A comic strip about the evolution of masks that fast became a meme sent us down a rabbit hole to find out more about its talented Russian creator.

Alexander Remizov is probably a Russian comics artist many downthetubes readers will have been unfamiliar with until recently, when a translated version of a Covid-19 related strip “Evolution”, first published in Russian on the mirf.ru web site about the future of masks, went viral, when someone translated it into English.

A regular contributor to the site since its inception, a search of the web turned up the information that Alexander has been creating comic art since childhood, and is an illustrator of board games such as the Kickstarter-funded Supervillain: This Galaxy Is Mine! produced by Moroz Publishing, comics, and magazines such as Мир фантастики/ Mir Fantastiki (World of Fantasy) and Дилетант (Amateur).

While poking fun at cult movies, it appears, is something of his stock in trade, he has regularly turned his hand to retelling tales from history, adapting the history of the Russian revolution into comics, for example, illustrating historical features for Amateur such as a recent item on Roman emperor Octavian, and creating many strips for a limited edition brochure focused on football, produced by Russian network NTV Plus, featuring stories of historical football matches, famous trainers and myths and facts related to the sport, available to read here (in Russian) on their web site.

“My interest in drawing stories was aroused by the French magazine Pif I saw during my school years,” Remizov revealed in one interview back in 2007. “There were no superheroes, but the adventures of ordinary people, much closer and more understandable. So the superhero aesthetic passed me by.”

“I prefer science fiction, Franco-Belgian format and a complete story of three to seven albums,” he says of his love of comics in a more recent discussion of his work for Geekster, where he talks in more detail about his working methods.

Confirming this, his own personal project, an unreleased adaptation of the first part of Sergei Ivanovich Pavlov’s novel “Лунная радуга” (Moon Rainbow) is testament to his incredible storytelling talent, reflected in his clear passion for the comics medium.

“… Drawn stories are not sub-literature,” he argues. “They are not limited to superheroes and talking mice. Give them a chance and they will pleasantly surprise you.”

Alexander has certainly surprised me as a new discovery this week. I hope he does you, too.

• Alexander Remizov Official Blog | Old Blog

• More comic strips by Alexander Remizov on mirf.ru (in Russian)

• Moonlight Rainbow, which Remizov teased back in 2015, is an adaptation of the first part of Sergei Ivanovich Pavlov’s novel-dilogy Lunar Rainbow. At the moment, the project has a non-commercial status, since all rights to the literary work “Lunar Rainbow” belong to the books’ author. The prologue pages drawn by Remizov feature here

All art © Alexander Remizov

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

Categories: Comic Creator Spotlight, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Features

Tags: Alexander Remizov, COVID-19, downthetubes News, Masks, Moon Rainbow, Sergei Ivanovich Pavlov