Origins (1915) It has been stated that the 13th century
Cantigas de Santa María could be considered as the first
Spanish "comic", although comics made their official debut around 1857 at the
Spanish colonies. Among the first comic magazines in
peninsular Spain were the
satirical La Flaca (1869-1876) or
El Mundo Cómico (1873). After them,
TBO was specially influential in popularizing the medium. 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 (1921–1986) and
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 regime; as a result, comic heroes were based on
historical fiction (influenced by
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 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. 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
Franquin) starring chronic losers. Among the popular characters of this era were
Cifré's
El repórter Tribulete,
Escobar's
Carpanta and
Zipi y Zape, and
Vázquez's
Las hermanas Gilda. Editorial Bruguera also published adventure comics such as
Capitán Trueno and
Silver Roy. In 1958
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). Editorial Valenciana published adventures comics such as
Roberto Alcázar y Pedrín (debuting in 1940),
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. 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,
Joan March,
Nicolás,
Jaume Ribera, and
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 (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
Franco in 1975, there was an increased interest in adult comics, with magazines such as
Totem,
El Jueves,
1984, and
El Víbora, and works such as
Paracuellos by
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, 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,
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
webcomics are
¡Eh, tío!,
El joven Lovecraft, El Listo and
¡Universo!. Since 2007, a
National Comic Award which revitalized the medium was established by the
Spanish Ministry of Culture. ==See also==