Accompanied by artist David López, DeConnick said she was delighted to be in Zaragoza, which she described as "a beautiful and delightful city." After achieving international fame for her work at Marvel, particularly for relaunching Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel, the American author has returned to the spotlight with a graphic novel titled "FML," a chaotic, funny and deeply human story focusing on people capable of driving one another crazy and, despite everything, remaining united.
One of the most curious details in "FML," which occurs at the beginning of the story, is the transformation of a teenage girl into a monster as soon as she wakes up. The idea came from a real and very personal case. "I drew inspiration from my son. From an early age, he was fascinated by misunderstood monsters such as Frankenstein and King Kong. For a long period of time, he only had female friends, and from my perspective as a feminist woman, I ended up putting the idea in his head that being a man was associated with toxic masculinity. For me, bringing together those misunderstood monsters and toxic masculinity in a teenager who wakes up as a hairy monster was the perfect metaphor," she explains.
THE ROLE OF HEROINES
Accustomed to featuring heroines in all her works, whether in "Wonder Woman" or the "Bitch Planet" series, DeConnick has also included this type of figure in "FML" through the character of Patty Cake, although DeConnick herself considers her a more unusual character. "I don't think Patty sees herself as a heroine. Ultimately, it is part of her character; she believes she can carry everything," the author says.
On this subject, DeConnick believes that "literature has a kind of magical alchemy" involving the protagonists of a story. "The more specific a character is, the more universal it feels, and the more people identify with it. Although the reverse also works," the artist said during her appearance.
Kelly Sue DeConnick and Zaragoza-born artist David López answered questions from the audience and signed several dozen copies. "FML" has earned international recognition after being nominated for the 2026 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series, one of the comic book industry's major honors.
