š! #28 'Scandal!' is out now!

kuš! invites you to investigate the shocking, outrageous and downright flagrant pages of our newest anthology š! #28 'Scandal!' An audacious use of talented artists and comic authors to create 164 pages of this brazen visual digest.

Cover by Samplerman

Contributors: Ana Galvañ (Spain), Conxita Herrero (Spain), Dace Sietina (Latvia), Emmi Valve (Finland), Ichasu (Japan), Ingrīda Pičukāne (Latvia),  Jannis Esselbrügge (Germany), König Lü. Q. (Switzerland), Līva Kandevica (Latvia), Līva Piterāne (Latvia), Lukas Weidinger (Austria), Mārtinš Zutis (Latvia), Samplerman (France), Tara Booth (USA), Tsukue Akimoto (Japan), Ville Kallio (Finland), Wakana Yamazaki (Japan), Yoshie (Japan), Zane Zlemeša (Latvia)

Format: A6, 164 pages, full-color, perfect bound, printed in Latvia on high quality and environmentally friendly Munken paper. Released 25 April 2017.

Get it:  Order it here for the criminal price of $13.95 or get a kuš! subscription to make sure you're also receiving all of our upcoming kuš! titles. Worldwide shipping costs are included in the price!

Have a look inside:

 Zane Zlemeša

 Dace Sietina

 Līva Kandevica

 Conxita Herrero

 Wakana Yamazaki

 Mārtinš Zutis

 Tsukue Akimoto

 Ville Kallio

To continue checking out all the astonishing work in our latest anthology you can get your copy of kuš! #28 'Scandal' here.

'An Exorcism' by Theo Ellsworth is out now

The sun has finally come out in Latvia! If you have any clouds lingering why not exorcise the bad weather from your surroundings with a copy of 'An Exorcism', our latest stupefying kuš! mono by Theo Ellsworth. Every copy comes with a free bookmark designed by Theo himself. Why don't all exorcisms come with bookmarks? Have a cheeky glimpse inside the covers below.

'An Exorcism' by Theo Ellsworth 
kuš! mono #3, released 25 April 2017

Theo describes this work as a "Psychic Medical Emergency/Inner-Space action/Drama, with heavy Mythological Mathematics and Imaginary Brain Science influences" 

Format: A6 (approx. 4" x 6"), 128 pages, full-color, perfect bound, spot gloss, English, wordless comic. Printed in Latvia on FSC certified paper

"Theo Ellsworth delves deep into another dimension, forming a world that is beautifully unnerving. Each panel explodes with intensity and movement, thick with complex line work, patterns, and creatures. Ellsworth's work is so original, and An Exorcism is an expressive outflow of his unique creative energy." - Jesse Jacobs: Crawl Space, Safari Honeymoon 

Get it: Order it here for $14.95 (includes worldwide shipping!)

Preview:

You can order your copy of 'An Exorcism' here. In need of more Kuš brain food? Check out other kuš! titles here.

kuš! spring season, part III

It's still snowing here in Latvia, but nonetheless, it's time to announce part III of the kuš! spring season!

Excerpt from Līva Kandevica's mini kuš! 'Yellow'

On 25 April 2017 the sun will go up with the release of four new mini kuš! Expect twisted stories by Jaakko Pallasvuo, Cátia Serrão, Līva Kandevica and Samplerman!

You can pre-order the 4 mini kuš! together at reduced costs or get each mini kuš! separately. In case you'd also like to get the following š! issues and mini kuš! releases, you should really get a subscription.

Preview:

mini kuš! #51 'Mirror Stage' by Jaakko Pallasvuo

“Who’s in the middle when the two sides of your face are side by side, as they are, in the mirror.” ― Mirkka Rekola

Format: A6, 28 pages, saddle stitch binding, full-color, English

mini kuš! #52 'Acquisition' by Cátia Serrão

Starting with the anodyne question “What does the duck say?” Acquisition stages a proof test conducted by an absent master and a semi-present assistant to a candidate in the best tradition of clownish pixelated Kabbalah.

Format: A6, 28 pages, saddle stitch binding, full-color, English

Support: Funded by the Direção-Geral do Livro, dos Arquivos e das Bibliotecas/Portugal.

mini kuš! #53 'Yellow' by Līva Kandevica

What would you do if you knew that this reality that you experience does not even exist? This is a yellowish nightmare where the protagonist is trapped in his own imagination. It seems like a never-ending suffering, but maybe it’s not even happening?

Format: A6, 28 pages, saddle stitch binding, full-color, English

mini kuš! #54 'Bad Ball' by Samplerman

What if an old discarded comic book was suddenly bitten by a radioactive, genetically modified spider? Would the cover drawing, or those inside the book, start behaving strangely? Would the dialogue slowly grow s(tu)pider and s(tu)pider? Would the paper start to melt? Would the story devolve to the point of meaninglessness? None of these questions will be answered in this minicomic.

Format: A6, 28 pages, saddle stitch binding, full-color, English

Bye-buy!

kuš! spring season, part II

Enough of the spring sun? Time to lay in the shade and read more comics! We have just what you need, a brand new issue of our anthology š!

š! #28 'Scandal!', Cover by Samplerman, Release: 25 April 2017

Click, click, click! The paparazzi are already here to uncover the newest scandals. 19 fearless artists covered them for you. There's nothing better than a good scandal, right?

Contributors: Ana Galvañ (Spain), Conxita Herrero (Spain), Dace Sietiņa (Latvia), Emmi Valve (Finland), Ichasu (Japan), Ingrīda Pičukāne (Latvia), Jannis Esselbrügge (Germany), König Lü. Q. (Switzerland), Līva Kandevica (Latvia), Līva Piterāne (Latvia), Lukas Weidinger (Austria), Mārtiņš Zutis (Latvia), Samplerman (France), Tara Booth (USA), Tsukue Akimoto (Japan), Ville Kallio (Finland), Wakana Yamazaki (Japan), Yoshie (Japan), Zane Zlemeša (Latvia).

Support: Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation (SCCF)

Format: A6, 164 pages, full-color, perfect bound, high quality and environmentally friendly Munken paper.

Get it:  Pre-order it for $13.95 from our webshop, or get a kuš! subscription and receive also the next kuš! titles!

Preview Pages:

 Wakana Yamazaki

 

 Ana Galvañ 

 Ville Kallio

Emmi Valve

 Tara Booth

 Yoshie

 Samplerman

Conxita Herrero

Are you intrigued? Then pre-order š! #28 'Scandal!' here.

kuš! spring season, part I

Most of the snow has melted and it's time to read comics now! In the end of April the kuš! 10th anniversary year hits a new high with five new releases: a new kuš! mono, š! #28 and four new mini kuš!. We're very excited to reveal the next kuš! mono that'll help you fight your inner demons!

'An Exorcism' by Theo Ellsworth
 kuš! mono #3, will be released 25 April 2017

When I reach the blue surface, my exorcism treatment will begin. I don't feel ready for this, but there's no turning back. This is going to be a harsh experience; that's all that I know.

Format: A6 (approx. 4" x 6"), 128 pages, full-color, perfect bound, spot gloss, English, comic itself without text. Printed in Latvia on FSC certified paper

"Theo Ellsworth delves deep into another dimension, forming a world that is beautifully unnerving. Each panel explodes with intensity and movement, thick with complex line work, patterns, and creatures. Ellsworth's work is so original, and An Exorcism is an expressive outflow of his unique creative energy." - Jesse Jacobs: Crawl Space, Safari Honeymoon

Theo Ellsworth has made numerous comics and art zines including 'Capacity', 'Gnome Activity', and 'The Understanding Monster'. He is the house artist for the record label Astral Industries and his work has been featured in Best American Comics, Smoke Signal, and Trip Magazine.

Get it: Pre-order it here for $14.95 (includes worldwide shipping!)

Preview:

Now why wait? Better pre-order your copy here and get it as soon as it is out! More of our spring season will be revealed next week. Meanwhile check out the other kuš! titles here.

'Brume' by Amanda Baeza is out now

The kuš! mono series finally continues with a new book by Amanda Baeza. It collects two brand new short comics and comics she drew between 2013 and 2016 that have been published all around the world, many of them now have been translated into English for the first time. A wonderful collection of work by an extraordinary new talent we believe you need to discover!

'Brume' by Amanda Baeza, kuš! mono #2, released 21 February 2017

Although Amanda Baeza’s drawings seem to come from another world, the collected comics in Brume are based on real events and real feelings. Her graphic personality is exceptional – so distinct and at the same time so mutable, and even more uncommon is the way in which her words and images create original narratives and visual poems.

Format: A5 (14.8 cm x 21 cm / 6" x 8" twice the size of the regular kuš! publications), 116 pages, full-color, perfect bound

Support: Funded by the Direção-Geral do Livro, dos Arquivos e das Bibliotecas/Portugal.   

Get it: Order it here for $19.95 (including worldwide shipping costs!)

Preview pages:

 

If you are ready to get lost in Amanda's beautiful universe, find your copy of 'Brume' here!

kuš! winter season has started!

The first five kuš! books of 2017 are out now!!

mini kuš! #47 'Sutrama' by Daniel Lima, 
mini kuš! #48 'Nul' by Olive Booger
mini kuš! #49 'Call of Cthulhu' by Martin Lacko/ H.P. Lovecraft
mini kuš! #50 'Spectacular Vermacular' by Mathilde Van Gheluwe

Each is in handy A6 format with 28 pages, saddle stitch binding, full-color! Released 24 January, 2017.

Amazing comics! If you don't believe us, ask Rob Clough, he reviewed all of them here and here! Or better, don't believe anyone, and check it yourself!

š! #27 'BFF'

This issue is the result of our open call and contains comics from all around the world about friendship, mainly weird and funny stuff, you'll like it anyway! Full of discoveries, many new talents in there, 18 of 20 for the first time ever in kuš! Lots of new friends...

Cover: Hironori Kikuchi (Japan) Contributors: BloodBros (New Zealand), deadtheduck (India), Derrengueta (Spain), Émilie Gleason (Mexico), Erlend Peder Kvam (Norway), Gareth Brookes (UK), Gonçalo Duarte (Portugal), Hironori Kikuchi (Japan), König Lü. Q. (Switzerland), Krystal DiFronzo (USA), Līva Piterāne (Latvia), Louise Aleksiejew (France), Lucas Souza Teixeira (Brazil), Lukas Weidinger (Austria), Marie Weber (France), Melek Zertal (Algeria), Shawn Eisenach (USA), Shee Phon (China), Till Lukat (Germany), Tor Brandt (Denmark).

Format: A6, 164 pages, full-color, perfect bound + free bookmarks and postcards for the first orders!

You can pre-order the 4 mini kuš! together at reduced costs here or get each mini kuš! separately here. š! #27 'BFF' can be ordered here. In case you'd also like to get the following š! issues and mini kuš! releases, get a subscription here. Worldwide shipping costs are already included in all prices, how cool is that?

Time to hide from the cold and get yourself some kuš! comics to warm up!
  

Comic Workshop with Paul Paetzel

ENGLISH INFORMATION BELOW!

Komiksu darbnīca ar Paulu Pecelu 

Tukšas ēkas, pamestas vietas. Tās norāda uz neapsaimniekotām  telpām šobrīd, bet tajā pat laikā liek cerēt uz izmaiņām nākotnē. Komiksu darbnīcā Gētes institūtā ar Paulu Pecelu  viss būs saistīts ar aizraujošu stāstu radīšanu. Pēc ierosmi veicinošas pastaigas kopā ar Free Riga pārstavi Mārci Rubeni, apmeklējot tukši stāvošās telpas,  sekos Paula Pecela ievads komiksu stāstu radīšanas pocesā. Līdztekus padomiem un ieteikumiem, kā radīt  interesantus stāstus, dalībnieki apgūs arī zināšanas par divu toņu drukas tehnikas metodi. Darbnīcas laikā radītie darbi no 2017. gada 19. aprīļa būs skatāmi izstādē Gētes institūtā, bet no 20. aprīļa arī tiešsaistē. 

 
Trīs dienu darbnīca no 24.02.-26.02.

24.02 (17.30-19.00), 25.02 (11.00-18.00), 26.02.2017 (11.00-17.00)
Gētes institūtā, Rīgā, Torņa iela 1 (ieeja no Klostera ielas)

Darbnīcā aicināti piedalīties dalībnieki no Latvijas, Igaunijas, un Lietuvas.
Darbnīcas darba valoda: angļu.
Dalība darbnīcā ir bez maksas!

Darbnīcas dalībnieki tiks izvēlēti konkursa kārtībā. Lai pieteiktu savu dalību, lūdzam elektroniski nosūtīt sekojošu informāciju uz e-pastu:  kushmens@gmail.com:
- Vārds, uzvārds, vecums, dzīvesvieta
- Saite uz personisko portfolio/blogu (alternatīvs variants: fragmenti no komiksiem, ne vairāk kā 3 lpp.)
- Īsa motivācijas vēstule

Pieteikties iespējams līdz 13.02.2017.

Par Paulu Pecelu
Komiksu mākslinieks un ilustrators Pauls Pecels dzīvo un strādā Berlīnē. Viņš ir studējis vizuālo komunikāciju Berlīnes Mākslu universitātē (Universität der Künste, Berlin) un kopā ar Anu Albero und Tilu Hāfenbraku izdod komiksus kā apvienība Edition Biografiktion. Paula darbi ir tikuši parādīti izstādēs Berlīnē, Londonā, Antverpenē, Sanfrancisko un Barselonā. Viņa klientu vidū ir Diesel, Nobrow, Łódź Design Festival, Bayerische Staatsoper, Maxim Gorki Theater, VW­Magazin, Russian Prime Magazine, The New York Times, Neon Magazin un Zeit Campus.

Plašāka informācija par darbnīcu: Dāvids Šilters  kushmens@gmail.com

-----------------------------------     ENGLISH VERSION     --------------------------------------------

Comic Workshop with Paul Paetzel

Empty houses, abandoned places. They indicate a void, but in the same time they include a vague promise for the future. The comic workshop at the Goethe-Institute Riga with Paul Paetzel is all about creating exiting stories. After an inspiring tour with Marcis Rubenis of Free Riga through empty spaces in Riga, Paul Paetzel teaches about narration in comics. Next to inputs about storytelling, he will also teach how to prepare comics in duotone colors. After the workshop the comics will be printed as a riso zine and exhibited at the Goethe Institute from 19 April 2017 and a day later also online.

Workshop Details
Date: 24.02 (17.30-19.00), 25.02 (11.00-18.00), 26.02.2017 (11.00-17.00)
Application deadline: 13.02.2017
Place: Goethe-Institut Riga, Torna iela 1 (Enter from Klostera iela)
The workshop is open for adult participants from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
Language: Englisch
Participation is free

The spaces are limited, so you need to apply with the following information to kushmens@gmail.com:  - Name, age, city
- Link to your blog/portfolio (alternatively three drawings, or comics pages)
- Brief motivation letter

Travel grants
The Goethe Institute Riga offers four travel grants of 50.00 euros for participants from Estonia and Lithuania. The application procedure is the same as above, just mention you are interested in a travel grant.

Paul Paetzel
Paul Paetzel lives and works in Berlin as comic artist and illustrator. He studied visual communication at the Universität der Künste, Berlin. Together with Ana Albero and Till Hafenbrak he publishes comics as Edition Biografiktion. His works have been exhibited in Berlin, London, Antwerpen, San Francisco and Barcelona. Among his clients are Diesel, Nobrow, Łódź Design Festival, Bayerische Staatsoper, Maxim Gorki Theater, VW­Magazin, Russian Prime Magazine, The New York Times, Neon Magazin and Zeit Campus.

For questions about the workshop contact David Schilter at kushmens@gmail.com.