From left to right and from bottom to top: Manuel Vázquez, José Peñarroya, Francisco Ibáñez, Roberto Segura and José Escobar
The past 15 of March Francisco Ibanez He turned 83 years old and the 31st was the anniversary of the death of Jdared escobar in 1994. Both are possibly the two spearheads of a series of cartoonists and historical cartoonists from our comic.
Today I want honor them them and three other names that I also liked a lot: Jose Peñarroya (Don Pío, Pepe the fan, Pitagorín), Manuel Vazquez (The Gilda sisters, Anacleto) and Robert Segura (The panda, Lily, Rigoberto Passepartout). For so many good times ...
My colds, the Madrid kiosk and sapristi!
Nobody says - nor knows what it is - "Sapristi!" (a deformed Gallicism), but those of us who are already a certain age learned it with Mortadelo and Filemón. Like we learned to read (when the capital letters were not accentuated) with those comics. And whenever I go home I keep picking up a comic from my collection, which I keep like gold on a cloth, to reread it and feel as good again as when I was a kid.
Although I only read them then, especially when I would get cold with fever and I had to stay in bed and not go to school (good!). The mumps, the constipation or whatever it was I no longer remember. But I do be in bed with the pile of comics next to.
Another great moment was go to Madrid some weekend at my aunts' house. In the kiosk below my father always bought us some, of the long ones, like the ones in the collection Ole de Bruguera. The super mood they were already the sumum. But I liked them all.
From my comic collection. The Carousel and Thumbelina belong to my aunt and are over 60 years old. Covers of Escobar, RAF, Ibáñez, Vázquez and Segura.
5 large
There are many more, like RAF (of which I spoke in this article), Schmidt, Matias Guiuetc, but I have settled on these. They all agreed on the legendary Bruguera publishing house and belong to his school.
Jose Peñarroya
From Peñarroya, a Forcall native of Castellón and a friend of Cifré (another great one) and Escobar, I liked the circular lines of his drawings and also the faded color of the vignettes. Don Pío, with that candor that characterized him, I loved it, just like Pythagorin y Chubby Stuffed, And of course Pepe the Fan.
Manuel Vazquez
Vázquez from Madrid was portrayed in the cinema by Santiago Segura a few years ago and he is almost a comic book character by himself. What am I saying! It is entirely. Ibáñez transferred his fame of defaulter on paper and turned him into that attic denizen of 13, Rue del Barnacle, who is always trapped and with creditors knocking on his door every day.
But aside from myths, Vázquez created a series of unforgettable characters such as Anacletus, the adorable granny peace, the tremendous Gilda sisters or the Churumbel family or the great ones Spring onion. More than hundreds of comic strips and covers.
Robert Segura
From Badalona, Segura also belongs to that so fertile and great generation of 57 that met in Bruguera. And I especially liked their stories and characters for their expressive strokes, in addition to the fun of his scripts.
Rigoberto Picaporte, big bachelor, The lords of Alcorcón and the lazy Pepon, pepe auger, Captain Serafin and Cabin Devil... And when I switched to more "girls" comics like Esther (of the huge Purita Campos), I loved it piluca y Lily.
Jose Escobar
And I move on to the final duo of historical and eternal, because Escobar is one. The Spanish comic cannot be understood without him and his creations keep hooking. Nor is it understood - nor can it be appreciated - the history of the second half of the XNUMXth century of this country if there were no Tenta Petra, raised for everything, and, of course, without the tremendous Zipi and Zape.
Francisco Ibanez
There it continues. A living legend at the foot of the canyon. Surely he says goodbye with a pencil in his hands and when he disappears, there will be no other. They are all unmatched, but Ibáñez already transcends himself. It is impossible to highlight so many things about him. For his tenacity, its incredible work capacity and uncompromising talent. Nobody has their marks
His characters, the most famous, followed and loved. On the shelves of any bookstore you see volumes and volumes by the hundreds with his last name. The Mortadelos, the SuperMortadelos, the specials for their 30th, 40th, 50th and now 60th anniversary, which will be said soon.
None surpasses Mortadelo and Filemon, the biggest TIA agents in the world are. But they also like. The buttons Saccharine, Roof breakers, The family Intrigue, Pepe Gotera and Otilio... And my weakness, that 13, Rue del Barnacle, a whole social portrait in a surrealist plan of almost 60 years too.
Ultimately
The fact that do not stop reading comics (I resist the "comic" for these names) and rediscover many more than those authors that filled our childhood with good humor and imagination.
I loved comics. It devoured them non-stop, one after another. Zipi and Zape, Mortedelo, Lily, Esther and her world, Carpanta, Abuelita Paz, Pitagorín, Anacleto, Don Pío, 13 rue del Percebe, Floripondia Piripí, is excited to say yes, Petra, Caty the cat girl ... and so many other Hours and hours of reading and rereading those magnificent comics. I still have an old one and from time to time I buy an old one, and it is that forty-something years later, I never tire of reading them. And what I learned from them! Today people don't read, not even people training to be teachers. Pretty sad, really. The digital age has given us a lot but it has also taken on many things, including the healthy and necessary habit of reading.