Living Comics

(Here is a colorful picture of my bookshelf.)

After two months of socializing, reading comics, and generally stressing out, I have finally figured out what I am going to do for my Fulbright project. When I wrote my project proposal almost two years ago, I wanted to focus on governmental and academic support of comics and the publishing industry. After living here for two months, I can probably answer those questions with a few interviews. I have decided to focus instead on the lives of comics creators. How did they decide to create comics? How do they make a living with their work? How is the rest of their life influenced by their work? (I already have three pages of questions.) Diego talks quite often during the workshop about how he makes a living by writing comics. From the way he describes it, writing comics professionally is a constant battle to find work and create stories. Many other artists and writers are not able to survive solely on comics, and do freelance work or have day jobs. Ideally, I would interview a range of creators from the beginners in my classes to professionals. I love learning about peoples’ lives, finding patterns, and coming to conclusions. Also, apparently there has been no overall study of this sort, so it might be useful to someone.

I know people read this blog. I check my Blogger Statistics three times a day because I like to find patterns and make conclusions. (For example, I noticed that my readership doubles if I post color photos or comics.) So, readers, what do you think about this topic? What would you like to learn about comics creators?

Eah!

I wanted to attend my second “Guión” class at the EAH (Escuela Argentina de la Historieta) before writing my impressions of the school. The EAH, like many other artsy schools in Buenos Aires, is located in San Telmo, a neighborhood characterized by struggling, impoverished artists and international tourism. The class is taught by a film/comic book studies professor and has about ten people in it. Most of the comics we use as examples are mainstream (Watchmen, Sin City), while famous Argentine comics aren’t discussed at all. Ah, well. I guess if I am going to experience the Argentine comic culture, I must be open to learning about all parts of it.

As a class, “Guión” is a good introduction to analyzing and writing basic stories, although we are learning at a relaxed pace. The first week focused on synopsis and the second on character creation. During the first week when we discussed our interest in the class, most people said that they took the course because they had created stories that they wanted to realize in comic form. Most of these students’ ideas (from what I can tell) are for long epics. Because of this, they seem to be frustrated by the emphasis on short, simple stories and want to learn how to create their masterpieces. One of the most important things my professor said on this topic is that you shouldn’t take big stories and squish them down into little ones. A good idea that you’ve had for a few years can wait a few more until you learn how to write. He asked us, “Do you think Watchmen would have been good if Alan Moore wrote it when he was 16?”

In terms of homework, we apply what we learned during the class to a personal project. Our first project was to come up with a story. While other people in my class created alternate universes and detective adventures, I wrote about a woman that wants to buy a Furby for her daughter. I probably have the most boring and unoriginal story and am stuck with it for the entire semester. Blergh. Maybe it will be a test of skill to see how awesome I can make it.

This is going to be one busy year...

I met with my research adviser on Thursday at the Petit Colon, an old fashioned café. We had only emailed before, and although we had been able to communicate, our conversations had never been personal. They were purely business due to my inability to communicate well over email in Spanish. Well, after talking for two hours I don’t think I could have found a better adviser. She not only knows everything about Argentine comics, but was friendly and welcoming. We talked about her work and my project. These are the things that I will be doing this year:

• This semester I am going to take “History of Media,” which includes TV and photography, and next semester I am going to take her “Sequential Art” seminar about comics.
• I am going to work in the archives in the Biblioteca Nacional, scanning old comics and writing about my findings.
• Helping her prepare for the Viñetas Serias conference in September and then attending the conference.
• Meeting every comic artist/writer EVER. She is friends with all of my favorite writers.
• Going to shows about comic books…apparently there are different ones every week!
• Classes on guionismo (comic book “directing” aka writing) with her husband, Diego Agrimbau, and at Escuela Argentina de la Historieta.
• Reading everything from her giant library of comics.

Laura always ends her emails by telling me to prepare myself for all the work to come. Given this list, I will be quite busy this year.

¡Que casualidad!

So, as I mentioned a post or two ago, I bought about a gajillion comics including El Asco by Diego Agrimbau. I really enjoyed the comic, so I looked Agrimbau up online and as it turns out, he teaches classes about comic writing. I sent him a message inquiring about the course and he wrote me back.

Today I met up with Laura Vazquez, my research mentor/leader/professor, to talk about her work, my project, and our expectations. (The meeting went really well and she is really interesting, but I will write more about our meeting later, this is just a short post.) We were talking about classes I asked Laura, "I was thinking about taking a class with Diego Agrimbau. Do you know anything about him?"

She smiled at me and said "Um, he's my husband."

Awesome.

Back in BA

I arrived in Buenos Aires this morning at 7:55 am completely awake and alert, despite only having slept for 3 hours. All the worries that arose from my travel preparations have completely disappeared. I am the most calm I have been in months. Although these statements may come off as bragging, those that have interacted with me in the past few weeks may be relieved...I am no longer consumed by stress and could probably hold a normal conversation without mentioning my nervousness.

The most exciting part of my stay so far has been reuniting with Pedro (an Argentine friend) and his mother Amanda. I haven't seen them in 20 months, but it feels as though I returned from a short vacation. The city, however, feels much different. I once considered myself a master of the public transportation network, navigating the Guia T (bus guide/map) like a pro. Now I can't even remeber the route for the 92 bus. But apparently the only thing that has changed is me. I asked Pedro what the major differences in the landscape were, and the main thing he remembered was that the once one-way Santa Fe became a two-way street.

The main thing I am focusing on today is re-learning Buenos Aires. Pedro helped me find and use an ATM. Amanda, Pedro and I took the bus to visit an apartment she just purchased. I bought a new Guia T and have been using it to look up the apartments I've found online. By tomorrow, I should be ready to go outside by myself to register for classes. Graphic novel writing classes.