Joan Cornellá ~ Spanish illustrator and cartoonist

Joan Cornella

Joan Cornellá's illustrated comic strips and prints mock society, human behaviour and the scenarios of everyday in such an unsettling, surreal dark humour. I enjoy how his artwork is very honest and blatant,  containing a bold attitude- without a hint of sympathy- through the synthetic colours and the slightly uncanny smiled face, making the content more light-hearted and encouraging people to laugh at his work.

Obviously if the scenarios happened in real life no one would be laughing, but the scenarios are super surreal that the chances are slim, but it is the majority of the underlying context that is relatable. In a sense his work hyperbolises the fact that as humans we have the tendency to laugh at the misfortunes of something or someone else and there is a hint of cruelty in that we laugh at misery or tragedy. And so that "plastic smile" on the characters symbolises how even though the most horrible things happen, one must find a way to overlook them and move on.

I would have to admit this is one of my favourites. This is the relationship journey of Peter Andre and Katie Price.. only joking!
The entire sequence is highly satisfying. You have the stereotypical 'blonde', a girly girl who always wears baby pink and is a very high maintenance lady. This blonde is probably really superficial, obsessed with selfies, has an attire of revealing body cons and probably spends the day watching YouTube make-up tutorials on how to get the perfect contour. This lady strives for perfection, beauty and uses seduction as a tool to get what she desires...
But it all backfires...Karma is literally a b*tch and we love it really!

I admire the subverted Princess and the Frog as it truly teaches us how modesty is the best policy. The strip focuses on how some relationships in modern day society are progressing to where we become so fixated on body image, reputation, the perceptions of beauty, perfection and status that the raw meaning of a relationship gradually fades. Clearly a relationship based on 'exteriors' truly doesn't last.

The pivotal point is when the lady metamorphoses into her young self, she is smiling because she is elated by the result of her kiss, the delight of a dapper chap. However she then looks gutted because there is a moment of realisation where she thinks she doesn't deserve him. Or maybe she's feeling deflated because her beloved breasts deflated? She probably thought they would be a "perfect match", both at the same level of beauty...(Peng AF in her Instagram pictures.) Since we don't see the man's reaction to her change in appearance, as we only see his constant smile throughout, we assume he is an affectionate man that doesn't make the superficiality of beauty and love as a priority. Meaning that her feeling of upset as a result is most probably due to her own insecurities and the unnecessary lack of confidence of her own natural and youthful beauty.