Ana Oncina: “It is difficult for me to consider myself an artist: I tell life in vignettes”

She arrives at the EL PAÍS Editorial Office straight from the train that brings her from Alicante, where she lives and works with her partner, the illustrator Álex Giménez, whom she met 10 years ago while both were studying Fine Arts in Valencia. Shy, kind and a little nervous before the interview, which she is not used to, Oncina brings a gift of a canvas bag and a notebook of notes from Croquette and empanadillathe saga inspired by their experiences together, with which she began to stand out, and sell comics like hotcakes in 2014. Today she lives off of them, shipping them in bookstores and on her own subscriber channel to an audience that awaits her next installment as she expected that of her favorite authors when she was a child.

She is the first Spanish to be awarded for her comics sleeve in Japan, the cradle of manga How does it stay?

It has been a total surprise. I also didn't believe that Croquette and empanadilla I was going to like it so much. It was what my boyfriend and I called each other, a private joke. I draw and write what I would like to read, and I am still amazed that people like it.

Woman, your work will have something when you bless it.

The work thing sounds too big to me, it's hard for me to consider myself an artist. I am a storyteller. I like to tell stories, but I can't imagine telling them without illustrating them. I tell life in vignettes.

Why did you choose to do manga when you are from Alicante?

As a child, I was a big manga reader, especially by female authors. I loved the fantasy and romantic genres. And when I started making comics I followed that path naturally. I like to create atmospheres, sensations, that the reader gets into my world. My work defines me a lot. She's honest, and that's what I think attracts her. 90% of my readers are women because they feel reflected.

Compared to the more sexualized manga, its couples are very romantic, almost corny.

I am corny. When I started, in my twenties, I was even more so. But beneath that corniness there are other things. My characters have grown with me and each age has its experiences and vicissitudes. Now other things happen to them. Croquette and empanadilla It is, let's say, my comfort zone, but I have been exploring other topics for a long time. In F*cking 30I talk about the age crisis, in Just Friends of friendship and diversity and in Planetmental health, which is something that also greatly affects my generation.

What is the life-long 30-life crisis like now?

I see a lot of frustration around me. We are the frustrated generation. There has been a very big generational leap heavy with our parents. They were able to work and earn decent wages. Now many very well-educated people do not have well-paid jobs and that is very frustrating, because life keeps moving forward and you are stuck in eternal indefinition.

But you are doing very well.

I have already said that I am lucky to be able to make a living from this. Before I also had to work on other things. But, even so, you consider whether or not to buy an apartment, whether or not to be a mother. And you also put the pressure on yourself to believe that you have to have already done things that you haven't considered if you really want to do. It's complex.

What sources do you draw from for your stories? Do you watch the news?

I look a lot inside myself, and at others. I get a lot of nourishment from talking to friends. Before I ate with the TV news on, it was like I needed it, but there has come a point where I run away from that. It creates anxiety for me. I talk about it with my friends and it happens to them too. Too many disasters, too many crises.

How is your self-esteem?

I've had my ups and downs, but now it's better.

Was it bad before?

Well, I've had that crisis of not believing I'm good enough, of being an imposter, of asking for a lot of forgiveness, of justifying myself for everything.

Has the award helped you?

Yes, being told that you are worth it, without anyone having given you anything, helps. But sometimes you feel like you get things by a stroke of luck, and that it won't happen again. You are not aware of the number of hours and the hard work that goes into it,

That's very feminine, isn't it?

Yes and no. It is also a question of character. I have very empowered colleagues, perhaps with less achievements than me, and I envy that way of being. I want to be like that, but I can't quite believe it. I'm on it.

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