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Minna Sundberg is the maker of the (completed) aRTD and (ongoing) SSSS webcomics. That is, she does not only do all the artwork (scripting, pencilling, coloring etc.), but also tangential tasks like website administration or handling shipment of the printed books (which are made at a normal print shop and "ordered" and sold through third party providers like Indiegogo and Hiveworks).

Vita[]

Minna is a Fennoswede, born in Sweden in 1990 and moving to Finland together with her family at the age of seven. She studied graphic design at the Aalto university in Helsinki, planning to make a career as a webcomic artist, if at all possible. While studying, she decided that she should do a "practice comic" for SSSS; after two unsuccessful attempts,[1] that practice became A Redtail's Dream (aRTD).[2]

aRTD became successful beyond all her expectations, concluding in 2013, roughly at the same time she obtained her bachelor's degree. Minna decided to try having a print run crowdfunded, but found that the Finnish legal situation does not (yet?) agree with the basic business model of crowdfunding.

Partly because of that, partly as research for SSSS, and quite likely because of other, private reasons, Minna moved into a rented flat in Mora, Sweden, and registered a small business which would handle the Indiegogo campaign. When that yielded 523% of the projected USD 29,000 budget, it became clear that the Mora residence would not be enough to serve as storage and shipping office for that many books.

However, it had also been pinpointed that the printing would be done by Minnas dreamt-of print shop, Otava Book Printing Ltd, which is in Helsinki, Finland. Storage and shipping activities were thus relocated to the Sundberg family home, only a couple kilometers outside Helsinki.

While the aRTD books were getting printed, SSSS debuted online in November 2013, and reached the point of having another Indiegogo campaign for the first printed volume a little less than a year later - which concluded at 496% of its USD 25,000 goal.

By the turn of the years 2014/15, Minna left Mora and moved back in with her parents "for a couple of months" while her new domicile in central Finland was going through renovations. She now lives there and likes to visit the nearby national park when her time permits.

Awards[]

In 2015, the National Cartoonists Society awarded SSSS the "Silver Reuben" Award in the "Online Comics – Long Form" category. Minna thus became the first Reuben Award winner from Finland.

Personality[]

Minna is a cheerful poster in the comic's comment sections, but doesn't appreciate meeting strangers in real life, to the point of her dreading the days when craftsmen were scheduled to do repairs or connect phone or cable in her flat in Mora. Even in cyberspace, a spike of affection (like getting an online birthday card from her fans) can lead her to mock-dying in reply.

Apart from that and her artistic talent, an oft-appraised trait of her is reliabilty, in terms of her sticking to the announced update schedule even under extenuating circumstances.

References[]

  1. Blog entry(link to SSSS) on the three versions of the practice comic
  2. A Redtail's Dream(link to aRTD) website
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