Chile A Potential Regional… Comics Powerhouse?
The region’s most dynamic economy is making moves to exploit unprecedented business opportunities in the rest of Latin America, including comics. Graphic novels are nothing new to Latin America, but the commercial possibilities for Chilean publishers are leading to the sales of thousands of copies of comic-based books throughout the country and negotiations are underway to reproduce these titles for the international market. We see proof in the growing Chilean delegations appearing at industry shows such as the Angouleme Festival (France) and Comic Com in San Diego (USA). The success of the Chilean comic comes, in part, from national educational policies that have incorporated several titles into school curriculums and joint efforts by the Chilean comic industry and government to promote the genre outside national borders.
Chilean Comics by the Numbers
• Approximately seventy titles are published every year.
• Multinational publishing houses have purchased the rights to about ten titles.
• The number is expected to approach fifteen titles by 2020.
• Nearly three hundred Chilean artists —40% of whom are women— create graphic novels.
