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Once again we find ourselves in this section where I tell you everything that I didn’t told you for a year, where I also note that comic page updates have been scarce over the course of it and I offer a quick update, I hope it doesn’t become a habit (it won’t be), so let’s get to it. 2023 has been a tremendous year, full of great emotions, mainly happiness and many changes that have impacted my life in a positive way, it has been a very busy year and unfortunately it hasn’t been a good year for Anima Porter. I managed to publish 22 pages out of a total of 32, there aren’t many pages left to complete the chapter and I promise to finish this year as soon as possible, since I still have a pending project which was the same reason why I stopped publishing Anima Porter in the first place, it’s my first graphic novel project with the publishing house Casa N. 100 and it’s titled: “Maldito Hotel”.
Maldito Hotel is a romance/suspense story in which a couple of teenagers decide to escape from their respective homes. They soon arrive at a suspicious and gloomy hotel in the middle of nowhere, where they lose track of time and find themselves trapped with guests and strange situations and their relationship will be constantly tested. It’s a story that has me very excited, I’ve had to make several corrections to the script and that’s the reason for the delay. With such a beautiful reason and together with the announcement of two other projects from the publishing house (“El Pingüinito” by Gustavo Laruta and “Cumbia Zombi” by Yasser Vargas), the publishing house took the opportunity to publish a free sample within the framework of the world event of the “Free Comic Book Day” celebrated in the month of May. If everything goes well and as planned, this comic should be ready by April of this year, although one way or another it will be published this year.
In other news, this year I also had the opportunity to travel to a comics event abroad. This time I went to the 12th version of the International Comics Convention: Crack Bang Boom, in Rosario, Argentina. I participated with four other colleagues from the ABCH, the event took place from August 17 to 20.
The trip was killer, we were traveling for almost two days by land and by air, but it had its reward like any good trip. The experience was incredible, the event was the best I’ve ever attended in terms of comics, the reception was very warm, the city very welcoming and the food delicious (you know what they say about Argentine barbecues). In addition, our work was made known to a new audience and we met new colleagues, to round out a perfect trip and a successful investment. My colleagues returned very motivated to continue publishing more comics, this is also my case and it’s my greatest wish.
This 2024 awaits me with much more work with the publisher and many more pages to draw, Anima Porter will return without fail to complete chapter 4 and also to make preparations for the imminent release of chapter 5, marking the beginning of the second story arc. Let’s see what surprises this new year has in store, and as always comics cannot be missing. If not, why does this site exist?
See you at the next entry of Anima Porter.
Andrés M.
The prodigal son returns! I haven’t forgotten about Anima Porter and lately I’ve been working on the fourth chapter that I’ll finally start publishing from now on. Going back to this comic feels like visiting old friends and I had a great time drawing each page as usual. This time, chapter 4 entitled: “Thy will be done” will have 32 pages and will focus mainly on Puraki Karqa, although we have a small preview in these first four pages about where the story will lead us in the future. My intention is that this chapter marks the end of the first part to give way to another story within the Anima Porter universe that will be more focused on its protagonist Chan and the Special Forces Academy, where the fantastic and magical side of the story will be explored. But let’s not get too ahead into the future if we still have a present waiting to be discovered, the updates will be on Wednesdays and Fridays and you can already read the first pages from this link.
Andrés M. R.
December has arrived and I still haven’t published the fourth chapter of Anima Porter?! What happened? Well many things. I offer the following update as an explanation and I hope it doesn’t sound like an excuse, note that I’m currently working on Anima Porter and I already have several pages finished in pencil.
During the months of June and July I was working on my most recent printed publication: “La Noche de Desentierro”, an experimental self-contained comic that revolves around the underground band called: “Los Hermanos Matasuegra” and deals with how their music and presentation manipulates the audience in a bizarre and creepy way. With this work I officially presented my publishing label “Casa N.100” from which I also published the printed edition of Anima Porter 1 last year. The comic was presented at the 26th La Paz International Book Fair and the good comments I received about the work fills me with joy, something that greatly relieves me for the future of the publishing house.
Unfortunately, the hectic production of “La Noche de Desentierro” took a toll on my body. In the middle of the drawing session I began to feel discomfort in my right hand, the hand that makes the drawings. This of course activated all the alarms in my head (although not enough at first to stop me from finishing drawing my comic), scared and afraid that the situation would worsen to a tendon issue, I had to take rest, get away from the drawing board and finally attend physiotherapy sessions. All this in the span of three months in which I tried to make as little effort as possible with said hand. Fortunately, the discomfort decreased considerably after the physiotherapy sessions, but before resuming my normal activities I had something pending: Nortecómic 2022.
During the year I received the invitation to participate in the first Nortecómic Festival in Iquique, Chile, which I attended with several colleagues representing the ABCH (Bolivian Association of Comic Strip Creators). The event took place on October 27, 28 and 29 and needless to say, it was an incredible experience, many people were able to see my work, I met great artists and I felt tremendously honored to have been invited to an event abroad.
Upon my return I got down to work with Anima Porter, but before that I had another unfinished business; because I had been invited to the “Colloque international hybride la Bande Dessinée Numérique Espagne, Portugal, Amérique Latine”, an international colloquium on the webcomic that is part of a study carried out by the Université Clermont Auvergne. My first invitation to an event in Europe! Of course, I was only able to attend virtually this time, but that didn’t stop it from being very exciting. I was able to share my knowledge with other authors and with the attendees of the colloquium. It was also the first time that I spoke extensively about Anima Porter, which was the main reason why I participated in the colloquium, and besides being an enriching experience, it motivated me a lot to continue drawing more pages of Anima Porter.
As you can see, despite the unfortunate injury this turned out to be a great year and it would have been even better if I finished an episode of Anima Porter, which by the way didn’t leave my head for a second. With more time on my schedule, I can more accurately estimate that the chapter currently in production will be published at some point in January 2023, and this time without fail. Finally, I’m infinitely grateful to the organizers of both events to which I was invited, for the opportunity to exhibit my work in their countries, those are experiences I’ll never forget.
Feeling very optimistic about the future and hoping that this has been a great year for everyone as it was for me, I say goodbye wishing you happy holidays.
Read you in the pages of Anima Porter 4 😉
Andrés M.
I am currently participating in the “Short Story Contest” from Webtoons. The comic with which I’m participating is titled “Water Walls” and is divided into 5 parts. This is the synopsis:
Malik and Mira are left to the care of their grandfather after a terrible accident involving their parents. He was once the brave captain of a small fishing boat in his youth, but after his daughter’s accident he’s not being himself lately and Malik fears the beloved grandpa he once knew is now gone and replaced by a senile delirious man, who can be a danger for everyone living in his old, crumbling little house.
All chapters will be available soon on the platform. You can read my comic at the following link: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/water-walls-h/list?title_no=441278
Andrés.
