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Krause, Marlene – Maud

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Maud

Oh these mini kus books, they do keep you guessing. Just when you get used to the idea of them mostly being abstract journeys where everything is open to interpretation, along comes a comic that’s almost a straight up biography. The story starts in 1908 with a young woman getting an official portrait done. As she removes her coat, the portrait artist can’t help but be a little shocked by the tattoos that this reveals. From here we bounce back a couple of years to see how this all came about, and from there we see snippets of her life as she becomes one of the most accomplished tattoo artists in the world (although she’s overshadowed by her husband, mostly due to the era she was living in) and raises a daughter who she has forbidden from getting any tattoos. Marlene spends some real time showing how they fell in love with each other, and it’s beautifully done in two two-page spreads, presented as conversations between people who are growing increasingly comfortable with each other. It’s a fascinating story, and another triumph for a mini kus company that can seemingly do no wrong when it comes to comics. $6