Friday, 09 December 2011 12:24 Written by Emilia Rojas

This weekend the First International Comic Fair (Feria Internacional de Comic FIC) will be held in Santiago  and so we wanted to have an interview with the national artist Kobal, nominated in various categories of the awards ceremony of the fair.

How many issues of Zombies en la Moneda are there?

—Until now we have published four, three of them correspond to the compilation volume Saga Santiago: Edición Completa and one corresponds to the first issue of Misión Valparaíso, which was recently printed. The unitary issues have been re-edited, because they were sold out and Saga Santiago: Edición Completa is in its thirst re-edition already.

What is your part in this graphic novel? (We know that you are one of the writers, but we would like to know details)

—As you said, I’m the scriptwriter, but I’m also “creative consultant” of the staff, because (I guess) I have seen many zombie movies and was able to give several inputs for the plot. I have also helped as inker, proofreader and I have done other mysterious jobs which I thought would help improve the product. Mythica is a small editorial and we all help out in different areas if necessary. Additionally, I have done various illustrations that appear as “pin-ups” and I helped out with the design of the characters with my artistic team.

In how many categories of the FIC are you nominated?

—I was the lucky one to be nominated as “Best Chilean Scriptwriter 2011”, and Zombies en La Moneda is nominated as “Best Chilean Comic 2011”, “Best Chilean Comic Cover 2011” and the contributing artist whose work has appeared in Zombies en La Moneda, the great Nelson Daniel, has been nominated as “Best Chilean Drawer 2011”.

In which category would you like to win most and why?

—Well, although it’s very cliché, the pure fact of being nominated already is a tremendous honor (I’m competing with incredible people, like  Jorge Baradit, Miguel Angel Ferrada, Alfredo Rodríguez and Francisco Ortega). When we started with Zombies en La Moneda, we didn’t know that the people were going to like it that much and that it would sell that well.

We had lots of press, appearing on TV, in newspapers, magazines, and others. We were on the front page of Publimetro. Reviews have been amazing, basically because the zombies are a metaphor. The plot is full of actions, suspense and terror, though we still tired to tell a good story. It would be awesome to win in all the categories.

What not to miss at this first FIC?

—The FIC is amazing. I think it’s a tremendous celebration of comics to end a quite successful year for us and many other editorials and Chilean projects. Conferencing the people who will be at the FIC Santiago, there will be important ones form abroad, however, I would like to point-out some acclaimed and emergent Chilean artists,: Nelson Daniel, Alan Robinson, Alfredo Rodríguez and Alberto Montt. There will be present many more national artists, such as Thiers, Joyce Maureira, Javiera Constanzo, the great Grotesko and many more. There will also be stands with publications and Chilean editorials, like Arcano IV, RIL Editores, Mythica, Caleuche. I hope that the event will work out fine, as it will be good for our country that the people know what we do and feel proud of our Chilean artists.

On what are you working right now?

—I’m working on a new project, which hopefully will be born during 2012. It’s a story with various chapters of different drawers. This will be the first time that I write a complete book, as up until now I used to be member of a group of various artists. So we will see what happens with that. I’m currently also working with the graphics artists Ékara and Cristóbal Jofré for the magazine Caleuche, on a story called Tormenta Solar, which is about guys with supernatural powers, taking place in a not very traditional context. I’m also preparing material for the magazine Síntoma. Lead by Omar Campos Oniri, this magazine is a quite strange mix of literature and comics, however, a pretty mature product with profound texts. I also try to work at fanzines (magazines for fans by fans), like Papel Ilustre by Daniel Jeldres. Fanzines are usually of limited print runs with the intention of giving the artists a space where they can experiment and develop about subjects which usually are not covered by traditional publications. Besides all this, we are working on material for some independent publications for the United States. I’m ending this year quite satisfied and pretty busy. And if the people keep supporting us with Zombies en La Moneda, we will have to try to surprise our readers also in the future.

Influences?

—In drawing I think I was influenced by Jordi Bernet, Peyo, Matt Groening, Carl Barks, Robert Crumb and recently by Daniel Clowes. For the writing my favorites have always been Edgar Allan Poe and William Shakespeare, and contemporary artists like Alan Moore, Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman.

What does inspire you?

—In general, life itself and art: I read a lot of literature and comics, I watch a lot of movies and play video-games. Besides, I love to listen to people around me. They can tell anecdotes and stories better that any comic.

What needs to be done in case of a zombie attack?

—If you have supplies and water for a couple of months, close yourself up and secure doors and windows. It there’s electricity, you may want to play with your Playstation. This will do for a couple of months, while the army takes care of the situation. If there are neither supplies nor water, the ideal would be to find some people to build a group. The more, the better. You need to go to some safe place, ideally where the army is present. You always need to take weapons with you. Everything works: huge scissors, chain saws, etc. If you meet some character from Zombies en La Moneda on the way, like Jorge Medina or Walken Karate, believe me, you will be much safer.

Please share some of the music with us which you are currently listening to or something you think is so good that we all should listen to it.

—The new record of Sofia Oportot is amazing. You can listen to it and even download it for free: http://sofiaoportot.bandcamp.com

The new one of Paola Josefina is also very good. Her MySpace is http://www.myspace.com/paolajosefina

Cat or dog?

—CAT !!! :D !!!

For more information about Kobal’s comics, presentations and more, please check his website.

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