There is no drawing. Only many lyrics, in just two colors: black and some blue. The sheet published Tuesday in the Official State Gazette represents the antithesis of the dazzling vignettes that are published every day in Spain. And yet, this Anodine page already belongs to the history of the Spanish comic: inaugurates the first specific aids nationwide for the creation of comics.
These are 40 subsidies, of 25,000 euros each, “for the literary creation of original works in the comic modality, understood as sequential art”, for a million euros of total budget. 12 will be reserved for projects in which “at least 40% of the participation corresponds to women”. Only those who accredit “have published at least one work by an editorial in any country” may participate and works that have used generative artificial intelligence are excluded. The authors, with Spanish nationality or residence, have 15 days from today to run.
The works presented will go through an assessment commission, composed of several positions from the Ministry, “two professional specialists of recognized prestige in the world of culture, especially qualified to assess comic works” and three representatives of autonomous communities. The agency can assign up to a maximum of 100 points, and you will need to add at least 50 to access aid. The “artistic and technical project of the project” grants up to 60. “Innovation and cultural value” or “editorial commitment to a Spanish seal” also add points.
Up to 15 can generate another section, baptized in the document as a “gender gap”. “The participation of women in every aspect of the work will be taken into account (…): – Draftor: 8 points – screenwriter: 5 points – others (colorful, inputing, rotary, carrier …): 2 points,” reads the call. To the protests of some artists, who denounced on social networks that their male gender harmed them, faces the culture argument, which collects the resolution, that the Spanish comic barely has 20% of creators. The requirement of having already published at least one work with an editorial can also be debatable, due to the eventual exclusion of totally unpublished talents.
In any case, the promise that the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun months ago, is already reality. And culminates a series of administration recognition towards the ninth art: the impulse to the first White Book of the sector; the birth of an official day dedicated to comics; the institutional support for Spain to become this January in the focus of the last Angulema Festival, the most prestigious in the sector; The change of name in the position of María José Gálvez, now general director of the book, comic and reading. Of course, studies, applause and winks are appreciated, they matter, but the money more. And especially for such a precarious creative area: for 64% of artists, the income from the comic does not reach the minimum interprofessional salary, according to the White Book.
“The existence of a specific public aid regime (…) is justified by the particularities of the medium as the frequent intervention of different creators’ profiles in each work, by combining mixed disciplines, or the need for more dilated production deadlines. Likewise, it is also considered necessary Years, it requires the implementation of support measures in all areas, including that of creation, thus trying to retain the talent of creators of great prestige that publish their unpublished works in foreign markets before the national market ”, reads at the start of the resolution with which the Secretariat of State for Culture convened subsidies.
The funds seek to push and, at the same time, tranquility to creators who mostly throw themselves into a job of many months without further coverage and economic guarantees than an advance of a few thousand euros (or less) of an editorial. The offer, of course, comes with its demands: the comic well knows that the powers come with responsibilities. The authors will have to present a sample of two finished pages, and a maximum four -sheet document that includes “title, plot or content synopsis, structure, graphic style and approximate extension”, mandatory greater than 40 pages. The beneficiaries must have their work ready after a year and a half from the granting of the aid, with a maximum extension of the period of another nine months. Each creator can only propose a project, in Spanish or one of the co -official languages, which has not been previously published.
Culture thus intends to draw a more hopeful horizon for the comic. Readers are uploaded: last year, 12.4% of the reading population enjoyed at least one comic in the last quarter, compared to 2.8% of 2022, according to the Habits Survey of the Ministry of Culture. And also increase publications, authors, editorials, bookstores and events. The pocket of the creators, however, must be the little that never grows. At least, they now have another opportunity for support. With luck, a black and white administrative sheet will leave vignettes of all colors.