Comics · Comic Strips · Graphic Novels · Business Comics · Sequential Storytelling
Comics, Comic Strips & Sequential Illustration
A comic is not simply a collection of drawings. The storytelling happens between them.
I create original comics, comic strips and sequential illustration for publishers, companies, agencies and organizations — from authored graphic novels and editorial cartooning to business comics, product stories, multilingual sequences and character-led communication.
Narrative structure · Character acting · Pacing · Page composition · Visual continuity · English · French · German
Sequential Storytelling
Not every story needs the same number of images
Sequential storytelling can mean a full graphic novel, a single-page comic, a three-panel strip, several images wrapped around a package, a wordless public-information sequence or a storyboard that ultimately becomes hand-drawn animation. The format changes, but the underlying questions of timing, character and visual clarity remain.
Graphic Novels & Long-Form Comics
Sustained narrative across pages: dialogue, acting, viewpoint, scene changes, pacing and character continuity.
Editorial Cartoons & Strips
Observation, satire and visual commentary where economy, timing and a clear point matter as much as the drawing itself.
Business & Corporate Comics
Custom narrative work for training, onboarding, product communication, awareness campaigns and internal or customer-facing communication.
Wordless & Multilingual Stories
Sequences where staging, gesture, action and consequence carry the message without depending on substantial written explanation.
A character or visual idea can also move from static panels into motion, allowing the same narrative world to continue across comics, print, digital communication and hand-drawn film.
Selected Sequential Work
Different stories. Different formats. The same narrative discipline.
These projects move from published graphic narrative to employee communication, consumer packaging, technical products and language-light public information.
Graphic Novel · Author & Artist · Long-Form Narrative
MARVIN — writing with panels as well as words
MARVIN: Based on The Way I Was is a published graphic novel for which I worked as both author and artist, adapting autobiographical material about composer Marvin Hamlisch into sequential narrative.
Long-form comics demand consistency over many pages: character acting, dialogue, location, point of view, transitions and page rhythm all have to keep working after the impact of an individual drawing has passed.
Sequential Illustration · Character Acting · Visual Continuity
Samara — characters have to survive the next panel
A character design can look convincing in a single pose and still fail as soon as the character has to turn, react, speak, sit down, move through space or appear from another angle.
Sequential work tests the entire visual world: acting, expression, environment, continuity, composition and the relationship between one image and the next.
Employee Communication · Recurring Characters · Behavior
Mercedes-Benz — communication through recognizable situations
For Mercedes-Benz, recurring characters and workplace situations were used to show service culture, customer interaction and professional behavior rather than presenting the material only as abstract instructions.
The individual scenes work as illustrations, but together they create a recognizable cast and visual world across the communication material.
Business Comic · Utility Communication · Superhero Narrative
Stadtwerke Wedel — Captain Power vs. Dr. Disturber
For Stadtwerke Wedel, I created a complete superhero comic in which Captain Power confronts Dr. Disturber, an underwater villain intent on disrupting the town’s energy infrastructure.
The project uses familiar comic-book mechanics — antagonist, threat, action and resolution — to turn utility communication into an actual story rather than an illustrated explanation.
Product Story · Comics · Hand-Drawn Motion
Dfreeeze / Digades — showing a product through a situation
The Dfreeeze stories use ordinary winter situations to show what remote vehicle heating changes for the people using it. Weather, character and inconvenience establish the problem before the product becomes part of the story.
The characters also moved beyond printed comics into a hand-drawn animated explainer video, demonstrating how a sequential idea can continue naturally from static storytelling into motion.
Visual-First Comics · Energy Efficiency · Multilingual Communication
SUSTAIN-D — telling the story without depending on written language
For SUSTAIN-D, I created comic sequences around energy-efficient behavior in multilingual housing environments.
The core message had to remain understandable without depending on written language. Staging, expression, action and consequence therefore carry most of the information.
Micro-Sequence · Packaging · Language-Independent Communication
Coca-Cola / IGORA — the package becomes the comic page
For Coca-Cola and IGORA Recycling, I created short recycling comics printed directly onto aluminum cans.
The available space was tiny and the stories had to work without explanatory copy. Each strip reduces sequential storytelling to its essentials: setup, action and resolution, all carried visually.
Editorial Cartoons & Comic Strips
A long editorial practice that is still active
Editorial cartooning has been part of my professional work since the late 1980s and remains an active part of my practice today, from magazine and newspaper work to current international editorial networks.
Editorial Cartooning · Current Affairs · Visual Commentary
The idea has to arrive quickly
Editorial cartooning rewards economy. A drawing may need to establish a subject, point of view and contradiction almost immediately, often with very little text.
I contribute to international editorial networks including Cartooning for Peace and Cartoon Movement, while decades of newspaper and magazine work continue to inform the timing and visual shorthand I use in longer sequential projects.
Cartoons also have to work on the page
Magazine and newspaper work is not simply a collection of isolated drawings. A cartoon may sit inside a column, spread, quiz or recurring feature and has to work with headlines, typography, captions and the visual rhythm of the publication.
What Happens Between the Panels
The important drawing may be the one that comes next
In a single illustration, the image has to contain the moment. In comics, I can decide when the moment happens.
Panel size, viewpoint, gesture, silence, dialogue, repetition and the point at which information is revealed all change the way a sequence is read. Good sequential work is therefore as much about editing, acting and timing as it is about individual drawings.
From Static Sequence to Hand-Drawn Motion
Characters and stories can continue beyond the comic page
The same skills used to build a readable comic — sequence, staging, character acting and controlled revelation of information — also form the basis of a hand-drawn explainer film. When appropriate, a project can move from storyboard and static illustration into a complete animated sequence.
Storyboard
Breaking a script or idea into beats, deciding what has to be shown and finding the strongest visual progression.
Character Continuity
Keeping people, expressions, props and environments consistent as the action moves through different shots and scenes.
Hand-Drawn Animation
Original illustrated assets developed specifically for the film rather than assembled from generic stock or template libraries.
From Brief or Script to Finished Sequence
A story can begin before the script is finished
A project can arrive as a finished manuscript or script, but it can also begin with a subject, communication brief or rough idea that still needs to be structured as a sequence.
Depending on the assignment, I can develop narrative structure, characters, page or panel breakdowns, thumbnails, dialogue, storyboards, rough layouts and finished artwork for print, publishing, digital use or later animation.
Depending on the project
- Narrative development
- Character design
- Page & panel breakdowns
- Thumbnails & roughs
- Dialogue & visual pacing
- Storyboards
- Finished illustration
- Print, digital or motion assets
Related illustration work
Sequential illustration overlaps naturally with publishing, editorial cartooning, commissioned communication and animation. Those areas have their own deeper portfolio sections.
Comics & Sequential Illustration
Have a story, situation or idea that needs more than one image?
I work directly with publishers, companies, agencies and organizations on original comics, strips, graphic narrative and sequential visual storytelling.
Send me a short outline of the subject, intended audience and where the finished work will appear. A completed script is not essential.
Extended Archive
Comics, Cartooning & Sequential Work
A broader archive of graphic-novel pages, newspaper and magazine cartoons, comic strips, corporate comics, multilingual stories, commissioned sequential illustration and related cartoon work from different periods of my career. Click any image to enlarge it.
Cartoons and Comics by Ian David Marsden
Original campaign illustration by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST, a Paris-based consultancy founded by Anne Weber. The familiar Uncle Sam composition is reinterpreted through hand drawing, expressive character design and digital painting. The illustration was developed for the “I Want You to Change the World” campaign and subsequently used in an animated drawing sequence.
Case study thumbnail for the PPHO (Plein Potentiel Humain & Organisationnel) visual communication project developed by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST, a Paris-based consultancy founded by Anne Weber. The project, completed between March 2024 and March 2025, included the original Léonard character, conceptual illustrations, information design, editorial artwork for printed learning materials, digital communication assets, campaign illustration and motion graphics. The PPHO methodology was developed by Anne Weber.
Original conceptual illustration by Ian David Marsden for the PPHO methodology developed by IN TALENT WE TRUST. Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, the sequence shows Léonard moving from physical restriction to an open, energetic posture. The visual metaphor communicates the possibility of escaping limiting frameworks and adopting more flexible approaches to human potential.
Original vector information graphics by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST, Paris. The illustrations use the familiar action of rowing to communicate complex organizational concepts through a simple visual analogy. Differences in color, repetition and direction help explain team alignment, participation and disengagement within the PPHO methodology.
Original information-design illustrations by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST's PPHO methodology. The four diagrams use repeated star shapes, contrasting treatments and directional symbols to explain conceptual differences between traditional approaches to performance and a more human-centered understanding of potential. The graphics form part of the project's broader visual communication system.
Printed editorial application of the star-based information graphics designed by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST. The illustrations compare different approaches to talent development, using visual metaphors, direction and simple graphic forms to make distinctions within the PPHO methodology easier to understand. The booklet demonstrates the practical use of the illustrations within educational material.
Website application of the original star-based information graphics created by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST. The diagrams communicate contrasting approaches to talent, development and performance. Their appearance in both printed learning materials and website content demonstrates the continuity of the illustrated visual system across different communication formats. Website development is not attributed to Marsden.
Editorial illustrations by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST's PPHO learning materials. The printed spread explains systemic cooperation through a combination of text, conceptual drawings and character-led visual communication. The larger Léonard figure is part of the portfolio presentation rather than the printed page itself.
Original star character illustrations designed by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST's PPHO methodology. The simple expressions, colors and consistent outlines form part of a broader iconographic vocabulary used alongside Léonard and the project's explanatory diagrams. These small illustrations provide recognizable visual cues within the methodology's learning and communication materials.
Portfolio presentation of the PPHO learning guide for IN TALENT WE TRUST, a Paris-based consultancy founded by Anne Weber. Ian David Marsden developed Léonard as an original character and created a connected visual communication system including character illustrations, explanatory graphics, information design and artwork for print and digital applications. The larger Léonard illustrations in this presentation are additional artwork placed around the photographed guide.
Printed learning-guide illustration developed by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST, Paris. The spread introduces four central aspects of Anne Weber's PPHO methodology through concise explanatory character illustrations. Léonard appears throughout the learning material as a recurring visual guide, alongside independent diagrams and symbols created to clarify the framework.
Editorial application of the rowing-team information graphics created by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST. The illustrations use repeated figures, direction and color to represent engagement, disengagement and the relationship between individual participation and collective performance. The printed spread demonstrates how the visual system supports detailed methodological content.
Printed learning-guide application of original illustrations by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST. The spread addresses adaptive intelligence and complementary human interactions using a simple character-based diagram alongside detailed explanatory text. The artwork was developed to support readability and comprehension within the client's PPHO methodology.
Original information graphic developed by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST's PPHO methodology. The diagram uses simple star characters, arrows and a limited color palette to visualize the relationship between adaptation and performance. The illustration is part of a broader system of graphics designed to communicate complex organizational concepts through accessible visual explanations.
Original illustrated character variations by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST. Léonard appears in scientific and professional contexts while maintaining a consistent face, silhouette and visual identity. These adaptations demonstrate how one recognizable character can support different subjects and communication requirements without needing to be redesigned.
Original character design by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST's PPHO methodology — Plein Potentiel Humain & Organisationnel. Inspired by the curiosity and multidisciplinary thinking associated with Leonardo da Vinci, Léonard was designed as a flexible illustrated character for learning guides, explanatory diagrams, presentations and digital communication. The design maintains consistent proportions, facial features and gestures across different professional roles.
Original conceptual illustration by Ian David Marsden for the PPHO visual communication system developed for IN TALENT WE TRUST. Léonard appears beside a flying-machine concept inspired by Leonardo da Vinci. The illustration uses familiar objects and historical references to introduce ideas about innovation, experimentation and practical problem-solving.
Character development illustrations by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST, Paris. Léonard was created as a recurring visual guide for the PPHO methodology. These variations demonstrate the character's ability to communicate curiosity, reflection, explanation and exploration while retaining consistent visual features and proportions.
Original character illustrations created by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST's PPHO methodology. This series shows Léonard expressing different moods, gestures and situations, including frustration, interaction, rest and practical experimentation. The character's flexibility allows complex ideas about human behavior and organizational development to be communicated through simple visual metaphors.
Digital application of the original Léonard character developed by Ian David Marsden for the PPHO methodology. The illustrated character appears within IN TALENT WE TRUST's website, accompanying content about cognitive diversity and human potential. This example demonstrates how the character system extends from printed learning material into digital communication.
Original hand-drawn and digitally painted campaign poster created by Ian David Marsden for IN TALENT WE TRUST, Paris. The artwork reimagines the traditional Uncle Sam recruitment poster as a call to action centered on human potential, positive change and organizational transformation. The illustration was also developed into a short motion-graphics drawing video.
Website application of Ian David Marsden's original campaign illustration for IN TALENT WE TRUST. The “I Want You to Change the World” poster appears within the consultancy's digital communication, demonstrating how illustration developed for a campaign can also support an organization's online presence. Website development is not attributed to Marsden.
Original editorial cartoon created by Ian David Marsden for the 20th anniversary of Cartooning for Peace. The cartoon is exhibited at the Théâtre de la Concorde in Paris as part of the anniversary event Démocratie sous pression : dessiner pour résister on September 24, 2026.
Full-page business comic created by Ian David Marsden for Stadtwerke Wedel (Germany). Featuring superhero Captain Power and villain Dr. Disturber, this comic promoted energy efficiency and infrastructure awareness through engaging visual storytelling.
In this comic panel created by Ian David Marsden, the villain Dr. Disturber pilots a menacing underwater submarine equipped with giant scissor arms. His mission: to sabotage the Stadtwerke Wedel energy supply by severing critical electric lines. Part of a custom comic created for a public utility awareness campaign in Germany.
Captain Power bursts from the Stadtwerke Wedel headquarters, red electric tape in hand, ready to stop Dr. Disturber’s sabotage. Is he secretly part of the utility company? The mystery remains… An exciting panel from the corporate comic illustrated by Ian David Marsden.
In the last scene, Captain Power floats triumphantly over the peaceful town of Wedel as all electrical systems run smoothly again. Below, Dr. Disturber flees, vowing, “You haven’t seen the last of me!” A fun and engaging ending to the awareness comic illustrated by Ian David Marsden.
Complete visual identity system for Glam’s Canin, a French dog grooming business. Includes flyers, business cards, loyalty cards, and storefront graphics with playful dog mascots and bold pink visuals. Created for pet grooming marketing.
Large-format campaign poster illustrated by Ian David Marsden for Dräger Global’s international infection prevention and control initiative. The comic-style sequence begins with meticulous polishing of a classic pink car and transforms into the careful cleaning and preparation of hospital equipment. The analogy connects familiar ideas of care, shine and precision with the stricter standards of clinical hygiene. Designed as a language-independent healthcare communication visual, the poster formed part of a wider set of printed and animated campaign assets.
Illustrated Dräger Global campaign poster created by Ian David Marsden for an international infection prevention and control communication initiative. The image begins with a pop-comic domestic kitchen scene marked by stains, clutter and cleaning products, then shifts through hospital procedures, clinical care and hygiene communication. The Roy Lichtenstein–inspired visual language turns the transformation into a clear wordless narrative, designed to be understood quickly in hospitals and professional environments across multiple countries.
Featured image for Ian David Marsden’s case study on the illustrated Dräger Global infection prevention and control campaign. The image shows a frame from the short animated visual “From Kitchen Chaos to Clinical Cleanliness,” designed in a classic comic-book language with a Roy Lichtenstein reference. A retro housewife appears amid floating kitchen items beneath the headline “IPC | Prevention and Control,” linking the domestic-cleaning metaphor to Dräger’s international hospital hygiene communication campaign.
Illustrated poster created by Ian David Marsden for Dräger Global’s infection prevention and control communication campaign. The sequence opens with a cheerful 1950s-style homemaker cleaning a domestic interior, then shifts into the work of a hospital sanitation professional cleaning clinical equipment and surfaces. The image uses a classic comic-book visual language with a Roy Lichtenstein reference to make the IPC message immediate, memorable and language-independent for international healthcare environments.
Large-format illustrated campaign poster created by Ian David Marsden for Dräger Global’s international infection prevention and control initiative. The wordless comic-style sequence begins with a mechanic repairing industrial equipment and transforms into a professional hospital environment with clinical technology, protective gloves and hygiene documentation. Developed in a Roy Lichtenstein–inspired visual language, the poster was designed to communicate across languages in hospital and workplace settings at a glance.
A complete set of safety-themed character illustrations for Seele GmbH, creators of Apple Store façades. OSKAR demonstrates workplace procedures, risk prevention, and team coordination across a variety of construction scenarios. Designed by Ian David Marsden.
A vibrant cartoon portrait of Helmi Sigg, renowned Swiss comedian, actor, and author, created by illustrator Ian David Marsden. This caricature celebrates Sigg’s legendary career in Swiss entertainment, including his role in Ewigi Liebi and collaborations in Trio Eden.
A bold, empowering twist on classic mythology and fairy tale — inspired by Rosie the Riveter and the legend of Excalibur, this editorial-style illustration features a defiant Little Red slaying a dragon twenty times her size. A visual anthem of strength and defiance wrapped in fairy tale form.
A cartoon illustration depicts a person in a small, futuristic blue car with "Hermes" branding. The person is excitedly steering while wearing goggles, and the car emits smoke and flames from the rear, suggesting speed. The word "VROOOOOOM!" is prominently displayed above the car.
Cartoon characters wearing goggles are engaging in various activities around a large ice cube labeled "Hermes" in a cloud of smoke. One character holds a drill, another emerges from the ice, one works with a wrench and screwdriver, and another deals with colorful ropes.
The image is a cartoon showing two neighboring houses covered in snow. Speech bubbles indicate that Michael and Anne live in one house, while Michael's brother Stefan and Julia live in the other. Snow-covered cars and trees surround the buildings, and snowflakes are falling.
A comic strip depicts a couple who rush outside to find their car buried in snow, realizing they still have summer tires. The woman angrily scolds the man, who shovels snow frantically. Later, the man arranges for a tire change and installation of an app-controlled engine heater, ensuring the car is ready by the afternoon.
Four friends are dining at their favorite restaurant. One of them, Julia, shares exciting news about a new app-controlled parking heater. Michael's smartwatch vibrates, indicating an important call. Another friend wonders if the parking heater can also be controlled via smartwatch.
A comic strip depicts Stefan picking up his car from a mechanic. The mechanic explains the new updates, including an app-controlled heating system. Stefan is impressed with features like remote operation without a mobile network and additional year-round functions. He drives home excitedly, thinking of Julia and anticipating a positive change in their relationship.
A family-history spread from MARVIN: Lilly Schachter keeps her Jewish identity close in Vienna, later becomes a New Yorker, and learns during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade that American crowds require “elbows.”
The image is a four-panel black and white comic strip. The first panel shows a man with a hat relaxing with his feet up, accompanied by a goat and a radio. The second panel features a child smiling while listening to a radio. In the third panel, a woman is sitting and knitting with a radio nearby. The fourth panel depicts a man speaking passionately into a microphone, gesturing with his hands. Each character is connected by radio signals, suggesting a shared message or broadcast.
A five-panel political comic strip features a man in a suit speaking on a telephone in four panels. He appears worried or frustrated, with various hand gestures indicating stress or confusion. In the final panel, another man, wearing a beret and uniform, speaks into a phone with a confident expression. The setting suggests a formal or governmental environment, indicated by insignias and decor visible behind the characters.
The comic strip features a series of panels with a character dressed as a cat-like figure holding a mirror under a night sky. Birds, resembling bats, are flapping over a tunnel entrance labeled "Channel Tunnel Welcome." An aircraft with bat-like wings appears next to a large radio tower. In another panel, a clock tower is decorated with a bat symbol. The final panel depicts a person in a hat with a bow tie. The strip is titled "Global Village News" by Ian David Marsden.
A black-and-white comic strip featuring a man in a beret, smoking while reading a newspaper at a bar. He drinks from a glass and gestures emphatically. The setting appears to be a French cafe, with a bartender present and bottles visible in the background. Speech bubbles are empty, indicating no dialogue.
A black-and-white political comic strip shows various characters in a series of four panels. The first two panels depict three individuals, one holding a bottle, with speech bubbles above them. The third panel shows a television screen displaying a baby with a pacifier, as people watch from behind. The final panel returns to the previous scene with one of the characters speaking. The strip is titled "Global Village News" and is created by Ian David Marsden.
A black and white comic strip featuring several panels, each depicting different characters and scenes. The first panel shows a man speaking into a microphone labeled "TV." The second panel includes a man holding a clapperboard labeled "Elvis Stamp Scene 1." Subsequent panels resemble postage stamps featuring illustrated portraits of a singer, with the denomination of 29 cents U.S. Mail. Additional scenes include a visibly sweating man and another holding a bottle. The final panel shows a man giving a thumbs-up gesture. The strip is titled "Global Village News."
A black and white comic strip featuring six caricatures of various individuals, each in a separate panel, some with speech bubbles. The characters display distinct facial expressions and attire. The comic is a political satire from the Global Village News series by Ian David Marsden, dated from 1992 to 2024.
A comic strip features a bespectacled man with curly hair holding a notepad. Different panels show him from various angles, sometimes looking at the notepad with speech bubbles included. His expressions vary from contemplative to excited, suggesting he is sharing or explaining something.
The image is a political comic strip with four panels. Each panel features a different cartoon caricature of a political figure with speech bubbles, standing or sitting at a table with various food and drink items. The setting suggests a humorous or satirical context, based on the visual elements and over-exaggerated characteristics of the figures.
A black-and-white comic strip featuring two men engaging in a phone conversation. The first man is shown speaking into a telephone, while the second man is depicted lounging in bed with a bottle labeled "Jack Daniels" and a woman resting beside him. The artwork exhibits detailed facial expressions and a bold, illustrative style.
A political comic strip shows a series of panels featuring a man at a podium speaking to an audience with microphones in view. He claps, and there are cheers from the crowd. Another character with horns whispers to a woman, who responds with a neutral expression, joining in the applause. The comic is titled "Global Village News" and credited to Ian David Marsden.
