The Spanish cartoon from 1951 to 1970

Abstract

The 1951-1963 period was the most prolific of the Spanish comic. The adventures books, the long sagas starring an only one hero, are the most popular format. Around 500 collections are published, among these, some will last such as El Cachorro, Aventuras del FBI or the emblematic El Capitán Trueno, published by Bruguera, the publishing house that would rule the market in a nearly monopolistic way during both the 1960 and the 1970 decades. Its humour mastheads (Pulgarcito, DDT…) reached their maximum peak despite the censoring mechanisms carried out by the franquista government through the CIPIJ (Information Comittee for Children and Youth Publications), created in 1963, that considerably reduce the crytical intentions that characterized the publications some time ago. A similar situation happens to the adventures comics, hounded by this Comitte until is nearly disappearance by 1966. The market has to endure a deep crisis, new forms such as the so-called graphic novel or the European look magazine are tried but did not reach the same repercussion reached by the comics in the 1950 decade. Delta 99, by Carlos Giménez, or the weekly magazine Trinca are the best examples of this kind of renovation which is being started by this time and which would bear fruit during the following decade.