Listen to María Medem: the discreet revolutionary of Spanish comics explains her cartoons

María Medem (Seville, 28 years old) poses rigidly, visibly uncomfortable, in the lobby of a Madrid hotel in Sol. At the photographer's kind instructions, she apologizes: "Sorry, I'm very ashamed."

The colorful style of this shy young woman is already common in such prestigious publications as the

or the

, who contacted her directly to illustrate her pieces.

She has also received commissions from musicians such as the Bombay Bicycle Club or Hermanos Gutiérrez to design the covers of her albums or to animate the videos of her songs.

She is now revolutionizing independent Spanish comics with

(Apa Apa Cómics / Blackie Books), a hedonistic odyssey of slow and poetic narrative, her second comic after

(Apa Apa Comics).

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“All this has been progressive”, the artist exposes, more comfortable.

“To begin with, I made fanzines that, by being a volunteer at the independent GRAF comic festival in Barcelona, ​​I was able to exhibit at a table.

Thanks to Instagram, where I shared them, a design website in London reviewed my work and within a week I received an order”.

When she decided to study Fine Arts, she had no intention of dedicating herself to drawing professionally and, she assures, she did not stand out especially: “One thing that characterizes me is that when I start something I finish it.

If it hadn't been like that, I would have quit the race."

Despite the beatings she received at university, the author fondly remembers the engraving teacher she had in her last year: “She was the first to tell me that I was good at drawing lines.

I learned a lot and I improved a lot in being more careful, cleaner, because it was a bit of a mess”.

And she jokes: "But of course, I also had the evil teacher [laughs]."

The professor who taught Illustration failed her in a comic that she in turn had sent to an

and in which he had been selected.

The platform in question, Tik Tok Cómics, made emerging Spanish artists known and was curated by the illustrator Ana Galvañ.

"That teacher gave me the lowest grade in the entire class and when I went to complain he told me that I was like Lola Flores, that I had no talent, but I did have contacts," she recounts, laughing.

María Medem poses at the Petit Plalace Puerta del Sol hotel.Luis Sevillano

Her love of telling stories — “when I was little I wanted to be a writer” — was what made her opt for comics over illustration: “It allows you to express yourself through text and images, in a balance in which they are complementary and they get rich."

Enjoyment is the main engine of her projects — "I have always drawn for pleasure" — and this hedonistic maxim is reflected in the more than 300 pages of

.

“Actually, comics are a path to enjoyment.

I concentrated on drawing the atmosphere, with its sounds, smells, flavors, ”she maintains.

And for many it does.

Ana Galvañ, a colleague from the union, affirms: “I really like to approach his work enjoying and feeling, more than thinking.

I let myself be carried away by beauty, the connection with nature, folklore, by small things”.

For Galvañ, Medem's work is a powerful set that makes a difference on the national scene.

The film director Carla Simón also wrote about the poetic synesthesia of the comic: “I hear, smell, touch and feel each fragment of this story”.

The protagonist of the graphic novel lives alone in a desert town inhabited by turtle doves and dogs.

Her only love is that of a solitary flower, which she fears will go extinct.

How did the idea for the comic come about?

“They gave me a two-page commission for a Berlin magazine that was never published.

They wanted me to illustrate a piece about the last man from their tribe in the Amazon.

He lived alone, but he followed his routine from before.

I got into his reality and I liked that feeling.

I decided to transfer that story to my world and tell the story of a girl who believes she is alone in the world, ”she explains.

Pages from 'Because of a flower'. Blackie Books, Apa Apa Cómics

Colors and the lack of white are essential narrative elements in the visual poetry of

.

For example, the relentless blues and purples of the night amplify the protagonist's sense of loneliness, while the vivid yellows convey the sweltering heat of the desolate wasteland in which she lives.

Paradoxically, the artist is inspired by the black and white photography of Cristina García Rodero's town festivals, to which she gives color in the comic.

She also draws from Japanese Ukiyo-e prints, in which there is line and the color is flat.

While she draws, she listens to flamenco, something that she transfers to the pages of the book, dotted with jondo verses during the initiation journey of the protagonist.

Medem's dream universe is his hallmark: "I try to play with sensations, with the limit between what is real and what is not, and search for the hidden, which is difficult to put into words."

But in everyday life, the cartoonist seeks to enjoy the little things: “I get up very early.

I eat large amounts of breakfast—I love to eat.

I take a walk with my greyhound, Blanquita, and chat with people who tell me things about my dog ​​—it never fails, there is always a comment—.

Then I start drawing.

In the afternoon I go for a walk.

Nothing crazy, go."

Because of a flower

in six leaves

The author comments on the creative process of some of the best pages of her comic and the patterns that are repeated throughout the work.

1. A summer afternoon: rosemary and heat

2. Soft tomatoes and hard tears

3. Floating bullets for key moments

4. Wake up

5. Legends, songs and rhythm of the trip

6. Town festivals

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