''Stand Still, Stay Silent'' is a Finnish- Swedish

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be ...

started by

Minna Sundberg Minna Sundberg (born January 9, 1990) is a Swedish-speaking Finnish illustrator and cartoonist born in Sweden. She is known for the webcomics ''A Redtail's Dream'' (aRTD), and '' Stand Still, Stay Silent'' (SS, SS). Biography Minna Sundberg wa ...

, which ran 2013–2022. Set in

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

, the webcomic incorporates

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern peri ...

, focusing on an adventure into the external "silent world". Reviewers have praised it for its beautiful visuals and

cartography Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an ...

. It received a

Reuben Award The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...

in the "Online Long Form" category in 2015.

Overview

''Stand Still, Stay Silent'' portrays a

, set in the near future but echoing a mythical Nordic past populated by legendary monsters and human mages alike. The narrative begins with a prologue depicting groups of families and strangers around present-day Scandinavia, all witnessing the early phases of a pandemic. The plot, however, picks up a century later with their descendants: "poorly funded and terribly unqualified" researchers venturing outside the heavily fortified settlements that make up what remains of the known world. Their adventures in the ruined "silent world" have been compared to a travelogue by ''

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom ...

''. Sundberg is a fan of maps and

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary s ...

, and her comic makes extensive use of projections of coastlines, mountains, and fjords, as well as charts including a

language family A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in his ...

tree. These and other expository insertions (such as in-world advertisements) provide context on the regions the characters visit, the hazards they face, and the subtle and overt ways their world has diverged from the reader's own.

Development

Sundberg created the 500-page long "practice" webcomic ''A Redtail's Dream'' in 2012 while studying graphic design in the university of industrial arts in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. After finishing it, she started ''Stand Still, Stay Silent'' in November 2013. Since then, she has held an Indiegogo

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance. In 2015, over was rais ...

campaign to publish a print version of the webcomic, which earned almost $125,000

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

. On September 27, 2018, the first "adventure" of the comic ended, with Adventure 2 beginning on October 14, 2018. The 1534th page of ''Stand Still, Stay Silent'' was released on March 28, 2022, ending the comic.

Reception

Etelka Lehoczky of ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

'' praised Sundberg's artwork, saying that "her style isn't unique, and it certainly isn't experimental, but it's perfectly assured" and that though Sundberg's characters "are immediately situated in a comfortable cartoony world", the post-apocalyptic compositions and intricate maps of the world are "awe-inspiring". Emily Gaudette of '' Inverse'' called the artwork in ''Stand Still, Stay Silent'' reminiscent of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

’s drawings of

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth i ...

and described it as "breathtaking". The comic's narrative technique was commended by Emma Lawson of ''

Comics Alliance ComicsAlliance was an American website dedicated to covering the comic book industry as well as comic-related media, and is owned by Townsquare Media. The site has been nominated for multiple awards including a 2015 Eisner Award win in the catego ...

'', who called its use of

exposition Exposition (also the French for exhibition) may refer to: *Universal exposition or World's Fair *Expository writing **Exposition (narrative) *Exposition (music) *Trade fair * ''Exposition'' (album), the debut album by the band Wax on Radio *Exposi ...

"interesting", and praised the fantasy-esque take on a post-apocalyptic setting. Lauren Davis, writing for ''

io9 ''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...

'', concurred, stating that "Sundberg has a remarkable ability to balance the charming and the creepy". Though ''

'' complained that Sundberg's use of character profiles "tends to take you out of the story", they still recommended the comic overall. In 2015, ''Stand Still, Stay Silent'' won a

in the "Online Long Form" category.

Books

* Sundberg, Minna: ''Stand Still Stay Silent Book 1'', s. 324. Author's Edition, 2015. (print) (online). * Sundberg, Minna: ''Stand Still Stay Silent Book 2'', s. 260. Hiveworks Comics, 2018. * Sundberg, Minna: ''Stand Still Stay Silent Book 3'', s. 304. Hiveworks Comics, 2020. (printed book), (online). * Sundberg, Minna: ''Stand Still Stay Silent Livre 1'', s. 328. Édition Akileos, 2018. * Sundberg, Minna: ''Stand Still Stay Silent Livre 2'', s. 260. Édition Akileos, 2019. * Sundberg, Minna: ''Stand Still Stay Silent Livre 3.'' s. 304. Édition Akileos, 2020.

References

External links

Official website
{{Hiveworks Fantasy webcomics Steampunk webcomics Post-apocalyptic webcomics 2010s webcomics Finnish webcomics Swedish webcomics 2013 webcomic debuts Webcomics in print Norse mythology in comics