Gnomariana and Pau Izumi, examples of the graphic diversity that exists in Mexico

▲ Illustration by Gnomariana, included in Red flags, in comic format. Pau Izumi will present Through the cracks next Friday at Minería. Photo courtesy of Mariana Camarena

Fabiola Palapa Quijas

La Jornada NewspaperTuesday, February 25, 2025, p. 5

The works Red flags, by illustrator Mariana Camarena, known as Gnomariana, and Through the cracks, by Pau Izumi, which were presented, the first, this Sunday, and the second on February 28, at the 46th International Book Fair of the Palacio de Minería (FILPM), reflect the diversity of graphic narrative in Mexico.

In an interview with La Jornada, Gnomariana, author of the comedy anthology Red Flags, shared her experience in creating comics and the importance of visual narrative in the story. “The visual narrative is very important, since it is a comedy, and I really like my characters to be as expressive as possible, their moments of anguish, stress, happiness, shame.

“Red Flags is a very theatrical comedy and I can’t imagine a better medium than comics to do it. Also, the format is striking because it only used three colors: a blue character, a red one, and pink backgrounds. This helped me a lot to speed up my workflow (and thus fulfill my weekly online episode deliveries), but also so that anyone could identify the comic quickly and accurately.”

The industry is made by independents

For his part, Pau Izumi, in a conversation with this newspaper, referred to the need to tell a story and the importance of graphic narrative in the country. The comic industry is made up of independent authors, because there are few publishers who look at national comics and offer fair deals. The challenge we have is to jump over that invisible fence and reach a wider audience. We are going little by little .

Both authors agree on the importance of graphic narrative as a medium for creativity and reflection. It is a medium that adapts; I believe that anyone can make a comic , added Pau Izumi.

Regarding her foray into graphic novels, Gnomariana explains that she has always enjoyed reading and drawing.

I feel like graphic novels are the perfect fusion of both. Stories are important ways to learn and build empathy, because while you're reading something, you're in some way experiencing the same thing as the characters. The world of comics is beautiful and I hope to be able to pass on the enthusiasm it generates in me to other people, or simply make them laugh.

Speaking about Red Flags, episodes of which can be read for free on the website https://gomic.eu/details/red-flags/, the author commented: “They are short stories about toxic love and awkward dates between couples; of course, the story is inspired by my bad experiences, which I can laugh about now, but which at some point hurt me like a worm that has had a kilo of salt poured on it, but why go to therapy if I can make it into a comic, right?

Humor is a very powerful tool to heal wounds, and I didn't want to write it as a drama, but simply to laugh at myself, as we Mexicans usually do. This comic is what I would have liked to read before my little heart was broken.

Mariana Camarena, a finalist in the 2024 Secuenciarte contest at the Pixelatl Festival, decided to publish her anthology online because it is the way independent authors can share their stories. The feedback is direct with the public; it has also helped me to fine-tune the stories and to better choose their direction. I read all the comments; my greatest achievement is when someone tells me how much fun it was, or how it made them reflect on a certain topic , she added.

The illustrator said that Quino was the first author she read, and that with him her interest in graphic novels was born. “The comedy of Rumiko Takahashi (author of Ranma 1/2) fascinates me, and that is what I try to replicate with my work. I also really like the humor of Bill Watterson, author of Calvin & Hobbes. I am Julian van Bores' number one fan, and I will always recommend him.”

There are many incredible female comic creators in Mexico, such as Alejandra Gámez, Pau Izumi, Alba Glez, Elenamics, Akimaro & Karin, Virus Visal, Paulina Márquez and Luisa Lovera.

Pau Izumi began his career in comics with the desire to tell a story. In his book Through the Cracks he shares with readers how teenagers have a hard time letting go of past mistakes and forgiving themselves, because they live with the guilt of something that was not in their control.

Gnomariana presented volume 3 of Red Flags on Sunday at the 12th Comic Day. In turn, Pau Izumi will speak about Through the Cracks on February 28 at 6 p.m. in the Signature Room of the FILPM.

Merry Macmasters

La Jornada NewspaperTuesday, February 25, 2025, p. 5

Mexico is a country rich in cartoonists. Why then has José Guadalupe Posada overshadowed his nineteenth-century and late twentieth-century colleagues for so long?, asked Gonzalo Rocha, cartoonist for La Jornada, at the presentation of his graphic novel Posada: La vida no vale nada y la hoja vuela, un centavo (Resistance Publishing House), at the 46th Palacio de Minería International Book Fair (FILPM).

The cartoonist offered several hypotheses. The first relates to his work. Unlike many of his fellow cartoonists, his work did not focus on politics . After some time, Rocha argued, the characters of this activity close to power generally cease to be memorable. We no longer understand who or what they are about, and only specialists regain interest in these graphics, while the general public today can understand the portrait of daily life, scandals, red notes and the skulls of José Guadalupe .

The second hypothesis is that Posada was not only a fine academic draughtsman, with a lot of practice and filigree, but also a printer who knew the secrets of the machines in his workshops. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he partly abandoned European influences and was able to synthesize them in cartoons with a very Mexican temperament .

A third is attributable to his appearance, since two photographs of him have existed and/or survived. “In them we can see that the appearance of this Aguascalientes cartoonist is that of a plump man, with a mustache somewhere between bushy and rainy, a belly like that of a pulquero, chubby cheeks and dark skin. A man whom we can imagine as chubby and generous as a taco maker, an appearance that links him to his work, in what we can call a 'clear Mexicanness'. This, for me, answers why Posada continues to be the hero of the pages of the books that we continue to write about him.”

At the presentation held at the Galería de Rectores, Rocha said that he made this graphic novel about the creator of the Catrina because there was not one. Of the many titles about Posada, almost all historical, analytical or artistic essay, there was no graphic novel. Comics, yes, in an educational tone. It was necessary to do something that takes us to another illustrated literature, as he is also a cartoonist .

For Mercurio López Casillas, a Posada scholar, this graphic novel "impacts from its cover to its last pages, in which Rocha gives us five wonderful portraits of the engraver. Each page is a display of talent that keeps the reader hooked, who can enjoy the dialogues, descriptions and sequences without text.

In Rocha's novel, one can see great empathy and admiration for the engraver, told from the perspective of his work in the daily press. The author deeply understands Posada; he fills his work with surprising vignettes and texts that border on poetry.

This comic is divided into four chapters: The Death of Posada, Childhood, The Chalequero and The Dance of the 41. In the last two, Rocha narrates two historical events that Posada concretized in a pair of images. In both cases, he recounts the process that led the engraver to the creation of two of his great works .

He said: In this unique graphic novel, the author uses more than 50 of Posada's engravings, but he does not copy them, but rather reinterprets them in an ingenious way, in small and large details; he resurrects Doña Caralampia and adds muscles and skin to a pair of skulls .

López Casillas pointed out that the premises where Posada's second workshop was located still exist, on Moneda Street: A plaque was placed there; however, it is now a shopping plaza. The plaque is covered with things for sale. It would be worth recovering it .

For the cartoonist Luis Fernando, who lived through the process of this graphic novel, through Posada's drawing we see Rocha drawing. So, he establishes elements of mirrors, and that also tells us how Posada could be in that world that we will never know, of course, internal, and with his opinions, joys and endings that, as sad as they may be, without knowing that his work is more alive than ever, even internationally .

At the end of the event, it was announced that Gonzalo Rocha's exhibition, which bears the same title as the book, at the Los Pinos Cultural Complex, will be extended until March 30.