Marika Vila

Marika Vila
Marika Vila (2023)
BornMaría del Carmen Vila Migueloa
July 16, 1949
Barcelona, Spain
Pseudonym(s)Marika
AwardsGrand Prize, Barcelona International Comic Fair (2024)

María del Carmen Vila Migueloa (better known as, Marika Vila; Barcelona, July 16, 1949) is a Spanish illustrator, cartoonist, author, and feminist sociologist.[1][2] Part of her professional career has been focused on analyzing women's presence within the comics narrative, as well as being a prominent women's rights activist.[3] In 2024, she received the Grand Prize of the Barcelona International Comic Fair, which she helped found in the early 1980s.[1][4]

Early life and education

María del Carmen Vila Migueloa was born in Barcelona, July 16, 1949.[1][2]

She studied Sociology and Drawing at the Escuela Massana [es].[5] In 2009, she graduated in Humanities from the University of Barcelona, and in 2017, she received a Ph.D. in Construction and Representation of Gender Identities from the university. Her doctoral thesis, El cos okupat: iconografies del cos femení com a espai de la transgressió masculina en el còmic was directed by Marta Segarra and published in 2024 in an adapted edition.[6]

Career

In the mid 1960s,[3] Vila began working in the illustration field, especially with work in the foreign market through the Selecciones Ilustradas agency and at Norma Editorial.[5] Advised by Miguel Fuster in 1973, she also began to draw romance comics.[7]

From 1977 to the early 1990s she worked as a comic book writer for magazines such as Troya, Rambla, Butifarra!, El Papus, and others where she also worked as a director.[8] During this time, she published the series "Noche y día" (1977), "Tango" (1982), "Reflejos" (1983), "Moderna secreta" (1984), and "Mata Hari" (1991).[9]

Since the mid-1980s, she worked as an editorial technician at Planeta DeAgostini, participating in several of the publisher's first successful manga. She has also participated in cartoon productions such as Mofli, el último koala and advertising campaigns.[5]

Marika at the Saló del Còmic de Barcelona (2018)

In 2000, she directed the Iconikas project, focused on illustration.[7] In 2019, she published the graphic novel Mata Hari with Andreu Martín, based on her series of the same name for Totem magazine. In recent years, she has curated exhibitions and has dedicated herself to teaching and feminist activism.[3]

Awards

Selected works

Graphic novels

Essays

  • Desokupar el cuerpo: las voces de las autoras en el cómic español (Mamotilla, 2024).

Expositions

References

  1. ^ a b c Sabaté, Jordi (13 June 2024). "Marika Vila, socióloga y dibujante pionera: 'El cómic va con evidente retraso en igualdad de género'" [Marika Vila, sociologist and pioneering cartoonist: 'Comics are clearly lagging behind in terms of gender equality']. elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b Abella, Anna (3 May 2024). "Marika Vila, la mirada del compromiso feminista, Gran Premio del Cómic Barcelona" [Marika Vila, the vision of feminist commitment, Barcelona Comic Grand Prize]. El Periódico (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "La veterana ilustradora Marika Vila gana el Gran Premio Comic Barcelona" [Veteran illustrator Marika Vila wins the Barcelona Comic Grand Prix]. RTVE.es (in Spanish). 3 May 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  4. ^ Bombí-Vilaseca, Francesc (6 May 2024). "Marika Vila, un Gran Premio para la reivindicación y la memoria" [Marika Vila, a Grand Prix for vindication and memory]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Vila Migueloa, María del Carmen". Tebeosfera (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Libros de Marika Vila. Biografía y bibliografía" [Books by Marika Vila. Biography and bibliography.]. www.bellaterra.coop (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Encuentros y desencuentros. Entrevista con Marika" [Encounters and disagreements. Interview with Marika]. Tebeosfera (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  8. ^ Echevarría, Paula (11 April 2010). "El cómic rosa no es nada romántico, es una formación prosaica de reglas para conquistar a un señor" [The pink comic is not at all romantic, it is a prosaic formation of rules to conquer a gentleman]. noticiasdenavarra.com (in Spanish) – via InternetArchiveBot..
  9. ^ Vila Migueloa, Maria Carmen; McCausland, Elisa G. (2021). "Entrevista a Marika Vila" [Interview with Marika Vila]. Filanderas: Revista Interdisciplinar de Estudios Feministas (in Spanish) (6): 91. ISSN 2530-6022.