View source for Spanish comics

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{short description|Comics originating in Spain}}
{{Infobox comics nationality <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
|bodyclass  = hlist
|image      = <!-- filename format only -->
|imagesize  = <!-- default 250 -->
|caption    =
|alt        =
|date       = 1917
|pub1       = [[Editorial Bruguera]]
|pub2 = Editorial Valenciana
| pub3 =  Ediciones Metropol
|pub4 = [[Norma Editorial]]
|pub5 = [[Robot Comics]]
|title1     = [[TBO (comics)|TBO]]
|title2     = [[Pulgarcito (Spain)|Pulgarcito]]
|title3     = [[Mortadelo y Filemón|Mort & Phil]]
|title4     = [[El Vibora (magazine)|El Víbora]]
|title5     = [[Carpanta]]
|person1   = [[Francisco Ibáñez Talavera|Ibañez]]
|person2   = [[José Escobar Saliente|Escobar]]
|person3   = [[Manuel Vázquez Gallego|Vázquez]]
|person4   = [[Jan (comics)|Jan]]
|person5   =  [[Max (Spanish cartoonist)|Max]]
|series# = <!-- UP TO FIVE -->
|series1 = [[Capitán Trueno]]
|series2 = [[Superlópez]]
|series3 = [[Zipi y Zape]]
|series4 = [[Anacleto, agente secreto]]
|series5 = [[Las hermanas Gilda]]
|lang1      = [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
|lang2  =   [[Catalan language|Catalan]]
|related1 = [[Argentine comics]]
|related2 =  [[Mexican comics]]
|related3 = [[Franco-Belgian comics]]
|related4 = [[European comics]]
}}
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{{Culture of Spain}}
'''Spanish comics''' are the [[comics]] of [[Spain]]. Comics in Spain are usually called ''historietas'' or ''cómics'', with ''tebeos'' primarily denoting the magazines containing the medium. ''Tebeo'' is a phonetic adaptation of [[TBO (comics)|''TBO'']], a long-running (1917–1983) Spanish [[comic magazine]], and sounds like "''te veo''" ("I see you").

Two publishing houses —  [[Editorial Bruguera]] and [[Editorial Valenciana]] — dominated the Spanish comics market for most of its history.

[[Spain|Spanish]] artists have traditionally worked in other markets reaching great success, either in the American (e.g., [[List of Eisner Award winners|Eisner Award winners]] [[Sergio Aragonés]], [[Salvador Larroca]], [[Gabriel Hernández Walta]], [[Marcos Martín (cartoonist)|Marcos Martín]] or [[David Aja]]), the British (e.g., [[Carlos Ezquerra]], co-creator of ''[[Judge Dredd]]'') or the Franco-Belgian one (e.g., first [[Angoulême International Comics Festival|Fauve d'Or winner]] [[:fr:Julio_Ribera|Julio Ribera]] or ''[[Blacksad]]'' authors [[Juan Díaz Canales]] and [[Juanjo Guarnido]]).

The Spanish market is also known for its many [[Studio#Comics|studio]]s, which for a long time have had material produced mainly for other European countries.

== History ==
=== Origins ===
[[Image:Dominguín 1.jpg|250px|thumb|First issue of [[Dominguín (magazine)|''Dominguín'']] (1915)]] 
It has been stated that the 13th century [[Cantigas de Santa Maria|''Cantigas de Santa María'']] could be considered as the first [[Spain|Spanish]] "comic", although comics made their official debut around 1857 at the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish colonies]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Cómic |url=https://www.tebeosfera.com/fco_fotos/articulos/ART-F889-329-634-471.jpg |website=www.tebeosfera.com |access-date=6 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412063621/https://www.tebeosfera.com/fco_fotos/articulos/ART-F889-329-634-471.jpg |archive-date=Apr 12, 2023 |language=es |format=JPG |url-status=live}}</ref> Among the first comic magazines in [[peninsular Spain]] were the [[Satire|satirical]] ''[[La Flaca (magazine)|La Flaca]]'' (1869-1876) or ''[[El Mundo Cómico]]'' (1873). After them, [[TBO (comics)|''TBO'']] was specially influential in popularizing the medium.<ref name="mart">Martín (01/1968), pp. 9 a 10.</ref> One of the magazine's recurring features was ''Los grandes inventos del TBO'' ("the great inventions of ''TBO''") which depicted humorous [[Rube Goldberg]]-like machines.

Other important early humorous comic magazines were ''[[Pulgarcito (Spain)|Pulgarcito]]'' (1921–1986) and ''[[Lily (magazine)|Lily]]'' (the latter for girls).

=== Golden age despite censorship (1940–1975) ===
After the [[Spanish 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 the [[Francoist Spain|Francoist regime]]; as a result, comic heroes were based on [[historical fiction]] (influenced by [[Hal Foster|Foster]]'s ''[[Prince Valiant]]''). In 1944 the medieval hero ''[[El Guerrero del Antifaz]]'' ("the masked warrior") was created by [[Manuel Gago]] and published by [[Editorial Valenciana]]. Another popular medieval hero, ''[[Capitán Trueno]]'', was created in 1956 by [[Víctor Mora (comics)|Víctor Mora]] and [[Miguel 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.<ref>Porcel (2002), 69-70.</ref> During this period, [[Editorial Bruguera]] created a recognizable style of humor comics with a mixture of [[comedy of manners]] and [[slapstick]] (influenced by Franco-Belgian authors such as [[André Franquin|Franquin]]) starring chronic losers. Among the popular characters of this era were [[Guillermo Cifré|Cifré]]'s ''[[El repórter Tribulete]]'', [[José Escobar Saliente|Escobar]]'s ''[[Carpanta]]'' and ''[[Zipi y Zape]]'', and [[Manuel Vázquez Gallego|Vázquez]]'s ''[[Las hermanas Gilda]]''. Editorial Bruguera also published adventure comics such as ''Capitán Trueno'' and ''[[Silver Roy]]''. In 1958 [[Francisco Ibáñez Talavera|Ibáñez]]'s ''[[Mortadelo 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|''13. Rue del Percebe'']]).

Editorial Valenciana published adventures comics such as ''[[Roberto Alcázar y Pedrín]]'' (debuting in 1940), [[:es:Miguel_Quesada|Miguel Quesada]]'s ''La Pandilla de los Siete'' and ''El 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.{{clarify|date=June 2012}}<ref>Porcel (2002), 308-311.</ref>

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 as [[Fresnos]], [[Jan (comics)|Jan]], [[Joan March]], [[Nicolás Martínez Cerezo|Nicolás]], [[Jaume Ribera]], and [[Jaume Rovira Freixa|Jaume Rovira]]. In 1969 the magazine ''[[Gran Pulgarcito]]'' serialized the first long strip (44 pages) of ''Mortadelo y Filemón''. 

The adult market produced [[horror comics]] such as ''[[Dossier Negro]]'' (1968), ''[[Vampus]]'' (1971) or [[Rufus (magazine)|''Rufus'']] (1973), or satirical comics such as ''[[El Papus]]'' (1973). Humor comics of the 1970s became more absurdist, with characters such as ''[[Sir Tim O'Theo]]'' (1970) or ''[[Superlópez]]'' (1975). One of the authors who adapted well to this more surreal style was Vázquez with his strip ''[[Anacleto, agente secreto]]''.

=== Post-Franco era (1975–1980s) ===
After the death of [[Francisco Franco|Franco]] in 1975, there was an increased interest in adult comics, with magazines such as ''[[Totem (magazine)|Totem]]'', ''[[El Jueves]]'', ''[[1984 (Spanish comics magazine)|1984]]'', and ''[[El Vibora (magazine)|El Víbora]],'' and works such as ''Paracuellos'' by [[Carlos Giménez (comics)|Carlos Giménez]]. However, successful humor comics continued to appear at children-oriented media, such as ''[[Goomer]]'' (1988). In 1989 the annual comic book convention of Barcelona was inaugurated.

=== Hard times (1990s–2000s) ===
Market saturation became evident in 1983 with the closure of the magazines of [[Ediciones Metropol]]. Things during this era were complicated by a crisis that increased the price of paper,<ref>Beá, Josep María in an interview in "[[Entrecomics]]" at 10/06/08 located [http://www.entrecomics.com/?p=15963 here].</ref> as well as 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 (magazine)|Cairo]]'', [[1984 (Spain)|''Zona 84'']], ''[[Cimoc]]'') ceased publishing. ''El Víbora'' closed in 2005. The most notable survivor of that era was ''El Jueves''.

''Mortadelo'' and all Ediciones B comic magazines disappeared in 1996. ''[[Mortadelo y Filemón]]'' and ''[[Superlópez]]'' were still published directly in album format until 2022 and 2023 respectively.

=== Present ===
Among the notable Spanish [[webcomic]]s are ''[[¡Eh, tío!]]'', ''[[El joven Lovecraft]],'' ''[[El Listo]]''<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/portada/tira/comica/rejuvenece/Internet/elpepisupcib/20090917elpcibpor_1/Tes |title=La tira cómica se rejuvenece en Internet |newspaper=[[El País]] |date=17 September 2009 |access-date=29 March 2020 |first=María |last=Ovelar |publisher=[[Prisa]] |language=es}}</ref> and [[Albert Monteys|''¡Universo!'']].

Since 2007, a [[:es:Premio_Nacional_del_Cómic|National Comic Award]] which revitalized the medium was established by the [[Ministry of Culture and Sport (Spain)|Spanish Ministry of Culture]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Spain|Comics}}
*[[List of Spanish comics]]
*[[Belgian comics]]
*[[Franco-Belgian comics]]
*[[Italian comics]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* [[Viviane Alary|Alary, Viviane]] (ed) (2002). ''Historietas, comics y tebeos españoles''. Presses Universitaires du Mirail: Hespérides Espagne, Université de Toulouse, Le Mirail.
* ''Antologia del Còmic Espanyol 1915/1965'' (1995). Societat Andorrana de Ciències, Andorra la Vella.
* [[Antonio Altarriba|Altarriba, Antonio]] (2001). ''La España del Tebeo: La historieta española de 1940 a 2000''. Espasa Calpe, Madrid.
* Altarriba, Antonio y [[Antoni Remesar|Remesar, Antoni]] (1987). ''Comicsarias: Ensayo sobre una década de historieta española (1977-1987)'', Promociones y Publicaciones Universitarias.
* [[Jesús Cuadrado|Cuadrado, Jesús]] (2000). ''[[De la historieta y su uso: 1873-2000]]''.
* [[Pablo Dopico|Dopico, Pablo]] (2005). ''[[El cómic underground español, 1970-1980]]''. Ediciones Cátedra, Madrid.
* [[Antonio Guiral|Guiral, Antoni]] (2004). ''Cuando los cómics se llamaban tebeos. La escuela Bruguera (1945-1963)'', [[Ediciones El Jueves]].
* [[Francesca Lladó Pol|Lladó Pol, Francesca]] (2001). ''[[Los Comics de la Transición]]'', [[Ediciones Glénat]].
* [[Antonio Martín Martínez|Martín Martínez, Antonio]] (1978). ''Historia del Cómic español 1875-1939''. Editorial Gustavo Gili, Barcelona.
* [[Antonio Martín Martínez|Martín Martínez, Antonio]] (02/1968). «Apuntes para una historia de los tebeos III. Tiempos heroicos del tebeo español (1936-1946)», ''Revista de Educación'' (Madrid), n.º 196.
* Martín, Antonio (2000). ''Los inventores del cómic español. 1873-1900''. Editorial [[Planeta DeAgostini]], Barcelona.
* Martínez Peñaranda, Enrique (2004). ''Vázquez (El dibujante y su leyenda)''. [[Ediciones Sinsentido]], Madrid. Colección Sin Palabras, Serie A nº 4. {{ISBN|84-95634-49-X}}. Depósito legal: M-39015-2004.
* [[Ana Merino|Merino, Ana]] (2003) ''El cómic hispánico''. Cátedra, Madrid.
* [[Terenci Moix|Moix, Terenci]] (2007). ''[[Historia social del cómic]]''. [[Ediciones B]], Barcelona. {{ISBN|978-84-02-42030-5}} Depósito legal: B-2551-2007.
* [[Pedro Porcel Torrens|Porcel, Pedro]] (2002). ''Clásicos en Jauja. La historia del tebeo valenciano''. [[Edicions de Ponent]].
* [[Juan Antonio Ramírez|Ramírez, Juan Antonio]] (1975). ''El "comic" femenino en España. Arte sub y anulación''. [[Editorial Cuadernos para el Diálogo]], Madrid. Colección Divulgación universitaria, Arte y literatura, número 78. Depósito Legal: M. 8.752 - 1975 {{ISBN|84-229-0177-3}}.
* Ramírez, Juan Antonio (1975). ''[[La historieta cómica de postguerra]]''. Editorial Cuadernos para el diálogo, Madrid. Colección Memoria y comunicación.
* Roca, Paco (2010), ''El invierno del dibujante''. [[Astiberri Ediciones]], Bilbao.
* [[Salvador Vázquez de Parga|Vázquez de Parga, Salvador]] (1980). ''Los comics del franquismo''. [[Editorial Planeta]], Barcelona.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Comics of Spain}}
* [http://guiadelcomic.com Guía del Cómic], infobox and news by José A. Serrano; {{in lang|es}}
* [http://www.tebeosfera.com/portada.php Tebeosfera], digital magazine by [[Manuel Barrero]]; {{in lang|es}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080618170417/http://www.tebeosclasicos.com/web/index.php Tebeosclásicos], magazine about the golden age of Spanish comic books {{in lang|es}}
*[http://www.lambiek.net/artists/index.htm Comiclopedia] {{in lang|en|fr|nl}}

{{Animation industry in Spain}}
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{{Spain topics}}

[[Category:Spanish comics| ]]