LA PERDIDA 459
LA PERDIDA. Created by Jessica Abel, the comic book La Perdida (literally translated
as “Th e Lost”) was fi rst published serially in fi ve installments by Fantagraphics Books
from 2001 to 2005. A collected version was reprinted by Pantheon Books in 2006.
Th e rather small original format (6.75'' × 8.5'') of the comic labels it as an independent
comic. La Perdida was awarded with a Harvey Award in 2002 as “Best New Series” and
was translated into French, Spanish, and Italian.
Th e New York-based comic-artist Abel (born 1969) started to draw comics while
taking courses at the University of Chicago, where her work was fi rst published in
the student anthology Breakdown. After graduation she tried unsuccessfully to enter the
world of comics. After receiving a Xeric Grant for her independently published comic
book Artbabe , Abel produced a professionally printed version which put her on the
map of independent comics. From 1997 to 1999, Abel’s second volume of Artbabe was
published by Fantagraphics Books, which won her a Harvey Award and a Lulu Award
as “Best New Talent” in 1997. Her work was featured in various publications such as
the Best American Comics anthology. Recently she produced a secondary comic book on
comic books with her husband and comic-artist Matt Madden called Drawing Words ,
Writing Pictures.
Although Abel sums up the content of La Perdida very briefl y as “a story about
fi nding yourself by getting lost,” the comic book off ers a much more complex tale. Th e
story is set in Mexico City, where the female protagonist Carla, in search of her heritage,
must recognize that reality does not match with her romanticized image of the Mexican
capital. On this quest “to fi nd herself,” concepts of belonging and of authenticity are
questioned. While the façade of the exotic Mexico slowly fades away, Carla is confronted
with the everyday life of expatriates and local inhabitants of the city. Infl uenced by these
encounters Carla seems to lose herself and has to struggle in order to regain her sense
of identity.
Th e story begins with a short prologue that shows the protagonist reviewing the
events of the last year in retrospective. Th e reader is given single panels as fl ashbacks
that foreshadow the complete story to come. Guided by retrospective observations in
the captions, Carla arrives in the capital and meets up with Harry, a friend of hers. His
apartment off ers a point of refuge but also a starting point of a journey. Its simplistic
white walls present an almost clinical space in the midst of the crowded cityscape
of Mexico City. Similar to the following issues of La Perdida , issue one ends with a
cliff hanger when Carla rips away the wallpaper on Harry’s white walls.
Th e following two issues contrast the indigenous Mexican culture with the world of
the expatriates Carla wants to ignore. She moves in with her Mexican boyfriend Oscar
and discusses questions of cultural belonging with their friend Memo. In heated
debates Carla tries to defend her search for identity, which seems to Memo as the mere
luxury of a spoiled American daughter. A diff erent perspective is provided by Carla’s
brother Rodriguez, who grew up with their Mexican father. His easy-going mentality
is exactly what Carla is looking for (“Yeah isn’t it funny how visitors can give you a new
perspective?”). During his short vacation, Rodriguez takes Carla to places she has not
