Comic 3 - Pandemic Advertising
9th Nov 2020, 8:10 AM
in One-pagers
Transcript
Panel 1.A map of the Netherlands, with coronaviruses in its corners.
Caption: 2020 AD. All of the Netherlands is in the grip of a devastating, all-conquering pandemic.
Panel 2.
A magnifying glass appears over the very northern coast, where a small island is highlighted.
Caption: All of the Netherlands? No! One tiny island village still resists the invader.
Panel 3.
Street scene of Greyfriar's Isle.
Caption: The people of Greyfriar's Isle are still free from the virus that has shut the rest of the country down. What is their secret? Do they have… a magic potion?
Panel 4.
Scenes of the entry to a nudist beach with nude people walking towards the dunes..
Captions: 1. Could it be ***naturism?***
2. Build up Vitamin D!
3. Breathe clean, unpolluted air!
4. Healthy activities outdoors!
Panel 5:
Reveal of the Stachouwers, Councillor Schuymer and Caroline in a meeting room, watching a promo video. Jamie manning the old-fashioned analog video projector. Ernst in front of the screen, presenting his idea.
Ernst:… of course, this is only a quick demo using archive footage, but…
Schuymer: I appreciate that you want to promote the island in these hard times, but I think these claims would get us in trouble with the Advertising Board.
Average Rating: 5 (2 votes) Rate this comic
Author Notes:
This of course riffs on the famous intro page in the Asterix comics by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. One other such riff I'm aware of is by Hanco Kolk and Peter de Wit in their underrated Asterix-esque comic Gilles de Geus (one volume available in English as Bryant the Brigand, though probably long out of print). In theirs, the magnifying glass burned up a town in a fever dream of the Prince of Orange.
It turns out that before thinking of this version, I had read an interview with the mayor of the real-world island of Schiermonnikoog, in which she commented on the island's COVID-free status (prior to October 18, when the first case on the island was recorded) with the words "We're not a tiny village in Gaul". So that's presumably where the idea entered the back of my mind from.
User comments:
Wrong time of year, but I'd go with the naturism,.. I'd rather be cold than dead!