Bitterkomix #18 Signed by Anton Kannemeyer and Conrad Botes (2020)
Bitterkomix #18, a publication that holds a massive, highly controversial, and groundbreaking place in South African cultural and literary history.
The Subversive History of Bitterkomix
Founded in 1992 by Anton Kannemeyer (alias Joe Dog) and Conrad Botes (alias Konradski), Bitterkomix was born during the turbulent transition away from apartheid. It was the first alternative, underground Afrikaner comic magazine, and it used raw, visceral satire to completely dismantle the sacred cows of conservative Afrikaner culture.
By attacking entrenched racism, religious hypocrisy, toxic masculinity, and the strict authoritarianism of the old regime, it became a lightning rod for censorship.
Historically, it is credited with carving out a radical new space for free expression and self-critique in the Afrikaans language, proving that comics could be an essential medium for serious socio-political commentary.
The Dedication to Ryk Hattingh
Issue #18 is dedicated to Ryk Hattingh (opgedra aan Ryk Hattingh), a highly influential figure in alternative Afrikaans literature who passed away in New Zealand in 2017.
Hattingh was a pivotal anti-establishment voice during the late-apartheid era. He was a co-founder of Stet, an avant-garde, anti-apartheid literary magazine of the 1980s that pushed back against state censorship.
The speech bubble next to his portrait—"Drink en wees vrolik, môre gaan ons dood" (Drink and be merry, tomorrow we die)—perfectly captures the dark, defiant, existentialist attitude shared by the Stet writers and the Bitterkomix collective.
A Rare Dual-Signed Artifact
Signed by both co-founders: A. Kannemeyer (dated 2020) and Conrad Botes. Because the two artists have increasingly focused on their independent, highly successful international fine art careers over the last two decades, finding recent collaborative issues of Bitterkomix hand-signed by both creators is incredibly significant for collectors of South African counter-culture print history.
210mm x 280mm
Very slight edge wear.
R2,500
