Echoes of Myth Volume I European Folklore in Graphic Art
Co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ Programme within the Jean Monnet Action
Echoes of Myth Volume I is a curated collection of student comic works produced as part of a 60-hour Comic Book Design module undertaken by first-year undergraduate students. The module focused on the study of European folklore and folk-art traditions, with particular emphasis on the reinterpretation of selected Brothers Grimm narratives through the medium of sequential art.
At the outset of the module, students were organized into ten teams. Each team was required to select one European folk art tradition and one Brothers Grimm story and to adapt the chosen narrative into a 12-page comic. The assignment integrated historical research, narrative adaptation and visual design, requiring students to engage critically with both textual and visual source material. Upon completion, five projects were selected based on conceptual clarity, research integration and execution and were compiled into the final collection titled Echoes of Myth Volume 01.
A key pedagogical component of the module involved introducing students to the original versions of Brothers Grimm tales. These texts were examined in contrast to their contemporary adaptations, particularly in popular animated and cinematic formats. Through this comparative approach, students identified differences in tone, structure, symbolism and thematic complexity. This process informed their narrative decisions and visual interpretations during the adaptation phase.
To support contextual understanding, students were introduced to a range of European folk art traditions, including:
- Wooden toy traditions from Hrvatsko Zagorje, Croatia
- Danish folk-art practices
- Fraktur, a German folk art and typographic tradition
- Celtic folk art from Ireland
- Lithuanian folk-art traditions
- Slovenian beehive panel painting traditions
Instruction combined visual analysis, contextual discussion and applied exercises, allowing students to examine formal characteristics, recurring motifs and cultural functions of each tradition. Students subsequently conducted independent research to study the historical development of their chosen art forms and to assess how these visual systems could be adapted for contemporary storytelling formats.
The resulting comics demonstrate varied approaches to integrating folk art aesthetics into sequential narratives. Visual elements such as typographic styles, ornamental borders, symbolic motifs and compositional structures were adapted from the selected traditions and applied across panels, layouts and graphic elements. Rather than direct retellings, the works represent interpretive adaptations that situate Grimm narratives within specific cultural and visual frameworks.
Student Learning Outcomes
Through completion of the module, students demonstrated the ability to:
- Identify and analyze multiple European folk art traditions, including their historical context, visual characteristics and symbolic functions.
- Critically engage with original Brothers Grimm texts and assess their transformation in contemporary popular culture.
- Apply research findings to narrative development and visual design within the comic medium.
- Use stylistic and cultural motifs to influence tone, pacing and narrative atmosphere.
- Collaborate effectively within small teams to produce a cohesive creative outcome.
For many students, this module represented an initial engagement with culturally grounded storytelling and research-driven design practice. The outcomes reflect the development of foundational skills in visual narration, cultural analysis and collaborative production. Echoes of Myth Volume I serves as documentation of this learning process and as an example of applied interdisciplinary pedagogy combining folklore studies and comic design.
