Brazilian graphic memoirs emerge from the gutters of the industry

Abstract

It discusses the results observed from bibliographical and documentary research involving the ethnic-racial scenario of Brazilian graphic novels, emphasizing graphic memoirs. It analyzed publishers and major events in Brazil to exemplify the consequences of institutional racism in the country’s comics industry. The data obtained tends to represent reflections of Brazil’s post-colonization process. In this context, some questions are subject to critical reflection. Firstly, the industry data analyses highlight the lack of ethnic diversity in the national graphic novels publishers compared to Brazil’s official demographic data. Furthermore, these industry data indicate that a leading publishing company in the country would not be supporting the national artists. Likewise, it also would not be contributing to a connection with other authors from Latin American countries. It can still be deduced that publishing efforts have prioritized the publication of foreign graphic novels that are already acclaimed in the international comic books industry. Given this scenario, self-publishing, access to comic book events, and new, but small, Brazilian publishers were perceived as some of the tight spaces responsible for the development of this media in the national industry after the military dictatorship, the period in which the publication of authorial comics diminished veery much in the country.