Three women and a fruit store

The history of 'Season of peaches', the winning work of the III Valencia Graphic Novel Prize, begins in 2006. Its screenwriter, the Murcian Ángel Abellán (1988), starts from a personal experience to put together a story in which desires, emotions converge, frustration, and effort in an environment colored with ocher and gray by another Murcian, illustrator Alba Flores (1991). Both are the authors of this title that has just been released by the publisher Andana after obtaining, last summer, the Valencia Graphic Novel award, a prize endowed with 8,000 euros granted by this Valencian label and which also includes the publication of the work.

"It has been a great advance in our career," confesses Alba Flores about this recognition that not only has allowed to bring to light the story traced by Abellán but has also strongly pushed the professional projects of these two young creators, trapped in a stage in their lives in which, the Murcian illustrator acknowledges, "we didn't know what to do" given the difficulty of breaking through in the world of editorial illustration. So they decided to "venture out" and "it has turned out well for us," replied Flores, for whom addressing the creation of 'Season of peaches' and its launch "has been an exercise in self-improvement."

The novel has three women as protagonists: Rita, Paquita, and Juli, all three with different ages and life projects, but a common task, the one provided by the daily work in a fruit store. There they share emotions, complicity, and long hours of effort. «The idea of ​​the novel was Angel's. About 2006 he was working in a factory, and for him, that experience turned out to be quite hard. He lived there surrounded by women who told him their stories, and he began to write from them ”, Flores explains the origin of this work, which she joined after Abellán suggested that she participate.

In 'Season of peaches', illustrations and dialogues try to be a faithful portrait of the day to day in factories and fruit warehouses, in which the presence of women is the majority: «Ángel wanted to reflect the hard work and effort they make many women who, in addition to their working hours, also take care of their homes and their families ", details the Murcian creator, who, points out, approached the day-to-day life of these stores through" a friend "who also worked in the sector.

«Sorority»

For the Andana publishing house, the novel is "a tribute and a vindication of the working world and female sisterhood", and "the fact that it is led by women" and that it highlights "sisterhood, union and support »From the feminine world« to face scourges such as sexist violence or sexual discrimination, frames 'Season of peaches' in the growing tradition of feminist novels ». An approach that, Abellán collects, “arose almost unconsciously. I limited myself to telling my personal experience, but it ended up taking shape through a hopelessly feminine and feminist prism ».

For Miguel Ángel Giner, National Comic Award winner and director of Andana Gráfica, as well as a member of the jury, the work reveals Abellán's "talent" "to construct scenes and situations of apparent normality, but that hides a much deeper social background", as well as "the impressive and impressionist" graphic work of Alba Flores. "Rarely - he adds - is access to a first work by new authors of such quality and with such clear ideas."

Happy with the result of her work - "it has been a very gratifying experience," says Flores, the Murcian illustrator recognizes that both she and Abellán would like the novel "to reach as many people as possible." "We want to praise the work of the factories and that everyone can enjoy a novel that addresses a subject like this."

Flores and Abellán won first prize in Comic in 2018 at the CreaMurcia municipal contest promoted by the City Council of the capital with their work 'If you could change the flow'.