Leading ‘The Second Landing’ — Discussing Original Comic Art With The Green Room’s Iciar Palacios

After years of planning, Iciar Palacios recently launched The Green Room, a company that represents several Spanish artists. Palacios, the company’s founder and CEO, is no stranger to the art world. Her husband is renowned artist Alvaro Martinez Bueno, who recently concluded his run on Nice House on the Lake with writer James Tynion IV. In a Comicon exclusive, Palacios discusses how her experiences as art collector helped to shape The Green Room as well as the new global recognition of Spanish artists.

Tom Smithyman: There are lots of comic book representatives and promoters in the market. What makes the Green Room different?

Palacios: The Green Room is a project that was born with the aim of becoming the reference website for all those collectors mainly interested in comic art created by Spanish artists. We would like to approach collecting original art from a more human, complete perspective, and, above all, taking into account the needs of the collector but also those of the artist himself.

In addition to managing the sale of their originals, we invest a large part of our day-to-day work to supporting the artists’ careers in other areas, such as communication, marketing, production and even personal management. The goal is that our artists can focus on doing what they do best – drawing – and leave the rest to us.

That is why TGR will never be a gallery with 100 or 50 repped artists. We want to keep things small and close so that we offer a quality service to all our customers, and ensure that, although we are intermediaries, our artists remain very, very close and fully informed of what is happening with their work.

We are fortunate to be family and friends, for many years, of the artists we represent. We also all live very close to each other. We speak daily by phone to discuss any request from our clients, and that gives us a lot of facilities and agility, when it comes to get what for other reps would not be possible.

Smithyman: When we think about a green room, it usually refers to a place where the talent relaxes before they go on stage or on TV. Does that have anything to do with how you chose the name?

Palacios: Absolutely! For us, The Green Room is that place where artists relax and, after leaving their studios where they work so hard for weeks without rest, they are very close to their fans.

We wanted to reflect that feeling that we really are more than just a gallery that offers very different services to our artists, including the possibility for fans to get closer than ever to them (we usually do meet & greets, and keep them up to date with any feedback, particular requests) and, also, the importance of the environment for us (all our materials are recycled and recyclable).

In other words: we wanted our name to reflect that we make sure that they can be 100% focused on creating the best comics every week but are still connected to their fans, while we provide the best and most personalized customer service. With us, you can even get your art dedicated.

Smithyman: Is it me, or does there seem like the talent coming out of Spain is getting better recognition these days?

Palacios: Greats like Carlos Pacheco, Salvador Larroca, (and) Angel Unzueta opened, with great effort, the way for the new generation that, as you say, is leading this “second landing” in recent years.

Spanish talent increasingly stands out in the main series of the major publishers, and we are not surprised at all! Spanish artists leave their skin on every page they do and, fortunately, more and more readers and collectors around the world recognize their effort, sensitivity and enormous talent.

Smithyman: Your first client is your husband, Alvaro Martinez Bueno. I won’t ask how you landed him as a client, but you have several others, including new Batman artist Belen Ortega and Spawn artist Javier Fernandez. What attracted them to the Green Room?

Palacios: TGR is a project that arises after many years of personal reflection, together with my great friends who… are precisely the artists I represent.

We spent a long time thinking together what characteristics an ideal rep should have, after their experience with other agencies. We talked, hours and hours, about their needs, about what they want for their work, about how they want their fans to be treated.

This is vital for all of them: they may not have time to respond to all the messages they receive, but they certainly want the person who does it for them to give their fans the level of attention they would like to offer.

They have known me for years and know how important customer satisfaction is to me, how demanding I am with my work and how I truly respect, in the most genuine way, every piece of art that comes out of their hands. I guess trust, and the human aspect, have had an important weight in this decision, and the truth is that when I finally proposed to them to join TGR they all responded in a few seconds!

Smithyman: Comic art collectors sometimes have a love/hate relationship with artists’ representatives. How do you make sure you’re adding value for the collector and the artist?

Palacios: Before being a gallery owner I have been a collector, so I understand it perfectly. And thanks to that, and the fact that I come from a completely different professional world, I think I can understand in a true way the needs and concerns of collectors, put myself in their shoes and bring a certain freshness to the business, to the buying experience.

For me, as a collector, I found it cumbersome not being able to buy directly on the web, or not having available different payment methods. So I took that into account. Likewise, the issue of shipping security is vitally important. And, unfortunately, I’ve had bad experiences. That’s why I’ve put a lot of effort into creating beautiful packaging, which puts the work in value, but which is also ultra-secure. In more than 400 shipments since our launch, we haven’t had a single problem with damage to the artwork. Not even a small one.

Smithyman: The prices for comic art have spiked in recent years. Have you seen the prices level out yet? Are you doing anything to keep prices affordable for the average fan?

Palacios: For us it is very important that the client does not notice that we are there, at an economic level. And, precisely, living close to our artists allows us to reduce many costs that make it possible that the works do not increase their price disproportionately.

In addition, being located in Spain, where the cost of living is lower than in other countries such as the USA or UK, we can offer very low shipping costs and reduce the cost of our prints or sketchbooks, without reducing the high levels of quality.

Smithyman: More and more artists are going digital these days. While that often makes it easier for the artist to draw, it means they don’t have original art to sell later, only monoprints. Do you think the market is skeptical of these one-off high-quality prints, or are they selling well?

Palacios: My assessment is very positive. I think that more and more, collectors understand that, since humanity has existed, art has evolved and now, with the rise of the digital world, there is a greater diversity of media where comic art can be captured.

Smithyman: You mentioned that you are an art collector yourself. What is your favorite piece of art? (Not counting Alvero!)

Palacios: My collection of originals is somewhat eclectic; but if I have to choose one piece… I’ll go with a Batman piece, drawn by the great Carlos Pacheco, may he rest in peace. Besides being an incredible artist, Carlos was a fantastic guy and a good friend. Very protective, vital and generous. I have it in my office, encouraging me with this project every day.

Smithyman: You have some extremely talented artists working with you. Best of lunch in the endeavor.