realz this time. That’ll be in Bethesda, MD on September 14th & 15th, and I am pumped! SPX is the best, you guys.

I should have copies of the Unknown Origins & Untimely Ends anthology available for purchase at all of these events (only $12!), as well as all of my minicomics. I’m considering making some other stuff like prints or postcards as well; I’ll let you guys know if and when I make those things. These are all the events I’ll be attending this year so far. I’ll be sure to keep y’all in the loop if I decide to attend any additional events, and you can always check the newly minted Events Page!

Steve makes a bunch of highly entertaining comics, some of which you can check out at his website. Don’t forget to stop by at our release party from 5-7 at Floating World next Wednesday if you live in Portland! I’ll be there along with some of the other contributors, including Julia Gfrörer, Sam Alden, and Graham Kahler. It’s going to be loads of fun and I’m super excited. There is a Facebook event to which you can RSVP, if you’re into that.

You can get your very own copy at our release party, Wednesday April 24th from 5-7pm at Floating World Comics.