Long Live Comics!

'Viñetarama' is a cultural and guttural newsletter with comics as its backbone, written by cartoonist and journalist Borja Crespo. It arrives in your inbox every third Wednesday of the month, and if you like it, you can share it. Thank you for reading!

March has been notably intense for every comic book addict. Many appointments with comics, Comic Day, new events, and veteran festivals where new winds are blowing. Of course, there are seismic shifts in the sector. DC Comics is now under Panini's responsibility, and fans have received the editorial change with unusual glee, as if Superman and company's tribulations had never been published here before. A good move to fuel the excess of joy: starting with the 'Absolute' series. A brilliant new chapter, highlighted by the Batman reboot by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta (we are 'team' Batman here).

To begin with, good news, the nomination for the Eisner Awards of several national names: Javier Rodríguez, Paco Roca, Javi Fernández, Mikel Janín, Daniel Sempere, and Guillen March. They are all excellent. I am especially happy for my buddy Javier Rodríguez, who should finally shake off the impostor syndrome. What a career, my friend. And there's more to come. The release of the much-anticipated 'Martian Detective' here in September will be a turning point.

Another piece of news that has shaken the foundations of the wonderful world of national comics: La Sectorial, a necessary evil. What can be said at this point? The collective has achieved things, fortunately, but not all the medals it wears are its own. Those of us who were in Angouleme, for example, know that the celebration could have been better. Everything is always improvable, seen from the outside with a professional (de)formation that devours you from within (as is my case). I would ask La Sectorial not to be contaminated with the worst of politics and to be more transparent. And to think about the popular sentiment of the people in the sector, which is supposedly why it exists. Listening to others is not in vogue, everyone with their interests. Since 'El eternauta' and its defense of the collective hero is so fashionable, we must fight for real associationism, representing every mind involved in comics. If we are not truly united, everything remains on paper. A real intense dialogue between the different parties is urgent: artists, publishers, booksellers, distributors, theorists, promoters, cultural managers... With cartoonists and scriptwriters at the center of the debate.

I'll add a piece of good news that, surprisingly, has been met with skepticism rather than open arms, which shows how distrustful we are - rightly so - because comic enthusiasts are never given anything. The now-famous comic grants from the Ministry of Culture. At first glance, it's better to have them than not, right? It's ridiculous that we are the only artistic discipline overlooked in this regard by institutions. Everyone can decide whether to apply for the grants or not. There are improvable requirements in the bases, the vision needs to be broadened, but it's a start. Another topic is how the juicy financial allocations will be distributed and whether the action will affect creative freedom. It's in our hands to ensure it doesn't happen like in cinema, that distribution is equitable and logical, but objectivity... We all know. We'll have to keep an eye on it, as with everything discussed here.

Let's be positive, how great Krunch has been, from what I've been told. Independent events that are growing, very necessary. The Anti Gutter is coming soon, by the way. And it's time to talk about Comicón - let's call it that, more forceful. Against all odds - just kidding - tickets sold out, like a Bad Bunny concert, with server crashes included. Skepticism aside, what can be said that we don't already imagine, those of us who have been around comics for a long time? Hopefully, it won't be another 'Rock in Rio', it's always good to talk about comics, even if it's not the main focus here. However, I think it's better to visit the Sitges festival and Manga Barcelona, just to take an obvious example. Probably a more economical double combo. What is striking is that it seems like a comic convention has never been held in Spain. The media has jumped on it, there's nothing like having money. In the end, I think it will be good for the medium. We will appreciate more what we have, the effort many people make to hold essential events with much fewer resources. Comic Barcelona, the Saló, has 43 editions. Unyielding. It stands firm, with its inevitable ups and downs and a laughable institutional aid. It must be valued. Let various event formats around comics coexist in harmony, and let them be filled with people! Valencia, Zaragoza, Graf, Gutter, Tenderete, A Coruña, Autozine, Sr. Boliche, Viñetalcázar, Splash, Krunch, Getxo, Carmona, Fanzimad... Not all are here...

In the previous issue of this monthly newsletter, I forgot to recommend 'The King Medusa' by Brecht Evens, a volume published by Astiberri with translation by my dear Rubén Lardín. Visually, it's a marvel. Pure ambrosia. Beneath the colorful panels, an amazing journey to the depths of the mind. The Bilbao-based publisher has also released these days an ideal title for kids, 'Elma, a Bear's Life', by Ingrid Chabbert and Léa Mazé, author of the indispensable trilogy 'The Muertimers'. The work proposes an emotional journey through the forest full of nuances. La Cúpula is going strong this month with a classic among classics: 'Dr. Vertigo' by Martí. Returning to its pages is always a good thing. 'American Paranoia, The Black Box', by the brilliant Lucas Varela and Hervé Bourhis, boasts a stunning style. A dissection of the land of stars and stripes, its reading is a wonderful pleasure (Varela's work is pure magic).

Garbuix Books continues to enrich its catalog with a keen eye. 'Is She a Witch?' gives a twist to the figure of the witch as a pop culture icon. Myths, lies, and reality with the signature of Raquel Gu, an author to watch, especially gifted for graphic humor. On the table, Disney movies, Grimm brothers' tales, the witches of Zugarramurdi, or the Salem witch trials. I couldn't resist buying 'Venom War: Zombiontes' from Panini. Merging superheroes with the undead always appeals to me, what could go wrong? However, my weakness for Juan José Ryp leads me to try to be a completist with his work. I've been a fan of his personal style since the late '90s, when he signed craziness for MegaMultimedia - it's been a while - or 'Nancy in Hell' with a script by El Torres (I'm writing these lines wearing a bloody T-shirt of the character).

By the way, 'Absolute Wonder Woman' by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman is very well done. Watch out for the artwork. However, if the option is to laugh at the champions of justice, I recommend reading 'Supervillains: Checkmate the Queen', a new installment of a curious iconoclastic saga that boasts stunning illustrations in the service of a charming madness. The empire of supercriminals takes a step further with Grafito Editorial, also responsible for the publication of 'Weird Cop' in these parts, a fun comic game devised by Guillermo Lizarán. A whole interactive experience. In a post-apocalyptic world, there's a crime to solve. A police android is the element through which we live the adventure, jumping from page to page and panel to panel, like in the mythical 'Choose Your Own Adventure' collection. We return to talk about 'El eternauta', now that its audiovisual adaptation has made an essential title in comic history fashionable. I spoke about the Netflix series launch here. It coincides with the release of 'El eternauta 1969' in bookstores, by Héctor Germán Oesterheld and Alberto Breccia. Penguin, under its Reservoir label, rescues the 'reboot' of the classic, revisited with a more experimental stroke and a more political tone. A good excuse to remember that the writer, a great of Argentine comics and beyond, was kidnapped in 1977 by the armed forces during Argentina's military dictatorship under Videla, being one of the many disappeared, using a euphemism. He was accompanied by his four daughters, two of them pregnant, also murdered. The message of the cult work remains alive.

'The Soft Stone', a volume carefully edited by Random House, is a beautiful experiment that brings together the talent of filmmaker Rodrigo Cortés (where does this man find the time to do so many things?) and illustrator Tomás Hijo, whose engravings are delicacies. There's an exciting play with the rhythm of reading and white space. 'Hotel Abuel' by Marta Altieri, creator of the highly recommendable webcomic 'Joselito', is a generational, highly personal work that leaves no one indifferent (also at Penguin). I loved 'Days of Immortality' and its portrayal of 1980s Madrid. With a script by Eliseo García and drawings by Javier Urrea, this proposal from Drakul makes a good double feature with 'Pasotas' by Carmelo Manresa, available in Dolmen's catalog. Rock and adolescence, the passage of time, age problems, drugs... 'Hack/Slash: Back to School' merges horror and humor, with a lot of graphic references. Zoe Thorogood signs this ultra-violent graphic delirium edited by Norma that matches the fourth installment of the 'Lowreader' series, centered on the Slum Kids, who also have their own volume by Petit Rapace in Nuevo Nueve. In an apocalyptic world, a group of kids fight for survival, getting into various scrapes where they generally end up in fisticuffs.