Drawing the comic book markets in Porto Alegre

Abstract

The visual essay explores the modes of circulation of comic books in Porto Alegre, intertwining methodological approaches and theoretical discussions that focus on two artistic-mercantile circuits: the editorial-traditional and the independent. 1. The work traces the flows of comic books throughout the city, mapping routes that originate from and pass through secondhand bookstores, comic shops, and fairs - spaces that enable interactions among comic artists, editors, shopkeepers, readers, and consumers. 2. In addition to identifying the networks of humans and non-humans that agence different circuits of mercantile exchange, the essay highlights the role of drawing as a central practice in the ethnographic endeavor. Drawing is mobilized both as a catalyst for interactions during the construction of the empirical field and as a tool for registering and analyzing, organizing and presenting the anthropological reflections derived from the research. Thus, integrated into the ethnographic process, drawing functions as both a descriptive and analytical element. In this ethnographic and visual production, it contributes to demonstrating that, although markets are often perceived as spaces devoid of social ties, the scenes and commercial flows rendered through drawing reveal the interconnections between bonding, art, and market.