Sheree Domingo and Patrick Spät in Duisburg: Strays as an impressive comic reading
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A white whale in the Rhine: Sheree Domingo and Patrick Spät present Strays
On November 7, 2026, Duisburg will become the stage for a special comic reading: The illustrator Sheree Domingo and the writer Patrick Spät will read from their new graphic novel Strays. The work leads into Duisburg in the year 1966, when a white beluga appeared in the polluted Rhine and caused a stir throughout the city.
True event, unusual perspective
Strays is based on a historical event and connects documentary research with narrative sharpening. At the center is a disoriented and hungry whale that ends up in a completely foreign habitat. While thousands of onlookers flock to the banks of the Rhine, the graphic novel also observes the mechanisms of public sensation.
The director of Duisburg Zoo, Dr. Wolfgang Gewalt, wants to save the animal but is simultaneously pursuing his own interests. The plot unfolds a thrilling panorama of the Economic Miracle era of West Germany and focuses on a society where faith in progress, business acumen, and spectacle are closely intertwined.
Watercolor art and literary precision
Sheree Domingo's expressive watercolor drawings place the beluga at the center of the narrative. The imagery combines atmospheric views of the Rhine with precise observations of human behaviors. Patrick Spät's scenario links historical facts, satirical elements, and socio-critical undertones to create a multi-layered graphic novel.
The reading makes visible how closely literature and visual art work together in this genre. Voice, rhythm, and panel design create a unique reading atmosphere, where an extraordinary animal story transforms into a literary experience about responsibility, public life, and human hubris.
An author duo with excellent comic experience
Sheree Domingo was awarded the Grimmelshausen Promotion Prize for her graphic novel Long-Distance Call. Together with Patrick Spät, she received the Comic Book Prize from the Berthold Leibinger Foundation for Madame Choi and the Monsters. Spät works as a book author and comic writer, connecting philosophical, historical, and socio-political themes with a clear narrative structure.
The meeting with the authors at PLUS am Neumarkt offers not only a book presentation but also insights into research, scenarios, drawings, and the creation of a contemporary historical graphic novel.
Conclusion: Duisburg's history as a moving comic experience
The reading of Strays promises an intense encounter with an extraordinary story from Duisburg: atmospheric images, a concise narrative, and a look at a historical event that still raises questions about sensationalism, animal ethics, and social responsibility. Those who want to experience graphic novels, literature, and local history together will find a rare connection of linguistic art and visual storytelling on this evening.
Official channels of Sheree Domingo and Patrick Spät:
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