Nico’s Funny Stories

Everything that happens in Nicolás Vilela’s cartoons is not that far from his life, but all he really wants is being funny. Born in Las Flores, Argentina, in 2008 he began to study teaching in visual arts, in Tandil, a career that ended in 2012. In those years he began to publish in different local newspapers and magazines, and then on Facebook as Nico Illustrations.

“I draw since childhood, I am the youngest of six siblings, almost all of whom were drawing, and some of us ended up dedicating ourselves in some way to this art. I had a lot of influence from them, besides the cartoons of television and comic books I read. The secondary school I began to study some careers that I left, since I believed that one could get to live of art. I ended up studying a career of teacher in art since I saw in it the possibility of living of teaching.”

Faced with the impossibility of reaching graphic media, Nicolás found on Facebook a place to publish his works, and for some 3 or 4 years he publishes a drawing every day, some story or illustration, strips of his Fantasmita, pictures or watercolors.

“Facebook works for me as an artistic resume that I modified and filled constantly. Over time, that material was transformed into other things: I made a book of Fantasmita, mugs and other products, and I had the possibility to work with other colleagues like Ricardo Liniers. In general I get good comments from people, I think more than I deserve. Readers identify a lot and I’m glad that they like it, that they laugh, or that it moves them, as usually happens with some of my stories. I get critical when I play with certain political contests and I think it’s okay, that’s part of the game.”