Sick Threads is a delightful little eight page, done in one comic by Leon Rozelaar. Described as “a short comic about aesthetics”, I was lucky enough to pick one up at Thought Bubble earlier this month. Part comic, part fashion spread it stars a style tribe of hip young animal characters in adorable and stylish outfits out shopping as they trawl the racks, hunting down the perfect ensemble.
It’s a really cute, clever little comic and Rozelaar conveys entirely through images the importance that clothing can have, what they say about a person and the importance of finding something that’s just right for many people to either express their individuality or declare their alliance with a certain subculture. His figures move between clothing displays, the rails running along the panels as he deftly incorporates them into the layout. He has an eye for detail in both the items of clothing, detailed with patches, buckles and spikes as well as the way they are shown in close ups on high end shop displays. Later, our fashionistas are shown customising their finds and wearing them in distinct ways. Cutting up jeans and rolling up sleeves for unique details, rather than sticking to the generic off the peg look. As with the comic itself, little touches say a lot.
Rozelaar has a style that instantly reminded me of two other artists who use both use anthropomorphic characters and street fashion into their comic work, Jim Medway with his story of bored inner city kids, Playing Out and Louis Roskosch, creator of the aimless duo Leeroy and Popo. The full comic is still available to view in it’s entirety online for free, but its well worth your time and money to contact the artist to check if he has any copies of the wonderful printed version he produced for Thought Bubble.
More of Leon Rozelaar’s work can be found over on his art blog and he is currently available for commission work.
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