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REVIEW

SAISO - Cecile & Jelena, Dutch comic artists

These two young new bright stars in the Dutch mini-comics sky are quickly gaining popularity. They receive this increasing attention thanks to publishing in several magazines that are popular in the more Northern part of the Netherlands.
I'll honestly confess here that they didn't grab my attention until I saw photos of the duo - especially Cecile's kind of a looker at first glance. (Hey, I'm a guy. Looks always count.) So I decided to take a better look at what they've been up to. And I can't say I'm very disappointed.
Heavily influenced by manga-like styles, Jelena seems to have found a unique style that mixes Dutch 'traditional' style (since there is no real Dutch tradition in comics, just a wide multitude of styles, but this one definately has a Dutch feel to it) with manga and a healthy, fresh dose of amateurism. I mean that in a good way - the complete lack of pretense the drawings have make them a lot of fun to look at. Especially the use of black/white contrast is well-done.
The stories are equally endearing, with little point to them, just fun. That would be mostly Cecile's contribution, judging from their site.
A drawback is that not much material is available to read on their site, so I had to order one of their mini-comics to get a better idea. I recommend ordering it, even if it's (mostly) in Dutch, because it displays the very quality of good fun I described above. It sits proudly on my shelf now with other mini-comics I've ordered over time.
We should definately keep an eye on this duo. Though not incredibly remarkable in their archievements and style yet, they seem to be on to something. I suspect we'll hear more from them in times to come.

Click here to surf the Saiso site for yourself