Anna Sommer

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In the beginning, it was the word: Anna Sommer notes down the narrative sequence before drawing. Anna Sommer

The words become images: first draft of Anna Sommer's new book, "L'inconnu". Anna Sommer

Final version of "L'inconnu". Besides Sommer's slim and elegant graphic style, the artist is praised for the treatment of complex subjects of the feminine universe with a masterly grip of narrative rhythm. Anna Sommer

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Anna Sommer (Aarau, 1968) is one of the first women to break through the ‘boys club’ of the comics scene. She is also one of the most representative artists of the so-called ‘Zurich school’ of comics and graphic novels – differently from their peers in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, the Zürchers had no masters or big names to relate to, which gave them a broader freedom to experiment new narrative and graphic formats, often blurring the limits between comics, literature and visual arts. 

“L’inconnu”External link (The Unknown), Sommer’s 11th book, is being launched this week at the Fumetto Comics Festival, in Luzern, where she is also an artist-in-residence this year. In the gallery above, Sommer shares three moments in the creation of this work, from notes to draft to final print.