'Ventimiglia'.
Mas Hab is an Amsterdam-based comic artist and illustrator, whose activities stretch from the underground zine culture to comics journalism projects about humanitarian subjects, emancipation and diversity. Hab's works were published on online platforms like Drawing the Times and Mindshakes, and several made in collaboration with Stijn Schenk of The Graphic Story/Real Comics.
Early life
Born in 1991 in Amsterdam as Masha Blaauwendraad, Mas Hab started making zines and flyers for the city's squatters scene and ended up making comics and illustrations independently and on commission for various projects. Mas' style developed out of zine subculture, watching the successes and failures of the flourishing 2000s webcomic scene, and a love for children's book illustrations, most notably those by Quentin Blake. Without a formal graphic education, or having finished high school, she developed herself by taking job offers as often as possible as a means to support or draw attention to solidarity events, emancipatory projects or fundraising efforts. Calling out for professional guidance in the form of drawn zines spread in comic book shops, Hab was introduced into the field by Margreet de Heer around 2013-2014.
Comic accompanying S. Oostrik's documentary 'A Quiet Place'.
Comic journalism
Aside from small collaborative publications, often with an interest in social or cultural development, Hab also completed work for NGOs such as Aidsfonds and Platform KUNO. Her first venture into independent storytelling was 'Ventimiglia' (2017), a 20-page item reporting on the humanitarian crisis in a French-Italian border town, which hosts a fluctuating number of refugees attempting the rough mountain climb into Europe.
Segment of a poster commissioned by national suicide prevention hotline 113.
Collaborations with The Graphic Story
Hab worked on several projects initiated or coordinated by Stijn Schenk of The Graphic Story and his foundation In Lijn, which are mostly of a sociological nature. For Mindshakes, an online platform for young journalists, they produced an interview with rapper Apa about radicalization in the comics format in 2015. Their collaboration also includes a comic accompanying Sjoerd Oostrik's documentary 'A Quiet Place' for the IDFA documentary film festival, and a 2017 poster commissioned by national suicide prevention hotline 113. Hab also contributed to The Graphic Story's 'Mensen: Grafische Verhalen Over Openheid en Verbinding' (2017), a comic paper about mental illness and its acceptance in our society. It was made in cooperation with the Dolhuys Museum of the Mind in Haarlem, and Hab was responsible for the segment about the museum itself. She also contributed to 'Verhalen van Vrouwen', Schenk's collective project which brings intimate stories together about women who have been confronted with violence and other forms of assault.
Puzzle and activity pages
Since 2020, Hab makes a monthly activity page for Jump, a children's magazine published by Personalia. On 12 April 2021, following the retirement of longtime cartoonist Bertus Klaassen, she fills the daily "spot the differences" cartoon spot in the regional newspaper Dagblad van het Noorden.
Cartoon for quarterly anarchist magazine Buiten de Orde (2018).