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

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...

started by Minna Sundberg, which ran 2013–2022. Set in

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres 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; astronom ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

, 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 as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

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

cartography Cartography (; from , '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 imagined reality) can ...

. 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 ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...

''. 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 landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

, 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 ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term ''family'' is a metaphor borrowed from biology, with the tree model used in historical linguistics ...

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 Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

in the university of industrial arts in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

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

Indiegogo Indiegogo is an American crowdfunding website founded in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, and Eric Schell. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California. The site is one of the first sites to offer crowd funding. Indiegogo allows peo ...

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, to fund projects "withou ...

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

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

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

Reception

Etelka Lehoczky of ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

'' 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 Rawlinson ...

's drawings of

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

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

ComicsAlliance ComicsAlliance is 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 categ ...

'', 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), background information in a story * Exposition (music) *Trade fair * ''Exposition'' (album), the debut alb ...

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

io9 ''io9'' is a sub-blog of the technology blog ''Gizmodo'' that focuses on science fiction and fantasy pop culture, with former focuses on science, technology and futurism. It was created as a standalone blog in 2008 by editor Annalee Newitz under ...

'', 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 Book 4'', s. 220. Hiveworks Comics, 2023. (print) * 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

* {{Authority control 2010s webcomics 2013 webcomic debuts English-language mass media in Finland Fantasy webcomics Finnish webcomics Norse mythology in comics Post-apocalyptic webcomics Steampunk webcomics Swedish webcomics Webcomics in print