"People don’t stop making stupid things, and I have to draw them all"
Although it’s hard to admit, most of us have experienced some of the scenes that Roberta Vázquez pictures in her comic strips. Only she is able to represent the precarious lives of the millennial generation and to make us laugh whilst watching our own misery.
Apart from publishing several Fanzines and a graphic novel (“Socorro!” [Help!]), she has collaborated with media such as El País, Tentaciones, Marie Claire, and Vice, among many others.
Since we met her, we fell for her special and sour sense of humour, so we didn’t hesitate to order a couple of strips.
You studied Fine Arts, but you then chose the world of comics, what was your motivation to work on this?
I knew that I wanted to be an illustrator since I was a teenager, and over time I specialised in comics. I think it’s the easiest way to communicate my ideas.
In a digital world, you are still illustrating on paper. What kind of materials do you normally use? How is your creative process?
I’m not good at digital drawing tools, because I find them boring. I am getting better and better at analog techniques and worst at digital techniques, so I guess there’s no way back. Most clients want digital illustrations, but oddly enough, this has resulted in something distinctive that plays in my favour. I use calibrated markers for the outer line, and alcohol-based markers and colour pencils for the colour. I also know how to use watercolour, but I prefer markers because they are more practical, they dry instantly and I can work faster.
Who would you say are your main references?
Pierre Le-Tan, Camille Jourdy, Esther Pearl Watson, Robert Crumb, Phoebe Gloeckner, Katsuhiro Otomo, Matt Furie, Alberto Vázquez, Patrick Benson… to name a few.
Job insecurity, unaffordable rent, social media posers… your characters experience current situations that are familiar to us, are they based on experiences or are they personal?
I conduct field research, haha.
You are an endless source of ideas, you have published several Fanzines such as “Hago lo que puedo” [I do what I can] or “A la porra!” [Screw it!], and in 2019 you published your first book and “Socorro!”. Where does all this creativity come from? What inspires you?
Thank you haha, I guess that people don’t stop making stupid things, and I have to draw them all. I owe everything to the people that I don’t like. The 90’s vibes inspire me: cartoon series, toys, stickers, the 10 first seasons of The Simpson… I’m also really inspired by what @otraputacuentadedibujos and @irenemqez do. I think she is the best comic artist in Spain.
What other projects are you working on?
I’m doing a comic strip for children with the publisher Blackie Little. It will come out next year. I’m also taking notes for my next book with Apa Apa Cómics, and working on new self-published fanzines. I’m always up to something, but the day doesn’t have enough hours to do all I have in mind, because I combine all this with the new commands and with my online shop.
To wrap up, if today a meteorite destroyed the Earth, what would you like your last meal to be?
Wow, so difficult! I’m a changing person, if it was today, I would say friend eggs with chips and tiramisu for dessert.