Mazen Kerbaj report from the 13th Babel Comics Festival
Yesterday we decided to visit the 13th Babel comic festival down at Technopolis (on the last day of the festival...in the typical Greek way). I have to say, while the festival was quite well organized and the venue more than suits the needs of a comic-fans gathering, the actual content on display was a bit of a let-down. With the exception of the Greek artists, the rest were not really the best of breed or latest creations. If you add to all this a room dedicated to Russian-Ukrainian comics (which are fine but the whole fantasy-theme of this era is really not my taste) and a very poor up sales section (which mostly offered the same bullshit comics you can find in most neighborhood stores), the whole festival came rather short on expectations.
One of the few highlights of the festival for me was a section on Lebanon artists, including a center-stage stand/wall dedicated to Mazen Kerbaj's work. Mazen is from Beirut and along with his comic creations (in March 2000 he releases some of his more personal works in his Journal 1999 -a dairy in comics' format- and since then has self-published eight other books and many short stories) he is a dedicated musician and founder of the MILL association that curates since IRTIJAL an annual international festival for free music in Beirut as well as various concerts and events. Check out his site and blog for more samples of his work, which as you can see is mostly political satire.
One of the few highlights of the festival for me was a section on Lebanon artists, including a center-stage stand/wall dedicated to Mazen Kerbaj's work. Mazen is from Beirut and along with his comic creations (in March 2000 he releases some of his more personal works in his Journal 1999 -a dairy in comics' format- and since then has self-published eight other books and many short stories) he is a dedicated musician and founder of the MILL association that curates since IRTIJAL an annual international festival for free music in Beirut as well as various concerts and events. Check out his site and blog for more samples of his work, which as you can see is mostly political satire.
Artist.Site Artist.Blog
Written by River Phoenix
in:
Babel,
Beirut,
Comics,
Florence and the Machine,
Get Well Soon,
Mazen Kerbaj,
Postcards From Italy,
We Are Safe Inside While They Burn Down Our House
Τελικά κρατήσαμε τη υπόσχεση μας και πήγαμε και οι δύο βλέπω. Δυστυχώς όμως ούτε εμείς την βρήκαμε και τόσο ενδιαφέρουσα, δεν λείπανε κάποια ωραία κόμικς αλλά το μεγαλύτερο μέρος ήταν ψιλοαπογοήτευση.
Όντως...ελπίζω του χρόνου να είναι καλύτερα....όλο με απογοητεύει η τεχνόπολις τελευταία..
hi, maybe you'll like to read this:
http://the-transport.blogspot.com/2008/12/mazen-and-gucci-revolution-by-jessie.html
thanks m.i.m.....yeap..it seems his blog is reaching more and more people
i love his music too. maybe you already know this, but here it is, just in case, one of mazen's compositions: http://www.muniak.com/mazen_kerbaj-starry_night.mp3