New Graphic Maternities in Contemporary Spanish and Hispanic American Comics: La volátil. Mamma mia!, ¿Materniyá? y Madr¿eh?

Abstract

During the last years there has been an outburst of publications that deal with the experience of maternity. It is a topic that was often absent in comics, but in recent times it has almost become a subgenre supported by the rise of comics of female authorship and the so-called “graphic novel”, more in particular autobiographic comics. This article offers an introduction to how comics of female authorship have reflected maternity in the Hispanic world, focusing on three recent works: Agustina Guerrero’s (Argentina, 1982) La volátil. Mamma mia! (2015); Marta Piedra’s (Madrid, 1982) ¿Materniyá? (2021); and Lyona’s (Barcelona, 1979) Madr¿eh? (2021). This analysis will pay special attention to the graphic resources of comics as a medium to undermine the traditional vision of maternity.