Hello, I'm Guille Martínez-Vela, author of Rich Girl from Barcelona, and here I answer your questions.

THE PROJECT

RichGirlFromBCN.com is my self-managed personal project.

My comic strip Rich Girl from Barcelona was published in the Spanish weekly satirical magazine El Jueves from 2014 to 2022. There are 800 pages of Rich Girl from Barcelona in total. They deserved a good compilation. After all, they are more enjoyable when read together, and they are pretty evergreen (They may become outdated the day rich kids are no longer a thing, but I wouldn’t hold my breath).

The purpose of this website is to compile all strips of Rich Girl from Barcelona and make them available to readers all over the world.

The digital omnibus containing the complete Rich Girl from Barcelona is available in English, Spanish and Catalan. It’s completely DRM-free. The omnibus is in plain PDF format downloadable on any device.

The price is as fair as it gets: you name it.

Every cent goes to the author and the translator. All profits will be used to make more Rich Girl from Barcelona adventures.

Yes. Being a self-published and self-managed project, all profits go to the author.

Regarding the digital omnibus in English, all profits are shared 50%-50% between the author, Guille Martínez-Vela, and the translator, Edgar Cantero. If your downloads include the English version, a proportional part of what you paid will go to the translator.

Programmatic advertising is very annoying and pays very little. 

Also, Rich Girl from Barcelona contains profanity, anti-establishment messages and non-PG humor, which would cause Google to blacklist us and our ads revenue to plummet.

Sponsorships and specific campaigns negotiated directly with brands pay better, but it is very unlikely that a brand would be interested in associating itself with satirical strips like Rich Girl from Barcelona. Furthermore, if they agreed to sponsor me sooner or later they would impose conditions that would affect the content and eventually ruin it. The brand would become my client. "He who pays the piper, calls the tune."

I prefer that my main clients be my readers. To annoy users with third-party banners that pay me peanuts would be a mistake, among other things because it sends the wrong message: that revenue from those banners covers all the expenses. It doesn’t.

In short, this website is an online store determined to offer the best possible service to customers. Online stores do not have third-party advertising.

Zapastra Editions is me and only me, Guille Martínez-Vela, author of Rich Girl from Barcelona.

The paperwork required me to choose a name for my publishing house and I chose this one. I could have chosen my own name, but I preferred to be a little more original.

The purpose of Zapastra Editions is none other than to self-publish my own works.

THE COMIC STRIP

No, it is suggested for more mature readers. There is a lot of social commentary and profanity. The protagonists are ruthless characters who systematically get their own way. There is very little sex, but there is some.

No, it is for teenagers and also for adults in general.

There are 645 strips in total.

The strips have different lengths. Some take up half a page, others one page, others two pages, and a few take up four pages.

I am aware that if a strip takes up a full page it would make more sense to call it a “page”. I prefer to use just one word for everything and call every stand-alone skit a “strip,” regardless of length. The alternative would be to say that there are 195 strips and 673 pages of Rich Girl from Barcelona, but that’s a mouthful.

All 645 strips are collected in 1 big 795-page PDF, and also in 6 smaller PDFs designed to be downloaded and read on any smartphone.

When I sign my strips I include the year they were drawn in. Guille'13 means that it was drawn in 2013. I didn’t invent it, it is a quite common system among comic artists. This helps readers follow the graphic evolution of the strips through the nine years it spans, from 2013 to 2022.

Yes, in Spanish and Catalan, for now. You can download the versions in other languages ​​on the same page.

I would like to. However, translating all the strips requires a lot of talent and a lot of work. Lettering them again in another language means even more work. I should evaluate very well how to do it beforehand. Right now translating Rich Girl from Barcelona to a new language is not my top priority.

I'm working on Rich Girl’s first long story.

There is no date. I rely on your support. If the sales from this website pay my bills, I will be able to focus on producing the next Rich Girl’s issue.

By purchasing on this website you make new adventures of Rich Girl possible. You also ensure that they come out as soon as possible.

THE DIGITAL OMNIBUS

PDF. You can download it on any device.

It’s completely DRM-free. Just plain PDF files that can be downloaded on any device.

I am against DRM in digital books and comics. DRM has become an abusive annoyance for good-faith users. Penalizing people who support me would be the worst possible policy.

Any PDF reader will do. Most smartphones come with a standard application capable of displaying PDF files on screen. 

The best-known application for reading PDF is Adobe Acrobat Reader, both for desktop computers and smartphones. You can download it here for free.

Most web browsers are also capable of displaying PDF files.

You can choose between two file size options: big or light.

The big file size option consists of a single PDF containing all the strips at high resolution. It is designed to be read on desktop computers, laptops and tablets. It is advisable to download it when connected to wi-fi. The file is 627 MB.

The light file size option consists of 6 smaller PDF files. These are meant to be downloaded and read on mobile phones with a data plan. Each file is about 40 MB. The resolution is lower but the strips can be read well on any smartphone.

Choose the option that best suits you.

It is the most comfortable option, especially if you are going to spend a while reading strips. Just like when you watch a long video in full screen.

YOU NAME THE PRICE

Yes. You name the price that seems fair to you.

Right now there is a minimum price. It is very low. If you really can't afford to pay that minimum price, write to me at guille@zapastra.com and we will find a solution.

You can take as a reference the price of an 800-page graphic novel and, based on what you think a digital book should cost compared to a paper one, make your own calculation. Or being more straightforward: what a couple beers cost at a bar near you. Just giving some ideas. The price that seems fair to you will be fine.

"RICH GIRL FROM BARCELONA" ON PAPER

No. At least, not at the moment. This is a small self-managed project based in Barcelona. Printing books in English and sending them abroad is not economically viable.

I considered the possibility and dismissed it. Right now I see more cons than pros.

Let's talk. Email me at guille@zapastra.com or use this contact form.   

PAYMENT METHODS

Card and PayPal.

"RICH GIRL FROM BARCELONA" IN ENGLISH

Edgar Cantero, author and screenwriter raised in Barcelona and based in Los Angeles, translated Rich Girl from Barcelona into English.

Once Edgar finished the translation, I manually lettered all the translated strips.

Edgar Cantero and I have been friends since our late teens. We both worked together in the xerox fanzine Los Miserables along with Alberto Hernández Medina, and later became professional cartoonists working for satirical magazine El Jueves, where we developed most of our careers.

Edgar Cantero also writes novels and screenplays in English and lives in Los Angeles. In 2017, his novel Meddling Kids stood out on the New York Times best-selling list.

To translate comedy, no one is better than another comedian. If he also happens to be familiar with the sense of humor of the original material and, on top of that, is long-time friends with the author, there cannot be a better translator.

When a direct or approximate translation was not possible, the translator proposed an adaptation. A different joke but similar in spirit. In some cases —just a few— some graphic element of the original strip was modified to fit better with the text of the adaptation.

U.S. English.

"RICH GIRL FROM BARCELONA" IN SPANISH

I originally wrote and lettered Rich Girl from Barcelona in Spanish.

Yes, the Spanish version is the original version of Rich Girl from Barcelona.

"RICH GIRL FROM BARCELONA" IN CATALAN

I did. In addition, I manually lettered all the strips in Catalan.

In Nena pija the posh characters speak with a peculiar spelling evoking the speech of upper classes in Barcelona, adding an extra layer of comedy compared to the original version. It is a deliberate decision.

Regarding the vocabulary, I have tried to minimize non-standard words, you will not find too many of those. As for grammar, all the characters —regardless of status— use mostly normative structures. The language in Nena pija may not always be standard, but it is very thought out.

What message do you think is implied by this fact? [Nudge, nudge, wink, wink]

OTHER QUESTIONS

Of course, send me your question to guille@zapastra.com or use this contact form.