Centrala’s Recipe For Success
For publishing platform Centrala’s latest title, Comics Cookbook, they have gathered together an international pool of creatives to produce a very unusual recipe book.
For publishing platform Centrala’s latest title, Comics Cookbook, they have gathered together an international pool of creatives to produce a very unusual recipe book.
Whilst curating over a hundred “recipes”, they simultaneously stumbled upon the recipe for what makes a book such as this a success. Comics Cookbook contains each of the key components needed for a successful collaborative title.
A fresh approach
Combining the art of comic making with the act of cookingwas the inspiration behind the The Comics Cookbook. Though a collaborative title in itself is not a particularly new idea, the concept of the book is rather clever.
Having specialised in comic books since 2007, gathering together artworks from a range of different comic artists seemed like a natural and intelligent move for Centrala. However, with publications such as OFF LIFE and Nobrow Magazine doing this on a fairly regularly basis they knew they had to come up with something a little different.
Over 120 submissions later (whittled down to 93 one-page comics), the resulting title is a diverse display of creativity which, although it may not teach you all that much in terms of cooking, has lots to say on the subject of what an adaptable and ever-evolving medium comic art is.
An enticing brief
Although this may sound relatively similar to the first component, there is a difference. Had their been too strict a brief for submissions (which were received during the 6th annual International Comics Culture Festival in Poland) the end collection could have been much smaller and far too similar. Fortunately Centrala wrote an open brief with the only restriction being format and, of course, the theme of food.
From Julia Müller’s vintage illustration of Granny’s Chocolate muffins to Joanna Witek’s depiction of futuristic cooking and everything in between, the curated “recipes” present a broad spectrum of styles.
..the diversity of the collection is not limited to its varied aesthetic as the book portrays different personalities, cultural backgrounds and humour styles.
Opening the first recipe and seeing a Patryca Botzan’s illustration of a bear wearing a chefs hat and apron with the titles “How to make bear fluffy French toast?” you immediately sense this is not your average cookbook.
A mix of creative talent
Like any recipe, the third step will not work without having correctly executing steps 1 and 2; the only way to entice a strong mix of talent is to create a project with an enticing brief for them to get their teeth into. Centrala pulled in artists from every corner of the world for their latest project.
A particularly appealing contribution came from Polish illustrator Barbara Dziadosz – a name we are always happy to see. Her pared down colour palette combined with her eccentric, accentuated drawing style adds another layer of deliciousness to her recipes for Chicken Broth and Paella.
Inky end-pages and space for notes
Patterned end pages and space to create your own recipe-comic are the perfect end to this well balanced and highly inspirational feast of creativity.
centrala.org.uk
You can order a copy of Comics Cookbook from Centrala’s online store.