Text - Rhodes University

3.2. KOMIKSOC
The confessional aspect of storytelling is markedly gendered in Korniksoc's productions.
The female artists, Casey (Kirsty Cordell) and myself, speak in the first person directly
of emotions; our stories are concerned with relationships. Andrew Macklin perhaps also
addresses similar ground, but without the same directness.
Korniksoc began in 1989 as a loosely connected collective, which dwindled in numbers
of contributors until 1993, the last year of production, when only two members remained.
Some of the dispersed members produced some collaborative comics in Johannesburg,
such as Greasy Hedgehogs and some contributions to Desire, but Korniksoc publications
themselves contained very little collaboration. Each artist worked independantly, and
work was seldom viewed until ready for publication; little or no criticism or
communication took place until after completion of each story. Even covers were
designed and drawn by a single person, without consultation with other members.
Korniksoc is a neutral term, a generic, amateurish label; flexibility and experimentation
being two of the aims of this collective, each issue has it's own title: Zombie Birdhouse,
Hardcore Whimzies, Kersjnikbikniik, Frontal Lobotomy, Crisp Whores.
Due to the number of contributors to each magazine, Zombie Birdhouse and Hardcore
Whimzies contain the least narrative stories in the sample. Long stories were not required
and in fact discouraged by the necessity of including more artists in each issue. In
addition, the initial informality of Korniksoc productions meant that long-term projects
were unusual. Rather, single isolated short works were drawn, with long breaks of time
between issues. Changes in the work of each artist are therefore marked.
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