Viana, Germana (1972 - )
Brazilian comic book artist and editor
After having worked on the production and business sides of the industry, she has become a prominent player in Brazil's indie comic scene, especially participating in and spearheading initiatives with a feminist outset. Among her most important accomplishments are the webcomics Lizzie Bordello e as Piratas do Espaço (2013) and As Empoderadas (2016), the graphic novels P.O.V. - Point Of View and O Verão do Papa-Angu (2018), and her collective project Gibi de Menininha (2018-2019).
Viana began her career in the 1990s doing illustrations for children's books. Her first contact with the comic industry happened in 2005, when she started to work as letterer for Mythos Editora. This company was responsible for the editorial work on the Panini Brasil titles. She provided lettering for many Brazilian editions of Marvel and Star Wars comics, for instance. Some years later, Viana was Joe Prado's assistant in managing Brazilian artists for the North-American comics market. Prado's agency, Art&Comics, represented artists such as Ivan Reis, Ed Benes and Roger Cruz. But this line of work was bureaucratic and not artistic, so she left the agency to work in an art gallery.
Only in 2013, after visiting the Festival Internacional de Quadrinhos (FIQ, the most traditional Brazilian comic festival, held biennially in Belo Horizonte), Viana decided to make her own comics. Her first work was Lizzie Bordello e as Piratas do Espaço, a webcomic series about a crew of four women (including a trans woman) who travel in a spaceship capable of time-traveling. They enjoy nonsense adventures with a lot of action and humor. Two print book collections have been released by Jambô Editora in 2014 and 2016.
On 8 March 2016, Viana started the ongoing digital comic As Empoderadas ("The Empowered") as part of Pagu Comics, a label of digital comics made exclusively by women. The series tells the story of three women who develop superpowers and become vigilantes after a strange solar phenomenon. This comic won the Troféu HQ Mix (most important Brazilian comics award) as "Best Webcomic".
