Mobile Treatments by Aisha Franz is an "unforgettable and affordable spa journey"

Mobile Treatments is a pocket size and portable spa treatment by German illustrator Aisha Franz. A monochromatic alternative to Aisha’s colourful illustrations that we’ve previously written about – this offering is none the less humorous or relatable. “We all need a little more wellness in our lives, so this zine is an attempt on taking you on a two-dimensional, unforgettable and affordable spa journey,” reads the description on Nieves’ website – the Swiss imprint who published the zine.

“When I was asked to make a zine for Nieves I knew I didn‘t want to make a story,” explains Aisha. “I like to take up the challenge of escaping narration since this is usually my main focus as a cartoonist.” Mobile Treatments as a result is more like a guide for the reader, rather than a story being told. Opening by offering us a pile of inviting towels, the zine proceeds to visually lead us through a series of unusual treatments. “It’s especially helpful if you’re broke because spas tend to be expensive,” Aisha jokes, “just heat up your room, place your feet in warm water and relax.”

One such treatment and a personal highlight of Aisha’s is the “ear-chair”. “You curl up naked when sitting in them,” she describes, “they are soft, warm and oily and play some diffuse sounds for relaxation purposes.” Presented as part of a double-page-spread that repeats the word “feel” multiple times on its left side, the ear-chair is just one example of the strange yet hilarious world that Aisha has created, despite Mobile Treatment’s visual simplicity.

Comprised entirely of black lines drawings and printed on off-white paper, Mobile Treatments offered Aisha the chance to work with a DIY-zine process which she loves. “Because it’s a zine, it’s printed in a regular copy-shop, somewhat trashy way,” she tells It’s Nice That. “People forget about this simple technique since colour-prints are so affordable these days and there‘s Risographs and so on. But I still love the aesthetic of a simple copy-shop-zine and it‘s still the cheapest way to put out something!”

Having previously released her own graphic novel, Aisha has been working on smaller projects since we last spoke to her in November 2016. For example, she worked on several short-comics for various publications such as Kramers Ergot and Kuš and also released two mini-comics titled Work-Life-Balance with Colorama.