‘DEAD WATCH’ COMIC SERIES ︎
2022 - ongoing
“Dead Watch” is a comic series retelling the current invasion of Ukraine by Russia by contextualising it in vampire fiction.
“Dead Watch” is a comic series retelling the current invasion of Ukraine by Russia by contextualising it in vampire fiction.
Vampire fiction has long been a veil for Western authors to create an image representative of current media portrayals of Eastern Europe and showcase negative stereotypes.
The series is based on British newspaper reporting of the invasion, and is the product of an ongoing research product analysing the portrayals of the East within Western written fiction and horror. The story is told in the artistic style of 1980s Eastern European cartoons.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has been observed by us; an unwilling audience to real horror. Desensitised media reactions have treated the current events as almost fictionalised.
I invite you to question when is it appropriate to fictionalise a tragic situation?
But where would we be if we didn't?
The series is based on British newspaper reporting of the invasion, and is the product of an ongoing research product analysing the portrayals of the East within Western written fiction and horror. The story is told in the artistic style of 1980s Eastern European cartoons.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has been observed by us; an unwilling audience to real horror. Desensitised media reactions have treated the current events as almost fictionalised.
I invite you to question when is it appropriate to fictionalise a tragic situation?
But where would we be if we didn't?
This project fictionalises the current events through visuals but almost all the text is taken straight from recent news articles.
DEAD WATCH #1 is based on an article from “The Guardian” about the initial declaration of war and DEAD WATCH #47 is based on “The Times” article on the sinking of the ship Moskva.
The comics act as an alternative newspaper to the timeline of events.
The editions between #1 and #47 are in progress.
*The art style is inspired by Shooting Range (1979) dir. Vladimir Tarasov.
The country names “Volk” and “Zayatz” meaning wolf and rabbit in Russian are an homage to the Soviet cartoon Nu Pogodi and Maus by Art Spiegelman.
SMALL DISCLAIMER: Any likeness bared to real people in this comic is perhaps coincidental. This is not meant to be an accurate portrayal of reality, but a reflection, just as any work of fiction inevitably is.
︎ BUY THE COMICS ︎
︎ BUY THE COMICS ︎
Available to buy online and in stores!
︎︎︎Buy online through Pushkin House Bookshop︎︎︎
In following stores: Banner Repeater, Book Art Bookshop, Good Press, Biblioteka, Pushkin House Bookshop, Peckham Books
DEAD WATCH #1 printed on 80gsm 6.625” x 10.187”
DEAD WATCH #47 printed on 80gsm 6.625” x 10.187”
Upcoming issue: exploring how arts and culture have been weaponised by Russsia throughout history, and how this has impacted how we view this East. Told through an exaggerated version of traditional cultural cartoons.
To keep up with the process, and to view a large collection of related Russia/vampire crossover research please visit my instagram @natashajdc while the blog is under re-construction.