Míriam Bonastre. From a class work to a bestseller.

But how did it all start? We chatted with Míriam Bonastre at 29 Manga Barcelona.
“With the final work of the Joso.” Míriam is a former student of the professional course of Art Grafic course at the Joso. En el cuarto y último año, los y las alumnas realizan un proyecto donde aplican todo lo aprendido. “I created a story that, at first, I proposed with conventional narrative. Until I discovered the existence of the webcomic.”

– Where did the idea come from? How did the webcomic come into your life?
Webtoon is a platform that has been very successful in Korea for years. My friend and classmate from Joso,  Cristina Trianafirst told me about this new format. That was when I decided to transform my narrative in order to be able to publish in this new format.  Webtoon.

– This narrative is different from that of the comic. The vertical format allows for a rather cinematic language. How did you adapt to it?
The format of Webtoon lets you play. In the beginning, I documented myself by consuming posts from the Korean version of the app. Understanding how the vertical format worked and seeing what different resources it could allow. Later, you create your own style in terms of narrative. For example, Carles Dalmau has invented incredible things that I haven’t seen before in any other webcomic. 

– Once you created your Hooky project, how did you get into Webtoon?
To enter Webtoon Professional there are two ways: by publishing first in canvas and contacting publishers, or by contest. Actually, I submitted two projects. Both of them pitch I made to the editors were just as you taught me atthe Joso (laughs). 

– On November 29th, the first season of your new Webtoon, Marionetta, ended with almost 21 million views. You left us wanting more. Will there be other seasons?  
Yes, it will be a total of three seasons.

– The success of your publications goes around the world. During this course, the Joso+ ( Escola Joso‘s online course section) was contacted by the mother of an 11 year old girl who lives in New York State. This little girl is Olivia. Many children, when you ask them what they want to be when they grow up, they answer with professions such as firefighter, astronaut, etc. Olivia answers that she wants to be a cartoonist like Míriam Bonastre. She did some research on Google to find out what she had to do to fulfill her dream and found that she had studied at Joso. Today, Olivia is a student of the online Manga course for girls and boys at Joso+. This is just one example of you becoming an inspirational person. A woman who inspires.  
During my tour in the United States, Olivia came to one of my signings and told me that she was a student at Joso. I was very surprised. I am very excited that people enjoy what I do. In fact, what interests me is that they like what I do. They like the story. I have always been passionate about inventing and telling stories, since I was very young. I don’t care about the format, whether it’s a conventional comic narrative or for Webtoon. Before we talked about the game and possibilities that this vertical narrative gives, but what matters most to me is to tell a story so that others have a good time, both with the plot and empathizing with the characters.

– You have been with Webtoon for eight years. Do you feel comfortable?
Yes. I have a lot of freedom and I feel very comfortable being able to do what I do.