Swedish Machines: a new art book from Simon Stålenhag

For years, I've been a huge fan of Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag, the author of a series of narrative art books. I love his art style: minimalist images often featuring tiny people amidst giant landscapes and fantastical machines.

His first two books, Tales from the Loop, and Things from the Flood told a story of some teenagers in an alternate 1980s Sweden, where a collider accident brought about some weird things. It was made into a TV series on Prime Video by the same name, which was quite good. His next, The Electric State, is a road trip through a dystopian US, where a VR headset has turned everyone's brains off (it's being made into a film for Netflix), and his latest, The Labyrinth, is a grim story about some characters trying to live in an inhospitable land.

“I wanted to paint ash”: Simon Stålenhag on his latest art book, The Labyrinth

The cold has come for Vermont. I woke up this week to darkening skies and a thin layer of wet snow clinging to the leaves, and it’s remained overcast and damp, which is the perfect environment for the week of Halloween, and for a project that I’ve been

Transfer OrbitAndrew Liptak

He was one of my favorite people to interview when I met him back at New York Comic Con in 2018.

He's now back with a new book: Swedish Machines, which is now being funded via a Kickstarter campaign. It's already well-surpassed its goal of $24,480, and for ~$44, you can get a copy of the book ($78 for a collector's edition), which should arrive in March 2025.

According to the description, this is Stålenhag's most personal story yet:

Swedish Machines explores masculinity, friendship, and sexuality in a queer science fiction tale about two young men stuck in the past – and in each other’s orbit. Their story spans decades, as fleeting moments become defining memories, and they set out to explore a mysterious forbidden zone together.

He's been sharing some images of the book over on his Instagram page, and it looks like classic Stålenhag art: gorgeous images with fantastical machines. I've already preordered my copy, and I can't wait to tear through it.