| Spanish comics | |
|---|---|
| Earliest publications | 1917 |
| Publishers | Editorial Bruguera Editorial Valenciana Ediciones Metropol Norma Editorial Robot Comics |
| Publications | TBO Pulgarcito Mort & Phil El Víbora Carpanta |
| Creators | Ibañez Escobar Vázquez Jan Max |
| Series | "Capitán Trueno" "Superlópez" "Zipi y Zape" "Anacleto, agente secreto" "Las hermanas Gilda" |
| Languages | Spanish Catalan |
| Related articles | |
| Argentine comics Mexican comics Franco-Belgian comics | |
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Spanish comics are thecomics ofSpain. Comics in Spain are usually calledhistorietas orcómics, withtebeos primarily denoting the magazines containing the medium.Tebeo is a phonetic adaptation ofTBO, a long-running (1917–1983) Spanishcomic magazine, and sounds like "te veo" ("I see you").
Two publishing houses —Editorial Bruguera andEditorial Valenciana — dominated the Spanish comics market for most of its history.
Spanish artists have traditionally worked in other markets reaching great success, either in the American (e.g.,Eisner Award winnersSergio Aragonés,Salvador Larroca,Gabriel Hernández Walta,Marcos Martín orDavid Aja), the British (e.g.,Carlos Ezquerra, co-creator ofJudge Dredd) or the Franco-Belgian one (e.g., firstFauve d'Or winnerJulio Ribera orBlacksad authorsJuan Díaz Canales andJuanjo Guarnido).
The Spanish market is also known for its manystudios, which for a long time have had material produced mainly for other European countries.
It has been stated that the 13th centuryCantigas de Santa María could be considered as the firstSpanish "comic", although comics made their official debut around 1857 at theSpanish colonies.[1] Among the first comic magazines inpeninsular Spain were thesatiricalLa Flaca (1869-1876) orEl Mundo Cómico (1873). After them,TBO was specially influential in popularizing the medium.[2] One of the magazine's recurring features wasLos grandes inventos del TBO ("the great inventions ofTBO") which depicted humorousRube Goldberg-like machines.
Other important early humorous comic magazines werePulgarcito (1921–1986) andLily (the latter for girls).
After theSpanish Civil War the Franco regime imposed strict censorship in all media, and comics were no exception. As part of this ban,superhero comics were forbidden by theFrancoist regime; as a result, comic heroes were based onhistorical fiction (influenced byFoster'sPrince Valiant). In 1944 the medieval heroEl Guerrero del Antifaz ("the masked warrior") was created byManuel Gago and published byEditorial Valenciana. Another popular medieval hero,Capitán Trueno, was created in 1956 byVíctor Mora andMiguel Ambrosio Zaragoza.
Despite Franco's controls, the 1940s and 1950s are considered a golden age of Spanish comics, and many titles were at the height of their popularity.[3] During this period,Editorial Bruguera created a recognizable style of humor comics with a mixture ofcomedy of manners andslapstick (influenced by Franco-Belgian authors such asFranquin) starring chronic losers. Among the popular characters of this era wereCifré'sEl repórter Tribulete,Escobar'sCarpanta andZipi y Zape, andVázquez'sLas hermanas Gilda. Editorial Bruguera also published adventure comics such asCapitán Trueno andSilver Roy. In 1958Ibáñez'sMortadelo y Filemón was first published, a series that soon became the most popular comic media in Spain, together with some of his other creations (e.g.,13. Rue del Percebe).
Editorial Valenciana published adventures comics such asRoberto Alcázar y Pedrín (debuting in 1940),Miguel Quesada'sLa Pandilla de los Siete andEl Guerrero del Antifaz. Editorial Valenciana's humor series were not as slapstick, with more absurd and harmless comedy; they featured synthetic drawing and, in academic terms, were more finished, with an "abundance of backgrounds, change of perspective, depth of field" and some statism.[clarification needed][4]
In the 1960s Spanish comics had to adapt to changing times and more restrictive censorship. Editorial Bruguera was the leader of juvenile comics during those years, with authors such asFresnos,Jan,Joan March,Nicolás,Jaume Ribera, andJaume Rovira. In 1969 the magazineGran Pulgarcito serialized the first long strip (44 pages) ofMortadelo y Filemón.
The adult market producedhorror comics such asDossier Negro (1968),Vampus (1971) orRufus (1973), or satirical comics such asEl Papus (1973). Humor comics of the 1970s became more absurdist, with characters such asSir Tim O'Theo (1970) orSuperlópez (1975). One of the authors who adapted well to this more surreal style was Vázquez with his stripAnacleto, agente secreto.
After the death ofFranco in 1975, there was an increased interest in adult comics, with magazines such asTotem,El Jueves,1984, andEl Víbora, and works such asParacuellos byCarlos Giménez. However, successful humor comics continued to appear at children-oriented media, such asGoomer (1988). In 1989 the annual comic book convention of Barcelona was inaugurated.
Market saturation became evident in 1983 with the closure of the magazines ofEdiciones Metropol. Things during this era were complicated by a crisis that increased the price of paper,[5] as well as the rise of video games.
Editorial Bruguera filed for bankruptcy on 7 June 1982. In 1986 it was acquired byGrupo Z and transformed intoEdiciones B. In the 1990s most adult comic magazines (Cairo,Zona 84,Cimoc) ceased publishing.El Víbora closed in 2005. The most notable survivor of that era wasEl Jueves.
Mortadelo and all Ediciones B comic magazines disappeared in 1996.Mortadelo y Filemón andSuperlópez were still published directly in album format until 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Among the notable Spanishwebcomics are¡Eh, tío!,El joven Lovecraft,El Listo[6] and¡Universo!.
Since 2007, aNational Comic Award which revitalized the medium was established by theSpanish Ministry of Culture.
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