Iris: A Novel for Viewers

Thé Tjong-Khing, Lo Hartog van Banda, Translator: Laura Watkinson Fantagraphics Available for the first time in English, this first-ever Dutch graphic novel is a tour-de-force in all its 1960s psychedelic, pop art, and playfully erotic glory. The characters' emotions drive the anti-capitalist, dystopian narrative in Iris: A Novel for Viewers, the earliest graphic novel produced in the Netherlands. A young woman, Iris, has her heart set on a singing career, and, despite her boyfriend Mark's warnings, is seduced by the capitalist producer, "dream lover M.G." He molds her into a megastar, which leaves Mark peddling her merch: a life-sized Iris (sex) doll. Attempts to rescue Iris come to nothing; all they accomplish is allowing the dream lover to go on playing his games. Thé Tjong-Khing's Iris marks the peak of his career as a comics artist. He and scriptwriter Lo Hartog van Banda wanted to reach the socially motivated young people of the late 1960s, who were growing up with comics and t