Heartcore: award-winning graphic novel examines modern-day relationships
What creates a romantic attachment? Is it just genetics, do our parents play a part or is it simply a magical uncontrollable process? What if every relationship you get into is an exact copy of the one that just ended? These are just some of the questions examined in the latest autobiographical novel by Štěpánka Jislová, called Srdcovka or Heartcore.
What creates a romantic attachment? Is it just genetics, do our parents play a part or is it simply a magical uncontrollable process? What if every relationship you get into is an exact copy of the one that just ended? These are just some of the questions examined in the latest autobiographical novel by Štěpánka Jislová, called Srdcovka or Heartcore. The deeply personal memoir, which examines the toxicity of modern relationships as well as sexual violence, has been hailed by critics as one of the best Czech graphic novels in years and recently won the Muriel Award for the best comic book of the year. I met with Štěpánka Jislová to discuss her book and first asked her to summarize its main themes:
“Heartcore is an autobiographical graphic novel and its story can be described as searching for answers. The main question is how our childhood trauma influences who we fall for in adulthood. But there is also a bunch of other themes.
“It is a very generational book talking about how it felt to grow up in the 1990s, how the different media, from girls’ magazines to movies and animated shows, influence one’s body image and one’s self-confidence.
“But it is also a lot about being authentic and about surface-level connections: what they mean to us and how they differ from actual relationships.”
We spoke together in October 2021 when you were on a month long residency in the United Kingdom organized by the Lake Comics Festival. You told me back then that you were working on a graphic novel trying to explore if love and relationship is something you can actually learn to do and if you can learn to do it well. Did you find answers to your questions?
“It feels like a different life. But yes, I think I did! At that time, I was mostly focusing on what psychology has to say about it and what kind of books you need to read to understand this theme. I found really good books, but I also found out that self-discovery, self-improvement and long-term therapy are probably a better answer to such problems.
“I learned that some things, such as personal issues, are better solved by working with emotions and that not everything can be rationalised and learned from books. But it’s good to mix both of these approaches to get a better outlook on the whole issue.”
When you started working on your graphic novel back in 2021, did you know that it would end up being such a personal book? That you would open such intimate personal themes?
“I am of the opinion that unless you open to the reader, you cannot ask them to relate to your story.”
“I always wanted to make it very personal. I am of the opinion that unless you open to the reader, you cannot ask them to relate to your story. You cannot ask them to take advice from you. So yes, I always wanted to make it very personal.
“I am not a very private person and I talk about things openly. That’s why I didn’t really have a problem talking about all those different themes, some of which are very heavy.”
The book itself or the structure of the story almost feels like a sort of therapy process. Was that a deliberate decision on your side?
“It wasn’t a deliberate decision, but it felt therapeutic from time to time. I think it helps a lot when you can name things, when you can address issues and when you can label what is happening inside of you. That way, you give things a structure and that helps you to deal with them.
“I come across a lot of autobiographical books written as a form of therapy and it is a valid artistic approach, but I need to be more intentional with what I write. I need to feel that the reader is really getting the message that I am trying to get across.
“That’s why Heartcore is very specifically structured and I hope it doesn't feel just like an outpour of emotions, that it feels like something more deliberate.”
Talking about structure, what’s interesting is that there are basically three different points of view in your book. The point of view of a girl growing up at a housing estate in the 1990s, you also cite various books and data and then you also add the point of view of your ex-partner.
“I really didn’t want to tell a story that pretends that the reality is black and white.”
“I wanted to make a book about perspectives. I really didn’t want to tell a story that pretends that the reality is black and white. When we talk about love, especially in the heteronormative way, it can feel like we are placing two points of views against each other: the female perspective and the male perspective.
“I really don’t see it that way. That’s why I switched the perspective in the second half of the book to the male protagonist, so that the reader can see the same scenes but from a different point of view. In doing so, they can understand why a person, who might seem obnoxious or even abusive, behaves the way he does. The goal for me as an author is to build bridges and not to divide people.”
When you spoke about black and white reality, why did you decide to make the drawings in just two colours? Not black and white, but red and blue and the different shades of those two colours?
“In general, I would say duplex is a very good technique for autobiographies. It’s a bit cheaper than full colour printing, so that’s one reason. But more importantly, it emphasizes the symbolic use of colour, because you have only two colours and all the shades in between them.
“By using two colours you can emphasize emotions, you can emphasize certain panels and in that way you can explain things very efficiently, in my opinion, precisely because you have a very limited set of tools.”
How did you develop your signature drawing style, which I would describe as being very stylized?
“It grew mostly out of Hairless, the previous graphic novel I created with Tereza Drahoňovská. In that novel we needed to go with a more cartoonish approach. It’s a book about an illness and if it was too realistic, I think it would be just a very depressing read.
“When I started drawing Heartcore, I just pushed this style further and the drawings got even simpler. The main thing is that if you draw a very stylized face it almost looks like a mask. And that fits the theme of the book very well, because the protagonist, my avatar, has issues with being authentic.
“She pretends to be something she is not or feeling something she is not feeling. So the idea that her face cannot express authentic emotion and looks like a mask fits with the style very well.”
I also wanted to ask you about the people that you portray in your book, your friends, relatives and also the person who sexually abused you. Did you tell them in advance that you were writing this book? Did you ask your friends and relatives for a permission to be portrayed in the story?
“For the majority of the people, with that one understandable exception, I asked if it was OK that I portray them. But the ethical side of autobiographies is a very hard topic. Ultimately, I don’t think that autobiography can be ethical. Because even though you might get permission, these people never know how they are going to end up looking.
“The most important thing was that I got permission from my then partner and he sort of co-authored the pages where his memories are the main themes. I asked my friends and my family and I mostly got a positive answer, but looking back, I think I should have been more thorough. I think I inadvertently ended up hurting some people. It is solely my responsibility, and I think I will be more careful in the future.”
Your book has received great praise and met with a great response from readers, especially I would say young readers. Were you surprised by the reaction? Would you say it’s because you explored topics that were previously largely avoided by Czech comics?
“I would say that every author dreams that their next book is going to be better. I was also, you know, giving in to those fantasies. But I wasn't expecting this wave of feedback. I get messages or emails almost every week. Most of them, as you said, are from women from my generation. They are really happy that they got to read something that relates to them on this level. I can really see that they feel “seen” by the book.
“It is also a bit uneasy to see how many women went through sexual abuse or felt not validated enough in their childhood. I knew this was the case, but seeing it in those little stories I get in the messages can be heart breaking sometimes.
You describe your own struggles with dysfunctional relationships. Would you say it is something that reflects the problems of your generation?
“I think every generation has issues with relationships. It’s just that our generation was the first who had to deal with technology becoming a big part of how we create connections.
“It’s not just the apps, such as Tinder and Bumble, which have become everyday means of connecting. When I was growing up, there were the first internet chat rooms. You could put up an ad and reach so much more people than if you did the same thing in a newspaper 10, 20, or 50 years ago.
“So I think what happened is that it might seem easier to find someone, to find your soulmate or a partner, because you reach more people through various apps, but the relationships that are made there are more shallow. So it might look easier, but I really don’t think it is so.”
Heartcore recently won the Muriel Award for the best graphic novel of the year. How important is it for you, winning this award?
“There are two kind of feelings fighting inside me. On the one hand, if a book wins an award it helps a lot with the promoting and it gets back into the spotlight. And when it comes to translations to other languages, the publishers abroad really appreciate if there is an award connected to the book.”
“On the other hand, I think it can really mess with your head and with your confidence in your art and it can influence what stories you are going to tell in the future. I definitely felt pressure to make the same book, but in a different way. It sort of makes you want to stay in the same lane, because getting prizes can be addictive.
“But I believe that things have a value on their own and if someone praises the book or if someone critiques the book, it doesn’t really change the value of the book itself, so that is something I am trying to keep in mind.”
Finally, are you already working on something else or have you decided to take a break?
“I have decided to take a break, which is almost over now. I think I will do another book, but it is going to be a commissioned book. I really want to keep doing books, that’s why I started doing comics in general.
“However, not every book needs to be this huge magnum opus, that you pour your heart and soul into. So I would like to work on some smaller projects, maybe cooperate with other people, so that I take care of my finances, but I also take care of my mental health.”
Štěpánka Jislová is a Czech illustrator and comics artist, graduate of the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art in Pilsen. She has published her short comics stories in various Czech and foreign magazines and anthologies. She is the (co) author of seven comic books. Her graphic novel Hairless, created with Tereza Drahoňovská, will soon be released in the United States by Graphic Mundi. Her latest book, Heartcore, is not yet available in English.
