The precariousness of Spanish comics becomes state policy

In January 2024, the Ministry of Culture presented the White Paper on Comics , a detailed analysis of the sector that revealed some disconcerting data: only 9% of comics published in Spain the previous year were the work of Spanish authors, and of these authors, 63% declared that their income was below the minimum wage . The Ministry's response, after collaborating with various associations and stakeholders in the comics world in its drafting, was the presentation this May of a line of direct aid for comic book creation with a total allocation of one million euros to be distributed among 40 projects. This is a historic milestone for Spanish comics, both in terms of its amount and scope, and also an attempt to prop up an industry that is languishing and proves unable to cope with the constant flight of talent.

"25,000 euros is a suitable amount as long as it continues, because precariousness isn't resolved in one fell swoop." These are the words of Antonio Hitos (Huelva, 1985), one of the greatest talents of his generation and a 2015 beneficiary of the INJUVE scholarship, the creative aid program for young artists. "If the initiative is sustained, it will transform the sector. The improvement in material conditions will allow the enormous talent that already exists in Spanish comics to perform as it deserves," emphasizes the Huelva-born author. Laura Pérez (Valencia, 1983), the recent 2025 Comic Critics Association Award winner, believes that "the amount allows us to better focus on our work for a longer period of time and is a good support for comic creation." For his part, Fernando Llor (Vigo, 1982), scriptwriter and founding member of the ARGH! comic book writers' association, is a "student-led" initiative. He points out that "I think it's perfectly correct, and I would have also thought so if the aid was 15, 20,000 euros, or 30, 35, or 40. The point is to distribute a million that goes directly into the pockets of the authors ."

The grants offer special protection to women artists, whose numbers are increasing in a sector traditionally dominated by men. The Comic Book Authors collective has told this newspaper that it is overwhelmed by the call for entries: "There are many members writing these days to ask questions and seek advice, and we can't keep up." Of the forty projects that will benefit, twelve will be reserved for those in which "at least 40% of the participation corresponds to women." Hitos believes that "I don't know if it's enough, but it seems like a necessary protection. As a public initiative, it must also aim to correct historical biases that are also detrimental to the development of the medium." Laura Pérez admits that "support for more women to create comics is always welcome."

One point that has been particularly applauded by artists is the express prohibition on the submission of works created or assisted by generative Artificial Intelligence . Hitos is adamant: "I think it's perfect, of course. In its current configuration, AI is incompatible with any protectionist policy towards authors." Llor is ironic about the issue: "I don't even understand why it has to be included in a call for submissions or why someone might think 'hey, I'm going to submit to this call with this thing made with Chat GPT'. From an authorial perspective, it's completely incomprehensible to me, but I imagine that if it has to be included, it's because we have to protect ourselves from profiteers, smart guys, and thieves ."

What has caused more controversy is that the grants are targeted at artists with a proven track record or who have published at least one previous work , as well as the fact that the scale gives higher scores to those who present a pre-agreement with a publisher. Many new artists have expressed their disagreement on social media, but they are not the only ones. When asked by this newspaper, the Association of Comic Book Professionals, which brings together both artists and comic book writers, believes that "we need to talk to the Ministry to change this, because self-publishing is an alternative just as legitimate as traditional channels." Artists with extensive careers but dedicated to self-publishing, such as Jordi Bayarri (Alboraya, 1972), express their complaints: "I suppose the idea still persists that self-publishing is the recourse of those whose work isn't good enough to find a real publisher. In recent years, several of us have self-published and have brought out projects with the same quality, sales, and international reach as any other type of work." Llor is clear: "I think the ideal, as will happen with the next grants for film writing, would be to participate with a system of sealed bids without any restrictions and that would anonymize the projects . The only thing that should be taken into account is the work itself, not trajectory, contracts, pre-agreements, or additional stories, just the work." However, Hitos believes that "the idea of ​​the grants is not so much to be a comics competition but to improve the conditions of the sector, but the sector also benefits from new authors entering the industry under the best conditions."

The question now is whether this aid will be accompanied by salary increases and more efficient promotional support from publishers . The Spanish comic book industry still has a long way to go to catch up with its international competitors.