The Wrong Place

Upon its publication, ‘The Wrong Place’ set off artistic fireworks in the Flemish graphic novel scene. This comic strip is bursting with artistic ambition: Brecht Evens has introduced a new and daring style with his expressive drawings and powerful choices of colour.

‘The Wrong Place’ is a story about parties where some people are sometimes more welcome than others. Evens uses this familiar context to explore the banality of life.

Amongst the partygoers, two characters stand out, each the other’s opposite. The story opens with a scene at an excruciatingly dull party. The ever-anxious Geert organises a reunion for his classmates, but his guests only come because they’re hoping to see the popular Robbie. However, Robbie decides that he’d rather hang out at a nightclub instead. The plot appears to focus on nothing in particular, but this serves to emphasise the human relationships even more strongly.

‘The Wrong Place’ is about loneliness, about superficiality, about how difficult it is to make real contact with other people. In a flowing rhythm of short snatches of dialogue and grand set pieces, Evens also accentuates the human desire for more and for better.