La cuarta cifra - Jorge Vigil (Enlace)

KAREN BERGER

my drawing / mi dibujo

I usually talk about comics here. I talk about comics I like. I talk about writers that I admire. I talk about artists that I love. But I rarely talk about editors and that’s a great omission on my part. Perhaps I refrain myself from doing so because others have a better insight on the inner workings of the comic book industry. Regardless of my apparent lack of dedication to the editorial aspect of the industry we all love so much I always know what’s going on. I was well aware of the implications of Paul Levitz resigning as the president of DC Comics which led to the loathsome “Before Watchmen” initiative which I explained at length here and here. 

After these Watchmen prequels came out I thought I would hear no more awful news from DC. Turns out I was wrong. Yesterday, Karen Berger announced that she was stepping down as Executive Editor of Vertigo and Senior Vice-President of DC. Literally hundreds of writers and artists have shared their support towards Berger, who had been Vertigo’s editor for two decades, creating a cutting-edge imprint that was able to release groundbreaking titles; Karen was responsible for THE SANDMAN, TRANSMETROPOLITAN, PREACHER, Y THE LAST MAN, THE INVISIBLES, HELLBLAZER, THE UNWRITTEN and many other multi-awarded series. Thanks to her, authors like Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, Peter Milligan and Mike Carey were able to create the stories they wanted to tell without the constraints and conservativeness of DC Comics (which is, after all, a subsidiary of Time Warner).

Pablo Patrucco

Coincidentally, hours before I heard the news, I had written about Swamp Thing, emphasizing the role of Karen Berger as an editor. Back then, Vertigo didn’t exist, but she still fought hard to have Saga of the Swamp Thing published without the seal of approval of the Comics Code Authority. Almost 30 years ago she was already fighting against censorship and helping creators do what they do best: create in freedom. Surely, her absence will have major repercussions in the American comic book industry and perhaps Vertigo will disappear as an independent imprint. Either way, I’m terribly sad and concerned about all of this. In Swamp Thing Alan Moore also wrote a heartbreaking story titled POG and if you have ever read it then you will understand the following quote: "How can I tell my kinlings that I let myself be seduped by a dislusion? How can I tell the Hystricide that he was right? That there is no Lady, and that it was all just trifles. Trifles light as air". POG (Saga of the Swamp Thing # 32).

So long Karen, we were lucky to have you around for so long,

Arcadio Bolaños

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Jorge Vigil

Empecé a visitar con frecuencia la Galería Enlace desde mediados del 2010, y aunque el elegante espacio sansidrino suele ser bastante concurrido, nunca lo había visto tan lleno de gente como ayer en la noche. Además de la inauguración de la "La cuarta cifra" del talentosísimo artista Jorge Vigil, la revista Art Motiv también celebraba su décimo cuarta edición. 

Jorge Vigil es uno de los grandes artistas peruanos, con un arte minucioso y preciosista, que se inclina hacia lo surrealista pero sin descuidar elementos eróticos y fantásticos de todo tipo. Son conocidas las mujeres de Vigil, que se aferran a penes turgentes de dimensiones imposibles, tan grandes como un bote o un animal de carga. También los juegos de rostros subsumidos en una suerte de tablero de ajedrecista, todos asomándose con fiereza por los bordes y degustando el aire rancio de la carne. Los cuadros de Vigil siempre han sido de gran belleza, y esta muestra confirma su habilidad y su maestría artística. 

Jorge Vigil

En esta ocasión hubo tanta gente que por momentos experimenté una ligera sensación de claustrofobia, y aunque me tomé varios chilcanos no pude calmarme del todo. De todos modos, conversé un rato con mi gran amigo Marcos Palacios, y también con Hugo Salazar con quien siempre me encuentro en Enlace. Además, saludé a varios de los colaboradores de Art Motiv como José Medina (comité editorial), Hugo Alegre y Carmen Alegre (relaciones públicas). Por supuesto, también hablé brevemente con los artistas Paolo Vigo, Isabelle Decenciere y Mónica Cuba. También me encontré con Renzo Núñez Melgar Vega, y aprovechamos para comentar los últimos capítulos de THE WALKING DEAD. 

Por último, la muestra "Cadencias" de Maurice Montero también me dejó gratamente impresionado, con esculturas móviles que aprovechan nuestro aspecto lúdico, este artista nos ofrece figuras extraordinarias y de una enorme inventiva. Realmente imperdible.

Ambas muestras permanecerán abiertas al público hasta la última semana de diciembre en Galería Enlace, avenida Pardo y Aliaga 676, San Isidro. Si pueden, aprovechen para darse una vuelta por ahí.