Cats, farts and my first comic

As I mentioned in the previous post, I went to the "Homenaje a la Historieta Argentina en la Legislatura" with my boyfriend Santiago Slaby. Now, Santiago is very opinionated and likes to criticize some of the characters populating the comics world. Knowing that the random bunch of invitees would spur this unending commentary, I gave him a task: draw the presenters (seen in the last post). When he finished, I asked him to draw something we had joked about for quite some time-- a cat that is so fat it can't walk, and moves by farting. Santiago started drawing it, and after the first page I began giving him explicit direction, like "Have the cat make a face like this *scrunches up face, as though farting*" or "Have the cat shoot across the floor like a rocket when it finally farts." Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this ridiculous comic.

My original conception. Obviously I cannot draw.

And now the story....

Oh, the text is also by Santiago. We debated for like, half an hour, whether "one last effort" is actually a phrase or not. But then, cats don't speak perfect English, so it works.

Terrific, Terrifying, Titillating Tuesdays

It looks like Tuesday is going to be the busiest day of my week. In the morning, I have Laura’s “Sequential Art: Comics, Culture, and Market in Argentina” a seminar about Argentine comics between 1960 and 1980. I have a few hours to kill and then I go to Diego Agrimbau’s “Taller de Guión de Historieta,” a three hour workshop on comic creation. (Yes, I do have courses with a husband and wife in one day.) On Tuesdays I will be discussing comics in Spanish for FIVE HOURS and shuttling between Constitución, the Centro, Flores, and Barrio Norte. *Whew*

Laura’s “Sequential Art” class was supposed to be offered next semester, but the UBA (Universidad de Buenos Aires) screwed up and put it on the schedule for this semester. About ten students signed up for it and Laura decided to teach it because, as she said, our little faces were bright with excitement. We talked about comic creation process (drawing, coloring, writing), art schools and correspondence courses for drawing, and the intersection between intellectualism and comics. One of the most interesting topics we touched on was the representations and role of women in comics. The class is mostly comprised of women (unusual in the comic book world), so I think this topic will come up quite often. I felt especially prepared for the course because I had read part of Laura’s book: El Oficio de las Viñetas, about the Argentine comic book industry. Anyway, it seems like it is going to be such an interesting class and provide an important background for my research.

After that class, I made the trek to Diego’s taller de guión in Flores. Diego’s class is designed for people who want to dedicate their life (or at least most of their free time) to the art of comic writing. At first, Diego asked us if we had experience writing…everyone but me said yes, and one guy pulled out his portfolio and showed us his published work and unpublished graphic novel. Needless to say, I was intimidated until we started talking about our experiences, and then I realized that most people were on the same level. Diego then told us about his entire career as a writer—how his day is structured, his published work, failures and successes, and the creation process. The “onda” or “mood” of the room was very good because there were only seven students. They all seemed whole-heartedly interested in the program and very respectful of the teacher.

One of the most interesting things we talked about was how to come up with ideas. Diego asked us about our idea generation process and asked us if we had difficulties. He then told us that although some ideas come naturally, we might have to force them. To do this, we played a brainstorming game where we came up with common associations (“Martian-Mars,” “Secretary-Office”) and then switched them (“Mars-Secretary,” “Office-Martian”) and wrote a plot summary. We were also encouraged to keep a journal of ideas to draw on in the future. I don’t know if I will ever write comics professionally or even get something publish (so complicated!), but I think Argentina is the perfect place to begin studying.

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.