'How the Rich Plunder the Planet,' an environmental comic that aims to reach schools
Begoña Fernández Madrid, May 16 (EFE).- "How the Rich Plunder the Planet" is a comic that emerged in response to the ecological and social crisis. It has arrived in Spain after being a best-seller in France, where it has been shown in the classrooms of 14- and 15-year-olds, who have been shocked by the magnitude of the climate catastrophe, as described firsthand by the authors.
The comic is based on real events, thoroughly documented, and inspired by the book by Hervé Kempf, illustrated by Juan Méndez, published by Garbuix Books, and translated into Spanish and Catalan for the first time.
And it is precisely Kempf (as an expert) and Méndez (illustrator) who are the comic's characters who converse throughout the panels, narrating how social inequality is taking over the planet with dramatic consequences. They are joined, halfway through the comic, by Alice, who represents the voice of young people and who, as the story progresses, takes a more radical stance.
In an interview with EFE, Kempf admits that the author doesn't choose his audience, and this comic was born with the intention of reaching everyone. "When you're creating, you don't think about the audience; you want to tell something and explain it. It's the audience that chooses the author."
Kempf, a renowned environmental journalist and editor-in-chief of reporterre.net, a French media outlet focused on climate issues, dismisses the comic as an act of activism, emphasizing that he has never joined any organization and is, first and foremost, a journalist.
'Is the comic about rich people? Not really. It's about ecology.'
In the first few panels, the author, transformed into an expert, asks the cartoonist: "Juan, do you know what the book is going to be about?" To which the illustrator replies with another question: "About rich people?"
"Not really. It's about ecology... it starts from there," reveals Kempf, who goes on to describe, in 127 pages and providing data, how social inequality is undermining the planet and how climate disaster is on an irremediable course, unless "the ultra-rich come to their senses."
Kempf wants the comic to become a trendsetter: "I hope Méndez's ideas and mine can help all those working toward environmental justice and a fairer distribution of wealth."
Although not an activist, Kempf acknowledges that as a journalist, he takes sides. Hence, in 2004, together with photographer Jerome Equer, he published "Gaza, Life in a Cage," a book that allowed him to see "the magnitude of the repression and war that the Palestinian people suffer."
"What's happening in Gaza is also an ecocide."
What's happening in Gaza, in his opinion, "is not just genocide, it's also ecocide," which is when nature and the environment that allows people to survive are destroyed.
Kempf uses a Goya painting to explain this hatred of some against others.
This is the canvas "Duel with Cudgels," painted by Goya in the first half of the 19th century. For Kempf, this painting illustrates the current situation: "Two men are fighting over a marsh, which is sinking, and their hatred prevents them from seeing what is happening to their surroundings."
And what's happening in Gaza, he points out, "is not just a political and hate problem; it's a symbol of what's happening to humanity. We fight all the time and don't realize that what really matters is the ecological issue and the preservation of nature," a message he wants to convey to future generations. EFEverde
bf
And if you haven't received it yet, you can join our mailing list here.
efeverde
