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35 Ironic Comics Highlighting Modern-Day Issues By This Belgian Artist
Interview With Artist
This Belgian artist illustrates controversial modern-day issues that not everyone might find funny. But we, along with his 154K followers, enjoy Domien's artwork, and since this is not our first post on Bored Panda, we are sure you will find a chuckle in yourself when going over these as well.
While scrolling through these illustrations, you will notice their distinctive style. In a previous interview, Domien shared what has influenced his artwork: "I have always been an enormous pop-art lover since I was a child, so a lot of my style has been influenced by pop artists from the '60s and '70s. John Wesley, an American painter, is probably one of my biggest examples. He has a way of making rather explicit drawings in a way that makes them look innocent and kind. Alex Katz is also a major influence, in my opinion, he is the king of composition, making strange and awesome colorful settings that I can stare at for hours. When it comes to the cartoon part of what I do, Belgian cartoonist Jeroom is probably my biggest influence. He gets away with a lot of rude and controversial stuff just because he is so damn funny."
If you are curious to see his previous posts on Bored Panda, visit them here and here.
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Bored Panda reached out to Domien to ask a few questions about him and his comics, to which he kindly responded.
Domien is a funny guy, so we wanted to know how he strikes a balance between humor and delivering more serious messages. He shared: “I try to do both, but I consider myself a cartoonist first and an activist second. Meaning, I want to spread a message but also want the cartoons to be good and funny. It's not an angry, protest page but a positive one.”
Though Domien wrote that he is a cartoonist first, we do love that he is not afraid to spread and highlight important issues such as gender stereotypes, toxic masculinity, feminine issues, modern dating, social media, and many more.
We asked Domien to elaborate on the role of humor in conveying important messages to a wide audience and fighting against censorship. He shared: “I think using humor and bright colors (mostly pink and blue) are interesting weapons to cover a message. I always try to make my comics short and easy to understand so people get the message immediately when they see it. Because it's fast and easy, people hit the 'like' button more easily, so the message gets spread to a wider audience.”
Ok I will confess: I like to read gay romance novels (m+m), I'm a hetero woman. Hetero men like to watch two women together, so why shouldn't I imagine two hot guys getting intimate 😆
Parents to kid "It's time we told you you're adopted.... your new parents will be here shortly"
Coming back to more current events, we asked if there are any that inspired Domien’s recent satirical illustrations. He answered: “I think as an illustrator, you can't ignore AI and what it's doing to our society. I'm both super thrilled about the possibilities but also scared of the impact on our society. It's an interesting subject to make jokes about because everyone is talking about it and has a strong opinion about it.”
Friendly reminder than condoms are only about 98% effective *before* user error, so while condoms are definitely a great, convenient, simple method of contraception and this guy should have no problem wearing one, if you plan on having sex with someone who seems like as much of an idiot as the guy shown in the comic, it might be good to have that extra precaution because I'm guessing his offspring would also be aśsholes.. :)
We were also wondering how Domien navigates the potential challenges or controversies that may arise from addressing sensitive or taboo subjects through his art. He replied: “I try not to think too much about consequences. Mostly I just spread my own view and opinion about certain subjects, and I don't really care if other people agree. However, reading reactions from others on topics like feminism, gay and trans rights encourages me to keep fighting harder, as they show there is still a long way to go.”
And lastly, he added: “Be kind to everyone, floss, never wear socks in your sandals, and use sunscreen when going out during summer.”
I love Halle Bailey as Ariel, i just wish her hair would have been redder. I have red hair, and when i was little, i loved Ariel because she had the same hair as me! Even when kids called me carrot head (they really did!) I remembered that a princess had my hair!
Those kids dont know what their talking about... red heads are amazing :3
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I'd have disliked the red hair to blonde, because it's an actual trait to the character. Skin color doesn't matter in case of a mermaid, it's not even a real human that would have to fit a certain time, culture or place on earth. Nonetheless, this movie was very bland and Halle Baileys acting was wasted. She could have done so much better in a less droopy movie.
Agreed. They did her badly. Since they refused to remedy anything about the really problematic story and get it closer to the message of the original fairytale, which was absolutely amazing btw. (And no, she didn't just die, but that's also not the point, but what's really important: she gave up on the prince because she realised that her silly infatuation was not true love and that the prince and the princess deserved being happy together)
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im not racist its just ariel has red hair and and shes white. its just who she is in the animated version so i think it was kinda dumb to completely change her??
Ariel being white isnt important to her character. Halle Bailey was chosen for her acting skills.
Load More Replies... I actually would care about both, as none of them are changes warranted by the story. Why change anything at all? And why can't we have an original story about a black mermaid instead of a blackwashing pretending to be inclusive? edit: ya'll right, i mixed up the terms "blackface" and "blackwashing," and fixed it. Thanks for correcting me.
Funny enough, the middle and right ones are the designs I'd actually b***h about. Her hair color, tail color, and seashell top are the iconic parts of her design. Changing them won't affect the story, but it's not really Ariel without them
TBH, I think all of those live-action remakes are pointless, regardless of if they change characters' ethnicities.
From my own point of view as an African, it is not about the color of the skin. It's just about the laziness of Hollywood colourcoating instead of coming up with new ideas. If something isn't broken, don't fix. There are a lot of new culture to explore and new stories to tell but no wash and repeat. The stories that needs really attention like princess and the frog or hunchback of Notre Dame or even Brother Bear. They won't touch because they don't want to put the effort to improve on the mistakes they made then. So I don't agree with this. Not everything is racism and everyone would hate a blonde Arie.
Not to argue.. just think they're giving society too much credit. If they made Ariel BLONDE, people would lose their s**t
I would definitely mind a blond Ariel. Plus it's not racism, Halle Bailey is great and it's brilliant that more little girls can now associate Ariel with a black woman. However, Ariel is normally white, black panthere is normally black, why do we make such a big deal about it? Maybe we should represent black people more on TV and I'm naive....
The animated movie took place in the Caribbean. If anything a Black mermaid makes even more sense seeing how it didn't take place in the fringed waters of Scotland.
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I wanted the original Ariel. Is it a big deal? No, but I do think it hurt their ticket sales. Along with the new songs. People don't want new when they are watching these. They want to see their childhood film come to life the exact same.
This is obscenely disingenuous and bs narrative. If you changed the race of Ariel from Black to White if she were originally Black there'd be riots. So correct it's absolutely racist. Against White people. You don't fix racism by subverting the race that has traditionally been the perpetrators in this country. Because if you think other races/groups aren't equally or worse racists you are living in a Disney bubble.
I 100% would care about those two, changing design is stupid when it's older and iconic. If they made Tiana white, I'm sure a lotta people would get mad at that, me included!
This is fiction, from a 1837 book. So I don't care about color, race or anything as everything is already fiction an up to the interpretation (especially from a book). But when you try to erase history and tradition or rewrite it, you will have a issue with me. Educate is important. Don't be a tyrant and remove all undesirables.
I haven’t seen the movie yet but I really want to! Elemental is first on my list, and then Boogeyman, but I can’t wait to see the live action Little Mermaid!
Sorry but this one i politely disagree with. I don't like swap to the new Arielle but I would sure af hate bot of the other designs even more. I just don't see a reason to reboot old stuff and then change it up like this. I'd much more prefer new stories with new non white heroes and heroines, in the traditional story telling of the Disney classics. I loved Moana, and kiss the frog (I believe that was the English title) as much as I love the original little mermaid. The trashy reboot culture is just horrible. Best examples for that are the horrible new Ghostbusters with the ladies and only stale unfunny jokes, or the godawful robocop on Crack... a freaking huge robot ain't supposed to be nimble and fast. It's just not living up to the legends.
I'm holding out for a fair-skinned, raven-haired witchy Ariel - with a black cat as her Familiar.
TIANA'S*** race is important to her story. The whole reason she's struggling with her restaurant is because she was being discriminated against. Ariel is a mermaid who's race has nothing to do with her story. No matter what color her skin is, the story would still make sense and stay the same.
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it just hits uncanny valley for me for some reason.
Oh f**k off. I didn't like the original much anyways, just not my cup of tea, but that ISN'T THE CASE. It is with a select percentage, because racism is real, but most people are upset because dickney is giving scraps to black people, dressing it up as a full meal, and everyone just agrees with the company, who is ONLY AFTER MONEY. If dickney really gave a s**t about being inclusive, they would make a new goddamn movie with a brand new character for the people. Not put a placement in for no effort! F**k off with this mentality. I'm f*****g tired of the remakes because they're a cash grab, and it's the absolute morons who keep eating the s**t right from dickney's a*****e. Stop supporting the goddamn corporations. Also, if you go after Hally Bailey, you can f**k off too. Everyone needs to make a living, and sometimes that means working with degenerates.
Doesnt exist. Racism is systemic by nature.
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Or in my case. I really don't care. I have no idea why this was a thing.
Tiana's race is important to her story. The whole reason she's struggling with her restaurant is because she was being discriminated against. Ariel is a mermaid who's race has nothing to do with her story. No matter what color her skin is, the story would still make sense and stay the same.
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Spiders don't have that many options, do they? Maybe webmaster would be another one
The only way to make the right panel not creepy anymore is to start breastfeeding kids everywhere. Every mother should (attempt) to breastfeed their children and shouldn't be ashamed to do it in public
I will never get why people attribute character traits to some random assortment of stars that are millions of lightyears away -also from each other- some of them long dead. But that might be the Scorpio speaking
I wish a had gay parents, it would have made my journey to accepting myself so much easier, and maybe then they'd actually kind of understand me. But I can't change who I have so I will make the most of it and hopefully be the gay parent for someone else. :)
Note to self: All humans are equally filled with tasty, valuable organs!
Glad my mom was neither of the two. She even got me condoms as a teen and told me if I get pregnant we'll find a way. She always said she'd like grandchildren, but never pressured me.
As someone who dispises house work with a burning passion...THE HOUSE IS SHARED THE WORK IS SHARED!!
Ah come on, you're all doomsayers. We'll only be extinct in about 50 years
And then he punches her in the face. "Sorry, you had a bug on your arm "
I like my men shaved... I know it's natural and all that but hairy apes freak me out
That's why I don't greet my patients with a handshake anymore. Covid be thanked for that at least
Note: this post originally had 64 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
