Cats and Comics

Salt and pepper. Shoes and socks. Comics and cats. See the pattern? These things go together. Cats and comics are inexorably linked. Diego and Laura have a cat, Lucas Varela wants one, and Rodrigo Díaz (from Moebius) and I talked about cats for a while after our interview. Cats can be inspirational as well as good companions. Jeffrey Brown wrote two books about his cats and I’m sure the writers of Garfield and Get Fuzzy have cats at home.

Now that the connection between cats and comics has been firmly established, I’m going to make a plug for “¡Hacé feliz a un gato!” (Make a cat happy!), an organization that helps the cats that have been abandoned in Buenos Aires’ Jardín Botánico (Botanic Garden). The first time I lived here, went to the Botanic Garden frequently to feed and pet the cats. When I returned to Buenos Aires in March, I knew I wanted to become part of an organization that would care for the cats on a regular basis. So I looked online and found “¡Hacé feliz a un gato!” I began volunteering, learning the cats’ names, and nodes where they gather. Some cats are affectionate, desiring contact with humans more than the food we bring; others need wet food because their bad teeth make it hard to chew the dry pellets; some cats are so shy we have to leave food that they will eat only when we walk away. Each cat has a distinct personality. Panchita, black and white with dainty paws, is shy, but still follows me around the park. Trapito, or “dishrag” in English, is called so because he always looks like he won’t survive another day, but is miraculously alive every time we bring food. Ismael, a big orange cat, guards the Plaza Italia entrance with the seriousness of a gargoyle.

Cats eating by a greenhouse

So, what exactly does “¡Hacé feliz a un gato!” do? They take care of the cats that have been abandoned in the Botanic Garden and help them get adopted. Volunteers feed cats daily and participate in monthly spay and neuter operations. (In Spanish, “castración” is the word used for “spay and neuter.” Terrifying.) Although at first glance, the Botanic Garden seems like a sanctuary, most cats get sick from the constant stress, cold, and rain. When the cats get sick, volunteers bring them to the vet. As you might imagine, resources are extremely limited (I’ve run out of food two times) and the organization is funded only by volunteer donations.

So what can you do, dear readers of this blog? Well, if you want to become a super important person in the comics world and the savior of an animal, you can adopt a cat! These cats are super sweet and might end up inspiring you to write a cat comic and become a millionaire. You can also contact the organization at adopciones.botanico@gmail.com and ask for information about donations or volunteering. While you’re at it, join their Facebook page: “¡Hacé feliz a un gato!” If you are thinking about adopting a cat or would just like to meet some of them, you can help me feed them. Just leave me a message!

Chain of Command

I’ve completed thirteen interviews since beginning in April. Maybe that number doesn’t seem like a lot, but combined, I’ve probably done about 18 hours of talking, listening, and eating pastries. I’ve only posted two interviews on my blog, one with Lucas Varela and another with Andrés Accorsi. So, who have I been interviewing? I’ve interviewed comics creators (Lucas Varela, Diego Agrimbau, Ricardo de Luca, Fran López, Dante Ginevra), specialists (Andrés Accorsi, Oscar Steimberg, Andrés Valenzuela), students (Guillermo, from my workshop with Diego), publishing companies (Moebius, Común, Historieteca), and comics organizations (La Banda Dibujada). It’s a comprehensive list, no doubt, but in terms of my project about the lives of comics creators, five creators doesn’t seem like enough. But as I’ve been talking to artists and writers, I’ve come to realize that I need to understand the entire Argentine comics production system. I can’t understand the lives of creators if I don’t understand the context in which they are working.*

When creators mentioned the need for more publishing opportunities and specialists lamented the lack of advertising new comics, I decided to interview the owners of the publishing companies to better understand their point of view. Although I have not finished transcribing these interviews, Moebius, Común, and Historieteca all told me similar stories. Driven by a love of comics and seeing some sort of niche in the market, these companies began to publish. Común promotes the idea of the graphic novel, publishing books that emphasize the idea of the comic as a form of literature to be placed with literature in the bookstore. Historieteca publishes works by Argentine artists only available abroad. Moebius uses it’s connections to the graphic design community to create high-quality comics with a designer’s touch. While interviewing these publishing companies, the owners told me about their challenges: distribution and mismanaged display of comics in bookstores. So that’s sent me on a new quest to figure out the complexities of distribution and the hierarchy of bookstore space. Of course, the main focus of my project will still be on artists and their lives, but I want to understand their lives in the context of comics in Argentina.

*Okay. That sentence sort of makes me sound like an idiot. Of course I understand both the economic and historical elements that have had an impact on comics in the last 20 years. But I am ignorant about the creation-production-dissemination process. What exactly happens at every step of the process? What are the responsibilities and challenges at each level of production?

Marv and Me: Encounters and Translation in the Feria del Libro Infantil y Juvenil

During one of my posts in May, I described the Feria del Libro as being a sort of hell that was hot and crowded with sloth-like browsers. If I remember my Dante, there are distinct levels of hell, and The Feria del Libro Infantil y Juvenil was on another, deeper level.* The waves of children reaching up to my ribs moved faster than the elderly at the Feria del Libro, but were more unpredictable, stopping dead in the middle of the passage way without warning. So, after navigating the crowds on the first day, I was looking forward to sitting in a dark room and listening to the Marv Wolfman chat. But, no such luck. Just as I arrived and was about to go wait in the line, Andrés Accorsi, the director for the comics section of the Feria del Libro Infantil y Juvenil (see previous posts), approached me and said, “I’m glad you’re here. You can help with the translation.” Seeing my wide-eyed, horror-stricken face, he reminded me that I had offered to help him with the fair numerous times. Realizing that not only I had offered to help, but that he had previously warned me that it was a dangerous offer, I really had no one to blame but my overzealous self.

Too shocked to be scared, I went up to the stage and met Marv Wolfman, an amiable guy with a big smile and an amazing 1980’s sweater. (I later found out that he owns many of these sweaters in different colors.) Wolfman has created comics in the United States since the 1960’s and some of his contributions have laid the foundation for the modern comic book industry. He’s written comics (The Teen Titans and Tomb of Dracula) as well as scripts for animation and video games. Andrés explained that I would be translating his and the audience’s questions from Spanish to English for Marv. Essentially, it was a timesaving measure.

The only picture where I don't look terrified, taken from the El Blogazo del Comic blog

The doors were opened and the die-hard fans rushed to get seats in the front. I went up on the stage to sit next to Wolfman. Translating the questions that Andrés posed was pretty easy. I’ve seen his translation style before in Crack Bang Boom and he made eye contact with me when he was asking a question. I wouldn’t translate every word of the question, but synthesize it and come up with the essence of the question. Problems arose when the audience asked questions. First of all, I couldn’t hear anything because an infernal children’s performance across the hall played music at a heavy metal concert’s volume. Second of all, the crowd was filled with fanatics of American comics with very specific questions. Sometimes I could translate the question, but I gave Andrés the “I-have-no-idea-what-they-just-said” look more than once when I didn’t understand a specific reference. Even the next day, after reading about Wolfman’s career for a few hours, I was unable to make sense of some of the meticulous questions. I guess the man’s been in business for about half a century, so naturally I wouldn’t know everything he’s done after only a few hours of research. I probably should have been more embarrassed by my lack of comics knowledge, but anyone that has met me knows that I don’t read many superhero comics.

On the first day of the lecture series, Wolfman talked about his work in videogames and animation, and movies based on his comics. The second day, he talked about comics. Some of the most interesting topics he discussed were the role of comics shops and the format of the comic book. Comics shops, he suggested, should de-specialize to include games and toys and should also provide a place for people to gather for events. This would draw people in and make them stay, instead of just entering to pick up their comics. I recently interviewed Rodrigo Díaz from the publishing company/store Mobius and he talked about a similar idea—the comic store as a space for diverse groups of people. Moebius (located at Bulnes 658) has jewelry, stuffed animals, posters and diaries as well as comics. Because of this diversity, the store is attractive to different groups of people, not only those interested in comics.

Wolfman also criticized the current “pamphlet” format of the comic, suggesting a future online format to be viewed on the computer or ipad. Collector’s editions would be the only printed comics. In a continued conversation later that night (Marv and his wife took Andrés and me out to eat to thank us) he mentioned his intentional use of the word “pamphlet” to insult, marking his negative feelings about the flimsy nature of the 26 page books.

It was fascinating to be able to meet with someone who has lived through comics history in the United States from the Comics Code to the comics bubble and burst in the 1990’s. His experiences spans decades and the many ups and downs the industry has faced. After having learned so much about Argentine comics history through oral interviews and classes, it was interesting to hear the similar experiences of an American creator.

*Note: I love and support book fairs! I just get really stressed in large, hot spaces with many people. Book fairs should exist, I should just never go to them.

Marv, answering a question.

Me, unable to keep my face still for .05 seconds.

Video taken by El Blogazo del Comic.

Tea and Totem Comix, my new remedy for the common cold

Trying to find a Totem Comix cover without a naked woman on it is almost impossible.

I get a virulent Buenos Aires cold about every three weeks. Snot, an aching body, the desire to sleep like a house cat. At the moment, I have all of these symptoms. But it doesn’t matter because I have ten issues of Totem Comix to get me through this illness. Totem Comix, a Spanish adult comic magazine from the 80’s, is filled with sex, violence, horror, and gore. Given that list of sensationalist themes, one might think that the magazine would be repetitive and unreadable, but most of the stories are creative and intriguing. One of my least favorite stories, but one that proves my point, is one about a serial killer that murders a prostitute (there are about two stories with this theme per issue). It was told from the prostitute’s point of view as a love story instead of a horror story. Although the story was disturbing, it was a new way of telling a story that so many different have written. Like I said, it was a horrible, nauseating story, but at least the way it was written didn't make me want to vomit.

“La Gran Necesidad” by Godard and Ribera, by far my favorite, is about a futuristic world in which there are only women. There are concubines, lesbian sex, police chases, and forbidden romances. The comic’s beautiful drawings and earthy pastel tones are a pleasure to look at. The magazine is also quite diverse in terms of sexual orientation and race. Quite a few protagonists are African-American females and there are many stories about gays and lesbians (although some are intentionally titillating for male audiences).

So, for the past day I’ve been sick, but, as you can see, enjoying it…

Note: This photo was taken by Santiago during my illness. Yes, I know it is super unflattering, but it is an accurate rendering of both my laziness and love of comics.

Andrés Accorsi on...The Future

This is the last in the series of posts of my interview with Andrés Accorsi. I hope it has been enjoyable to read! I have three interviews coming up in the next week, one with a journalist, another with a student from my workshop with Diego Agrimbau, and finally, an interview with a comics publisher.

***

CDS: Where do you see yourself in the future?

AA: I don’t feel like I still have many challenges to face in the comics industry. I would like to do some of the things I have already done and do them better. I am very self-demanding. I don’t think I have something entirely new to offer this medium.

I think the project I should really stick to and invest real time and effort in is the Comics Festival inside the children’s book fair. It has the potential to grow into a full-fledged comics festival of its own, not as a sideshow to the children’s or international book fair. It could become a major event with an international projection to gather all the comics fans all around the country. The foundation that puts together this fair is really powerful and has contacts, real drive and love for culture, commerce and entertainment. You go to the international book fair and see something well done that clearly works. This summer, during the children’s book fair, we will have our first international guest—Mark Wolfman. The comics portion of the fair has a real potential to grow. It’s like being the coach for Argentinos Juniors. If you don’t reach the championship, it’s okay. But if you reach the championship, you might get a chance to coach for Boca or some other huge team that should go for the championship. It has a real potential for growth and could grow beyond the margins of the book fair. It could be the beginning for a real comics fair produced, financed and promoted by a foundation (Fundación del Libro) that knows how to do these things well. We have talked about a comics fair since the very first time they summoned me to put together this festival. They are constantly saying the idea has potential, so if we show results that stimulate them to go farther, they will go farther.

CDS: What sort of results are they looking for?

AA: A huge turnout of people that would not normally attend a children’s book fair. That’s the real challenge, to get the comics community to attend the fair. If we can get a huge attendance of comic fans for the book fair, next year the organizers will say “let’s try four days of comics festival instead of two days” and then the next year it may increase or expand to its own international comic festival. The organizers are very conservative in terms of going slowly, analyzing the results, debating everything as a committee. If we can produce results that get their attention, they will give us space and resources to grow.

One of the things I wouldn’t want to do is become a publisher again. It’s ungrateful, hard. There are people like me constantly badmouthing publishers. It’s not glamorous or prestigious, you don’t make a lot of money, you don’t get the cute chicks. It’s not as risky as it used to be because we know more about the market and about distribution. We have taught the retailer that they should buy local editions instead of importing. It’s much better than it was 15 years ago. It is still not something I would like to do again, not even if I had the resources.

I am still discovering a whole new world with the book I published. I never planned to have that stuff come out as two books. The second one comes out in August.

Transcribed and edited by Claire Denton-Spalding

Andrés Accorsi on Comics Today

Claire Denton-Spalding: What is the biggest challenge to the modern comic industry?

Andrés Accorsi: The greatest challenge is convincing the people that buy comics occasionally that you can buy comics regularly. And that comics aren’t something weird, something that appears in book fairs once a year, but they are something that every book store should carry. They are books with real content, nice artwork, and good scripts. They appeal to any reader that enjoys fiction. Comics should be integrated into the mainstream book publishing industry. This is a very healthy industry in Argentina. They have good sales figures and lots of advertising. It could be the same with comics. Publishers don’t understand that they could get the message out to the real world.

Publishers do not invest in advertising or promotion. You don’t hear advertising for a new comic on the TV, radio or newspapers. You only see advertising in magazines like Fierro and Comiqueando, blogs, or on Facebook. That’s sort of like preaching to the choir. They should go out and show what they are publishing to attract new consumers. Get consumers that consume other types of fiction to consume this type of fiction. Many of the well-established publishers in the comics industry don’t communicate well between each other. Why aren’t they getting out the message? There’s a publishing company that produces The Eternauta, Loco Chavez, Alvar Mayor, Pepe Sanchez, but they didn’t put ads out anywhere. On the other hand, you have Ediciones de la Flor, the company that goes the extra mile in terms of advertising and promoting their books. They advertise and show what they are doing with their limited resources. Mafalda, Gaturro, and Liniers are huge successes, so Ediciones de la Flor has the leeway to print and advertise other stuff like Sonoman. They have been giving a lot of push to Gustavo Sala and Niño Rodriguez. At least they are taking a risk by publishing other sorts of comics and heavily publicizing them.

Many of the publishers don’t think they need to promote their books. Fans only find out about published books when they see them in the stores. To attract new readers and get books distributed to major bookstores, you need to invest money in advertising. People that go into bookstores need to know that they have this new option. How do you get the news out there? Some magazines like Pagina 12 publish reviews of comics and recommendations of new comics that are coming out. But most time these readers don’t know where to find the books.

CDS: Do you work distributing comics?

AA: I only sell comics at a booth during conventions or concerts. Regularly, on an every day basis, I usually sell to stores. I sell to about 90 stores all around the country. I buy from the publishers and sell to the retailers. I am the middleman. I only sell to the public at specific events when I am offered a booth. The publishers are so lazy that they don’t go to these events. It’s better to have one guy that gathers the merchandise from these unmotivated publishers and sells it than to go with all of their merchandise and sell at a single booth. For them it’s free and they get new readers. They don’t have to work and invest.

Publishers should work hard to re-print as soon as they run out of the initial print run. If you do a small print run because you can’t do a large one and it disappears in 5 months, you should re-print the book immediately. You shouldn’t punish the successful artist with a book that is out of catalogue and out of print. The first Bife Angosto was missing from bookstores for 15 months. That was Gustavo Sala’s reward for selling out the print run. Publishers should reward the artist by re-printing immediately and paying the artist for a second printing. It’s obvious, but it doesn’t always work like that. When a comic sells out, it proves that it has the potential to reach a large audience and that is what we are trying to do.

CDS: How can the comic become a large cultural phenomenon in Argentina? What support does it need?

AA: I think the opportunity has passed us by. It will be a small phenomenon outside of the comics ghetto. It will never be huge in the mainstream in the near future or in the far future. Our grandchildren won’t see a country in which comics are a part of mainstream culture and widely accepted and massively sold everywhere.

To keep on growing, comics need the support of the government, as we have already discussed. We need to change the minds of the publishers, by encouraging new publishers to publish comics. Publishers that are working on books for children should take the next step and try their hand at printing comics. I think they would make a lot of money.

Transcribed and edited by Claire Denton-Spalding

Andrés Accorsi on Government Support for Comics

Claire Denton-Spalding:In your opinion, how necessary is government support to develop cultural activities?

Andrés Accorsi: The government should create a comics museum to preserve our cultural patrimony. Someone should have the duty to keep the original artwork and preserve the old collections of magazines before they disappear. Decades worth of artwork and publication should be kept somewhere and available to the public.

Secondly, the government should support comics conventions. In ever city there should be government sponsored comics festivals and activities around comics with art shows and guests from all around the country and abroad.

The government already does some things, like buying comics for the public libraries and giving support for artists that want to go study abroad. Now they are discussing a law (The Ley Heller) that if it passes will give a pension to the old writers and creators that can’t keep on working because of their old age. This law would be a solution for older creators because they can’t keep on drawing.

Maybe the government could give a national prize for artwork, like in Spain. In Spain the government gives a national prize to comics creators, like they do with literature or fine arts.

I really don’t agree with the government giving grants to publishers or magazines or books published by the government. It ends up with horrible magazines filled with government supporters.

I really don’t understand why the government didn’t take these measures in the 50’s when comics were hugely popular—when they were the most popular entertainment media in the country, when millions were sold every week. How did that booming industry never get the government’s attention? Now there is almost no industry. It is small and prestigious, healthy. They are publishing beautiful books, nice comics are coming out. Many creators are doing the best work of their careers. But, why now? Why not fifty or sixty years ago when the comics industry was booming, when every newsstand was selling comics like hotcakes? Everybody bought comics and talked about comics. Comics characters were used in billboards to advertise almost everything. Comics artists and writers were paid very well. Newspaper competed with each other, trying to lure comic strip artists from one paper to another. I don’t understand why that industry didn’t get the attention of the authorities, but it does now. There’s a gap in logic somewhere.

Transcribed and edited by Claire Denton-Spalding