Out of Shadows

In April 2024 TLP published its first graphic novel, intended to bring their network’s research to a wider audience than any academic volume could hope to reach. Although the themes of genocide, forced migration and expropriation are challenging and serious, work by Art Spiegelman, Joe Sacco and others has demonstrated the potential of the medium to explore the darkest pages of twentieth-century history in a challenging, thought-provoking yet also respectful manner. Out of Shadows was published in French by Antipodes, entitled De la lumière à l’ombre. We are grateful to the Ville de Lausanne and Loterie Romande for supporting this publication. Editions in Turkish and Greek are in preparation.

The writing team consists of TLP founders Ozan Ozavci and Jonathan Conlin, as well as Julia Secklehner, who is responsible for leading the novel project as a whole. The artist is Gökçe Erverdi, who lives and works in Istanbul. A graduate of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, his cartoons and illustrations have featured in various Turkish magazines. He has also produced graphic novel adaptations of Sabahattin Ali’s Kürk Mantolu Madonna and Kuyucaklı Yusuf.

In Out of Shadows our heroes are Hacivat (“Ivaz the Pilgrim”) and Karagöz (“Black Eye”), figures well-known (in slightly different spellings) across Turkey, Greece and the Balkans from traditional shadow-puppet theatre, itself imported from Southeast Asia in the sixteenth century. One night they escape and make their way to Lausanne, hoping to find freedom and fortune at the big peace conference.  With a little help from journalists Clare Sheridan and Ernest Hemingway, two Hungarian caricaturists and a cat named Schuby, our heroes navigate the currents of intrigue and conspiracy swirling around the Swiss resort. Will they get to tell their own story at last? Or is the Lausanne Conference just another stage full of puppets?

For a taste, use the horizontal slider on the image below to see the transition from storyboard to finished page. For more about the collaboration and to see more panels from the book, see our podcast of highlights from our launch event at the 18th BDFIL, Festival de Bande Dessiné Lausanne, as well as a review by Les Amis de la BD.