Spanish comics
Encyclopedia
See also List of Spanish comics
Spanish comics are the comics of Spain
and they are among the most important comics traditions in Europe
. Comics in Spain are usually called tebeos, historietas or cómics.
-like machines.
Another important humorous comics were Pulgarcito
and Lily (the latter for girls)
In Spain superhero
comics were banned by the Francoist regime and thus, the heroes were based on historical fiction
.
, was created in 1956.
After the Spanish Civil War
the Franco regime imposed strict censorship in all media, and comics were not exception. Despite this, the 1940s and 1950s era is considered a golden age of Spanish comics, since they were at the top of their popularity The editorial Bruguera
created in this time a recognizable style of humorous comics with a mixture of comedy of manners and slapstick starring chronic losers. Among the popular characters of this era are El repórter Tribulete by Cifré, Carpanta
and Zipi y Zape
by Escobar
or Las hermanas Gilda by Vázquez. They also published adventure comics such as Capitán Trueno or Silver Roy.
Editorial Valenciana published adventures comics such as Roberto Alcázar y Pedrín (1940) or El Guerrero del Antifaz. Humorous series of Editorial Valenciana were not as slapstick, and more absurd and harmless comedy and featured synthetic drawing and, in academic terms, more finished, with "abundance of backgrounds, change of perspective, depth of field" and some statism.
In the 60's comics have to adapt to changing times and a more restrictive censorship. In 1958 is published for the first time Mortadelo y Filemón
by Ibáñez
, series that soon become the most popular of this media in Spain. Editorial Bruguera is the leader of juvenile comics these years with authors such as Fresno's, Jan
, Joan March, Nicolás, Jaume Ribera o Jaume Rovira. Humorous comics of this decade lost the comedy of manners and became more aburdist with characters such as Sir Tim O'Theo (1970) or Superlópez
(1975). In 1969 the magazine Gran Pulgarcito serialized the first long strip (44 pages) of Mortadelo y Filemón. One of the authors who adapted well to this more surreal style was Vázquez with his Anacleto, agente secreto strip.
Adult readers could access to horror comics such as Dossier Negro (1968), Vampus (1971) or Rufus (1973) or satirical comics such as El Papus (1973)
After the dead of Franco
there was an increased interest in adult comics with a lot of magazines such as Totem, El Jueves
, 1984
or El Víbora. In 1989 is created an annual comic book convention in Barcelona.
Market saturation became evident in 1983 with the closure of the magazines of Ediciones Metropol complicated with a crisis that increased the price of paper and the rise of video games. Editorial Bruguera
filed for bankruptcy on 7 June 1982. In 1986 it was acquired by Grupo Z and transformed into Ediciones B. In the 1990s most adult comic magazines (Cairo, Zona 84
or Cimoc) disappeared. El Víbora disappeared in 2005. The most notable survivor of that era is El Jueves.
The Mortadelo and all Ediciones B comic magazines disappeared in 1996. Mortadelo y Filemón
and Superlópez
are still published directly in album format.
Among the Spanish webcomic
s are notable ¡Eh, tío!, El joven Lovecraft and El Listo.
Spanish comics are the comics of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and they are among the most important comics traditions in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Comics in Spain are usually called tebeos, historietas or cómics.
Origin and definition
The term tebeo is a phonetic adaptation of TBO, a long-running (1917–1983) Spanish comic book magazine and sounds like "te veo (I see you). This magazine was influential in popularizing the medium In this magazine appeared Los grandes inventos del TBO (The great inventions of TBO) which featured humorous Rube GoldbergRube Goldberg
Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor.He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complex gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. These devices, now known as Rube Goldberg machines, are similar to...
-like machines.
Another important humorous comics were Pulgarcito
Pulgarcito
Pulgarcito was a weekly illustrated magazine of Spain that was published by Editorial Bruguera from June 1921 to 1986....
and Lily (the latter for girls)
In Spain superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
comics were banned by the Francoist regime and thus, the heroes were based on historical fiction
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
.
Story
In 1944 a medieval hero El Guerrero del Antifaz (The masked warrior) was created by Manuel Gago and published by Editorial Valenciana. Another popular medieval hero, Capitán TruenoCapitán Trueno
El Capitán Trueno was the hero of a series of Spanish comic books, created in 1956 by the writer Víctor Mora and illustrated mainly by Miguel Ambrosio Zaragoza . The comics were published continuously between 1956 and 1968, eventually becoming the most popular Spanish hero comic of all times: at...
, was created in 1956.
After the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
the Franco regime imposed strict censorship in all media, and comics were not exception. Despite this, the 1940s and 1950s era is considered a golden age of Spanish comics, since they were at the top of their popularity The editorial Bruguera
Editorial Bruguera
Bruguera was a Spanish publishing house based in Barcelona, which was devoted mainly to the production of popular literature and comics. It was created in 1910 as El Gato Negro, changed its name in 1940 and came to possess, as indicated by Jesús Cuadrado:...
created in this time a recognizable style of humorous comics with a mixture of comedy of manners and slapstick starring chronic losers. Among the popular characters of this era are El repórter Tribulete by Cifré, Carpanta
Carpanta
Carpanta is the name of a Spanish character and comic book created by José Escobar Saliente. Carpanta is perpetually hungry. Escobar created Carpanta as a symbol of the misery in postwar Spain....
and Zipi y Zape
Zipi y Zape
Zipi y Zape are the names of two iconic Spanish comic book characters created by José Escobar Saliente in 1947, and of their eponymous strip. With Mortadelo y Filemón, they are the most popular and most translated Spanish comic books...
by Escobar
José Escobar Saliente
José Escobar Saliente was a Spanish comic book writer and artist, born in Barcelona. He signed as Escobar, and is most famous for his creation Zipi y Zape, as well as the character Carpanta...
or Las hermanas Gilda by Vázquez. They also published adventure comics such as Capitán Trueno or Silver Roy.
Editorial Valenciana published adventures comics such as Roberto Alcázar y Pedrín (1940) or El Guerrero del Antifaz. Humorous series of Editorial Valenciana were not as slapstick, and more absurd and harmless comedy and featured synthetic drawing and, in academic terms, more finished, with "abundance of backgrounds, change of perspective, depth of field" and some statism.
In the 60's comics have to adapt to changing times and a more restrictive censorship. In 1958 is published for the first time Mortadelo y Filemón
Mortadelo y Filemón
Mort & Phil is one of the most popular Spanish comics series, published in more than a dozen countries. It appeared for the first time in 1958 in the children's comic-book Pulgarcito drawn by Francisco Ibáñez...
by Ibáñez
Francisco Ibáñez Talavera
Francisco Ibáñez Talavera , Spanish comic book artist and writer. Born in Barcelona, he is the creator of several comic book series, the most famous of which is Mortadelo y Filemón....
, series that soon become the most popular of this media in Spain. Editorial Bruguera is the leader of juvenile comics these years with authors such as Fresno's, Jan
Jan (comics)
Jan is the pseudonym of Juan López Fernández , Spanish comic book writer and artist, most famous for his creation Superlópez.-Biography:He was born in the town of Toral de los Vados, in the province of León...
, Joan March, Nicolás, Jaume Ribera o Jaume Rovira. Humorous comics of this decade lost the comedy of manners and became more aburdist with characters such as Sir Tim O'Theo (1970) or Superlópez
Superlópez
Superlópez is a Spanish comic book character created by Jan. Created in 1973, Superlópez is a parody of Superman. Born Jo-Con-Él on the planet Chitón much like Superman's home planet of Krypton, he leaves his planet when he enters a spaceship and presses a button, an accident that sends...
(1975). In 1969 the magazine Gran Pulgarcito serialized the first long strip (44 pages) of Mortadelo y Filemón. One of the authors who adapted well to this more surreal style was Vázquez with his Anacleto, agente secreto strip.
Adult readers could access to horror comics such as Dossier Negro (1968), Vampus (1971) or Rufus (1973) or satirical comics such as El Papus (1973)
After the dead of Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
there was an increased interest in adult comics with a lot of magazines such as Totem, El Jueves
El Jueves
is a Spanish satirical weekly magazine published in Barcelona. Its complete title is ""...
, 1984
1984 (magazine)
1984 was a black and white science-fiction comic magazine published by Warren Publishing from 1978 to 1983. 1984 was edited by Bill Dubay. The title of the magazine was changed to 1994 starting with issue 11 in February, 1980 based on a request by the estate of George Orwell...
or El Víbora. In 1989 is created an annual comic book convention in Barcelona.
Market saturation became evident in 1983 with the closure of the magazines of Ediciones Metropol complicated with a crisis that increased the price of paper and the rise of video games. Editorial Bruguera
Editorial Bruguera
Bruguera was a Spanish publishing house based in Barcelona, which was devoted mainly to the production of popular literature and comics. It was created in 1910 as El Gato Negro, changed its name in 1940 and came to possess, as indicated by Jesús Cuadrado:...
filed for bankruptcy on 7 June 1982. In 1986 it was acquired by Grupo Z and transformed into Ediciones B. In the 1990s most adult comic magazines (Cairo, Zona 84
1984 (magazine)
1984 was a black and white science-fiction comic magazine published by Warren Publishing from 1978 to 1983. 1984 was edited by Bill Dubay. The title of the magazine was changed to 1994 starting with issue 11 in February, 1980 based on a request by the estate of George Orwell...
or Cimoc) disappeared. El Víbora disappeared in 2005. The most notable survivor of that era is El Jueves.
The Mortadelo and all Ediciones B comic magazines disappeared in 1996. Mortadelo y Filemón
Mortadelo y Filemón
Mort & Phil is one of the most popular Spanish comics series, published in more than a dozen countries. It appeared for the first time in 1958 in the children's comic-book Pulgarcito drawn by Francisco Ibáñez...
and Superlópez
Superlópez
Superlópez is a Spanish comic book character created by Jan. Created in 1973, Superlópez is a parody of Superman. Born Jo-Con-Él on the planet Chitón much like Superman's home planet of Krypton, he leaves his planet when he enters a spaceship and presses a button, an accident that sends...
are still published directly in album format.
Among the Spanish webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
s are notable ¡Eh, tío!, El joven Lovecraft and El Listo.
See also
- Belgian comicsBelgian comicsBelgian comics are a distinct subgroup in the comics history, and played a major role in the development of European comics, alongside France with whom they share a long common history...
- Franco-Belgian comicsFranco-Belgian comicsFranco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
- Italian comicsItalian comicsItalian comics are comics made in Italy. They are locally known as fumetto – plural form fumetti – although this latter term is often used in English to describe a specific comic genre . The most popular Italian comics have been translated into many languages...
External links
- Guía del Cómic, infobox and news by José A. Serrano;
- Tebeosfera, digital magazine by Manuel Barrero;
- Tebeosclásicos, magazine about the golden age of Spanish comic books
- Comiclopedia