We have a cuppa with old friend and brilliant graphic novelist Bruna Martini on her process, new work and using everything around you to tell a multi-dimensional story.
Hey Bruna! Tell us about your journey as an artist - how did it start and what has led you towards becoming a graphic novelist?
I've been interested in comics and animation since I was a little girl, even 'reading' Mickey Mouse before I could decipher the text. As a teenager, I discovered more sophisticated Italian comics like “Dylan Dog,” which captivated me with its intricate narratives and exploration of deep themes like fear and death. This contrast between the depth of these stories and the perception of comics as mere children's entertainment fuelled my desire to challenge that stereotype. I’m a bit of a contrarian, so I felt compelled to defend comics as a legitimate art form. This led me to explore graphic novels and create my own complex narratives aimed at an adult audience, reinforcing my commitment to elevating the medium.
You are very multi-disciplinary with film, photography, animation and graphic design - do you use each medium to express yourself in different ways?
I am an advocate for the mixed-media approach, which allows for a richer, more immersive experience by blending various forms of expression. By combining illustration, photography, film and sound in my animations, I aim to create a multidimensional storytelling environment that deepens the narrative, evoking a wider range of emotions and connections.
I find graphic novels similar to animation. The use of a narrating voice and dialogues add an audio dimension to the drawings, and the mixed-media approach allows me to combine photography and other media in the story.
Let's focus on your graphic novels - specifically Patria... tell us about the story of the book, and the story of you coming to create it.
‘Patria. Crescere in tempo di guerra’ tells the story of Fascism in Italy through the eyes of my aunt Graziella, who was a primary school child during WW2. She was born in 1932 and was educated in the totalitarian beliefs of the fascist regime. Her personal story of a school girl indoctrinated in the state school serves as a foundation for a broader national narrative: the process of indoctrination of young people by the regime, the persuasive techniques used in schools at the time and the key aspects of fascist ideology and history.
Patria is a highly personal story, what made you want to create it as a graphic novel?
The memories of Fascism that I recount in ‘Patria’ are inherently multimedia. The process of indoctrination that Graziella experiences is a potpourri of communication forms, blending drawings, written texts, photographs and everyday objects. The Fascist values at the time were communicated via radio, cinema, literature, art, architecture; via the design of everyday objects like a packet of cigarettes or a wine bottle; via advertising and public celebrations. Italians were subjected to a non-stop process of indoctrination that encompassed all cultural channels. This variety of messages reveals the extent and complexity of the regime's propaganda machine.
In writing ‘Patria’ I followed a similarly multimedia approach. I decided to research objects from the time to give a real, first hand experience on how people must have felt when subjected to 24/7 propaganda. Once I collected all these objects, I thought that the best place to showcase them would be a graphic novel - specifically, a graphic memoir, where the historical artefacts drive and enhance the narration. The rich array of photographs, documents, fascist imagery, figurines, maps and postcards creates an engaging visual landscape that immerses readers in a brutal Fascist world.
There is so much intricacy, history (personal and societal) and emotion in Patria - what was it that you wanted to ultimately say with this book?
I see ‘Patria’ as a passing of the torch between generations.
Seventy-five years after the end of the regime, Fascism is still on the rise, often among middle aged people who, unlike previous generations, don’t have grandparents with direct experience of WW2. In my intentions, ‘Patria’ ‘s goal is to serve as a warning to everyone—both young people and adults—not to forget the atrocities of a past that is always ready to resurface.
How collaborative was the process with your subject - was it solely interview led, or was there collaboration on the design and aesthetic
When I was little, my aunt showed me the report cards she had carefully kept from her primary school years, and I was immediately captivated. These cards were like small pieces of art, featuring illustrations that would be considered unsuitable for children today. The covers depicted weapons, war helicopters, knives, blood and slogans like "to die" and "to win." It was these cards that inspired me to turn my aunt's story into an illustrated book.
My aunt played a crucial role in shaping the design and aesthetic of my graphic novel by allowing me access to the cards, along with many old photographs, notebooks, school books, and other cherished objects from her childhood. These items were invaluable in crafting the illustrated world of my story.
Creating such a huge and magnificent work must be so time consuming - what is your process for attacking such a task?
In writing this graphic memoir I aimed to avoid historical revisionism and accurately referenced sources, allowing books and documents from the time to speak for themselves. The first-and longest-phase of my work process was research. I read academic texts on the consequences of Mussolini's policies, focusing on colonialism, ethnic persecution, autarky and corporatism. I investigated how these themes were taught in schools and collected legislation, research theses, reflections and documents related to fascist education. I visited libraries, bookstores and flea markets throughout Italy to find artefacts from the Italian Fascist era. This research took almost 5 years.
This study phase complemented and supported the recording of my aunt's first hand testimony. First, I filmed her in a series of video interviews where Graziella speaks in the first person about her experience of Fascism and WW2. Then, I combined her words in a poem - the narrating voice in the book - and made illustrations to tell her story in the form of a graphic novel.
What is your studio set up like and how do you construct it all, image by image and page by page?
When I start a new book project I always start by creating a storyboard, visualising each line of text with images arranged in panels. After extensive revisions with my editor, the storyboard is approved and I begin exploring different media and styles to best represent the story. This phase is crucial, as it establishes the graphic novel's unique look. My studio walls become filled with sketches of characters and locations. Once the style is finalised and agreed upon with the publisher, I start designing the book, chapter by chapter.
How do stories come to you? What is it in the life and the world that intrigues you or inspires you?
In my work I am inspired by the style and tone of graphic novelists the likes of Gipi, Bechdel, Yelin, Spiegelman, Vanistendael, Satrapi and Walden. I particularly like artists who endorse a mixed media approach and combine illustration with text, like Hannah Höch ( the Dada collage pioneer), David Hockney for his photo collages, Barbara Kruger and Richard Hamilton. I adore the writer Romain Gary for his ability of telling stories from the point of view of the children who lived them.
Can you tell us about what you are working on at the moment or your plans for your future?
I recently published my second graphic novel Roots-Radici, which has been included among the best 12 graphic novels published in Italy last year. This is an epic exploring themes of identity, migration and belonging. It follows the extraordinary migrant life of one of my ancestors who left Italy in the early 1900s and created a new life in Argentina, highlighting the complexities of familial connections and the impact of historical events on personal narratives. This work particularly resonates with readers who share similar experiences of displacement or those seeking to understand the intricacies of identity in a multicultural world.
I will be touring in Italy next month presenting the book in cultural venues and festivals. I have an exhibition coming up at Christmas where I will be showcasing work from this book for 2 months in a museum in Northern Italy.
Image copyright: Bruna Martini
If someone were thinking of becoming a graphic novelist, what advice would you give - from a practical standpoint and also from a creative one, too.
Graphic novels are multimedia works that encompass sound, images, objects, poetry and prose. To create compelling graphic novels, it's essential to cultivate an interest in various art forms, from painting to film and theatre to literature. Personally, I find inspiration by visiting at least one exhibition a week—often interactive art—and watching as many films as possible to refine my writing and gather new ideas. My advice to aspiring graphic novelists is to step away from the internet, get out of the house and engage with exhibitions instead.
Useful links!
Bruna's website is here
And her Insta