Maelstrom 1 p16

This one was fun to do. I always loved the old propaganda posters of the USSR and communist China and here was my chance draw one. It’s also a page with an easter egg hidden in there…

I needed to touch on the political context of the series’ universe and while it isn’t set in any “real” historic setting, it had to feature recognizable elements so the reader gets the idea quickly. Maelstrom is set in a fictitious stalinist era – fictitious being the operative word – and reference to the type of propaganda of the period makes it easy to understand the political backdrop.

A couple of posters from my archives were very inspirational…

And some other found on the internet…

Those poster used very specific codes in design and message. Not that I can read what they say in the titles, but the rest of the iconography is pretty straightforward and is classic propaganda.

This page is also special because it was one were a Kickstarter contributor became an extra in the comic…

And a preliminary drawing…

Here’s a sketch of the characters sitting in front of the poster. I drew them in this picture to show the contrast between the biased and misleading message of propaganda and the daily ordeal of the citizens…