Comics and graphic novels have become the source of a growing number of lucrative and socially influential enterprises in the form of successful media projects and events that attract thousands of participants. Moreover, for the last 20 years, comics and graphic novels have earned renewed popularity worldwide as a cultural phenomenon. However, more work needs to be done to recognise the economic, cultural, and institutional value of this international form.
Neither subject to public preservation policies that would recognise their value as tangible cultural heritage nor deemed as a specific cultural industry in its own right by European and international organisations, comics reflect the societies they emerge from and contribute dynamically to the creative and cultural industries.
Like other national comics forms, Iberian comics are struggling to position themselves on the global scene, particularly because of past political and economic crises and the dominant place of the Japanese and the American industries in the world comics market. While Japanese and U.S. comics generated an annual revenue of 3,600 million € and 994 million € respectively in 2018, Spanish comics yielded just over 1,5 million €. Yet aggregating countries with strong historical, economic, linguistic, and cultural ties can only strengthen and enhance their position in the market and their visibility in the global stage.
Bringing together Spain, Portugal, and Latin America under the umbrella of Iberian comics may tell a different story. Spanish and Portuguese are among the top 10 languages1 by total number of speakers worldwide: 4th and 9th with 543 and 258 million speakers respectively, making the Iberian comics market the 4th in the world. Adding smaller but fast developing Iberian comics markets, like Chile, Portugal or Peru, to the more established markets of Spain, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil will increase the number of creators, publishers, readers and consumers.
The COST Action iCOn-MICs, which stands for Investigation on Comics and Graphic Novels from the Iberian Cultural Area, brings together Iberian comics and graphic novels culture, industry and research. The Action’s ambition is to federate research as well as cultural-industrial practices and uses around the Iberian cultural area, promoting the circulation and knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American comics and graphic novels production.
Launched in November 2020, this pluri-disciplinary network integrates 17 European countries, including 7 Inclusiveness Target Countries which fulfil the Horizon2020 widening eligibility conditions, and 3 International Partner Countries from Latin America, whose researchers are welcome as part of COST global cooperation activities. This collaborative research network gathers experts from various disciplines (cultural history, educational sciences, modern languages and literatures, media) drawing on diverse critical approaches and methodologies.
In July 2021, the network released its brand-new website dedicated to the promotion of Iberian comics to mark the introduction of various tools destined to a broad range of stakeholders. The iCOn-MICs network will also produce a range of outputs from publications to a database gathering Iberian comics, authors, and research works, to a guide to use comics as an educational tool.
“The main goal of COST Actions is to connect research communities, and our main aim in iCOn-MICs is to create an international federating network of researchers, professionals, and end-users on Iberian comics”, says Professor Viviane Alary who chairs the Action, adding, “the Action will significantly strengthen the standing of Iberian comics and graphic novels in the international scene. If comics and graphic novels reflect the cultures and histories of Spain, Portugal and Latin America, research on comics will provide in turn new understandings of the Iberian cultural area”.
To be continued…
Additional information
View the Action website
View iCON-MICs website
You can also follow the Action on Twitter