Arsne Schrauwen

Utopia comes with a price in this new 10th anniversary paperback edition of the acclaimed comedic graphic novel inspired by the authors mid-century colonialist grandfather.

In 1947, the author’s grandfather, Arsne Schrauwen, traveled across the ocean to a mysterious, dangerous jungle colony at the behest of his cousin. Together they would build something deemed impossible: a modern utopia in the wilderness but not before Arsne falls in love with his cousin’s wife, Marieke. Whether delirious from love or a fever-inducing jungle virus, Arsne’s loosening grip on reality is mirrored by the graphic novel reader’s uncertainty of what is imagined or real by Arsne. This first full-length graphic novel from the critically acclaimed Olivier Schrauwen is an engrossing, sometimes funny, slightly surreal and often beautiful narrative.

Originally released in 2014, Arsne Schrauwen heralded the then largely-unknown-to-English readers Olivier Schrauwen as a major voice in international comics a reputation that has only gained momentum over the ensuing decade with releases like 2024s Sunday.