'Ploeteren voor Pepijn' (Tina #8, 2023).
Melanie Kranenburg is a Dutch comic artist, illustrator and colorist. After graduating with the graphic medicine comic 'Naasten' (2019), she has been working for several print and online magazines, including Tina. Kranenburg is also a driving force behind the "Nieuwe Garde" comic fairs for young talent in Zwolle.
Early life
Born in 1997 in Putten, Melanie Kranenburg has been drawing since early childhood. In 2009, she became Dutch Champion of Drawing Comics in the category 9 to 11 years. Winning this title encouraged her to continue making comics. One of her early supporters was Margreet de Heer, a Dutch comic creator and scout for young talent. As a child, Kranenburg enjoyed reading André Franquin's 'Gaston Lagaffe' and the girls' magazine Tina, and the daily webcomics of Floor de Goede. Especially De Goede and Aimée de Jongh have been her major inspirations for her future career.
'Naasten' (2019).
Naasten
Between 2015 and 2019, Kranenburg studied Comic Design at the ArtEZ University of the Arts in Zwolle. Together with fellow student Niek van Ooijen, she received her bachelor's degree with the graphic novel 'Naasten' (Oogachtend, 2019). Commissioned by the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen and created in collaboration with researcher Maaike Haan, the book dealt with palliative care and told the stories about a husband taking care of his wife with cancer, and a father with a daughter with emphysema. In the Netherlands, 'Naasten' was one of the first graphic medicine comic, a genre using comics for medical education and patient care.
Professional career
Since her graduation, Melanie Kranenburg has remained in Zwolle, working as a freelance illustrator and comic creator. Her main clients are educational books, museums, festivals, organizations and (online) magazines. Kranenburg's comic stories have appeared in one-shot magazines like CHICA (of the EO broadcasting corporation) and De Majoor, of the Dutch Salvation Army. Since 2023, she has created occasional short comic stories for the girls' magazine Tina, sometimes with her own characters Charlie and Saar. Since early 2022, she has also been the regular colorist of the daily newspaper comic 'S1ngle', created by Hanco Kolk and Peter de Wit.
'This Is Just To Say' (from the 2022 'Nieuwe Garde' anthology).
Nieuwe Garde
Besides creating comics, Kranenburg is also active for the online platform De 9e Kunst and its promotion of young and innovative comic talent through the "Nieuwe Garde" project. Since 2022, she has been involved in the annual Nieuwe Garde comics fair in Zwolle, and was included in the 2022 'Nieuwe Garde' anthology and magazine. In June 2023, she was selected as one of the five Dutch comic artists to represent the Netherlands during the Canaux Pays-Bas x Pays-Noir cultural festival in Charleroi, Belgium. Together with Belgian creators and local children, they made a collective drawing and decorations for shop windows. Joining them in their activities at one point were the Belgian and Dutch kings Philippe and Willem-Alexander.
Graphic contributions
In 2024, Melanie Kranenburg participated in the international exposition and graphic novel project 'Het Onvoorstelbare Verbeeld' (Scratch Books, 2024), telling stories from the Nazi concentration camps Neuengamme (Germany), the Dossinkazerne (Belgium) and Camp Westerbork (The Netherlands). The other participating artists were Guido van Driel, Erik de Graaf, Sterric, Jennifer Daniel, B. Carrot, Wide Vercnocke, Milan Hulsing, Tobi Dahmen and Jeroen Janssen/Arezoo Moradi.
'Reispagina'.