Richmond based publisher Sink/Swim Press released their latest comic this week, Consumption, from local artist Dashiell Kirk.
Richmond based publisher Sink/Swim Press released their latest comic this week, Consumption, from local artist Dashiell Kirk.
Consumption, a nearly 30 page horror-influenced tale of gluttony, told entirely without dialogue, is Kirk’s first published comic, though it’s a medium he already has some familiarity with.
“I grew up as an avid reader of comics, I’ve always really enjoyed the medium, but I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could come up with a good one,” said Kirk. “There were definitely some challenges: thinking about pacing, what to include, what not to include, and of course working for a deadline for the first time with this publisher was a challenge, but one I was able to get through.”
Though raised on playful comics like Calvin and Hobbes and The Adventures of Tintin, Kirk said he wasn’t trying to emulate their style with “Consumption”.
“I would describe it as sort of a surreal dark comedy. It’s wordless, so there’s no dialogue throughout the entirety of the comic, which was a challenge I knew I wanted to set for myself,” he said. “I love film, poetry, and I would say the comic being wordless – there are certainly some elements [in this comic] that relate more to film than other comics I have enjoyed growing up.”
Kirk’s history with the visual arts helped prep him for the comic world. A practicing graphic designer based here in Richmond, he graduated from VCU in 2011 with a BFA in Communication Arts. But beyond his training, his childhood helped form him into the artist he is today.
“I’m someone who’s grown up around visual arts,” he said. “Both parents were painters, and my father works in a museum and my mother is an art teacher. So this is very much a family business, so to speak.”
Kirk’s comic endeavour is a recent move as he turned his artistic efforts towards comics recently due to their narrative and visual accessibility.
“I love reading and holding the books. I’m not anti-Kindle but I do really enjoy that physical aspect, and I think it’s a neat way to get art into people’s hands. It’s fairly affordable I think to have this little, beautiful piece of artwork, and it’s for everyone to read and I really appreciate that,” said Kirk. “Other art forms obviously provide that as well, like public sculpture, or visiting museums and checking out paintings. But I think there’s something special about a book.”
Inspired by the experience of creating “Consumption”, Kirk is currently working on several other comic related projects, and more of his work can be found on his Instagram and Facebook page.
Consumption will be one of the many comics available at this weekend’s 2nd Annual Sink/Swim Indie Comic Expo at Gallery 5 this Saturday.
The expo will feature a slew of indie comic creators, including: Kirk, Auteur creative team Rick Spears and James Callahan, RVA Mag cover artist Chris Visions, Sink/Swim Press Publisher James Miffitt, and Little Red Fish creator Bizhan Khodbandeh, and many others.
The full list of indie comic creators can be found on the event page. The expo, which is free and open to the public, runs from 11-5 and will include a cash bar and music.
