Spanish Fever

by Paco Roca, Various, Santiago García (Editor)

Fantagraphics Books is proud to introduce American readers to more than 30 artists working on the cutting edge of the form. Spanish Fever is an anthology showcasing the best of the new wave of art comics from a country with one of the strongest cartoon traditions in Europe. It includes the work of masters of the form such as Paco Roca, Miguel Gallardo, David Rubín and Miguel Ángel Martín as well as newcomers like José Domingo, Anna Galvan, Álvaro Ortiz and Sergi Puyol.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Short Stories, Anthologies

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2013

About the author

Paco Roca estudió en la Escuela de Arte y Superior de Diseño de Valencia. Aunque su trabajo se centra en los cómics, compagina su tiempo con la ilustración y las charlas y talleres.

En el terreno de los cómics, su obra se ha traducido en trece países. Entre su bibliografía publicada por Astiberri destacan El juego lúgubre (2001); El Faro (2004); Arrugas (2007); Las calles de arena (2008); El invierno del dibujante (2010); el recopilatorio Memorias de un dibujante en pijama. El integral, que recoge las páginas aparecidas en el periódico Las Provincias y El País Semanal –que serían publicados en tres tomos: Memorias de un hombre en pijama (2011), Andanzas de un hombre en pijama (2014) y Confesiones de un hombre en pijama (2017)–; Los surcos del azar (2013); La casa (2015), La encrucijada (2017), colaboración con el músico José Manuel Casañ (Seguridad Social), El tesoro del Cisne Negro (2018), con guion de Guillermo Corral, Regreso al Edén (2020), y El abismo del olvido (2023), su última novela gráfica. También es el autor de El dibujado (2019), creado para las paredes del Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno (IVAM) y que en 2021 toma forma de libro.

Sus cómics han sido galardonados dentro y fuera de España con, entre otros, el Premio Nacional del Cómic 2008, el Goya al mejor guion adaptado por Arrugas en 2011, el Excellence Award de Japón, el Inkpot Award en la Comic-Con de San Diego en 2019 o el Eisner 2020 a la mejor obra extranjera. Paco También ha recibido la Medalla de Oro al Mérito en las Bellas Artes 2021 del Ministerio de Cultura del gobierno de España y el Gran Premio del Cómic Barcelona 2025 a toda su trayectoria.

Algunos de sus cómics han sido llevados al cine y la televisión, como es el caso de Arrugas (Ignacio Ferreras, 2011), Memorias de un hombre en pijama, El tesoro del Cisne Negro (Alejandro Amenábar, 2021) o La casa (Álex Montoya, 2024).

Como ilustrador, ha realizado carteles, portadas de libros, murales y campañas sociales para todo tipo de eventos, publicaciones o clientes, en especial organizaciones no gubernamentales.

Imparte charlas y talleres por todo el mundo y su obra ha sido expuesta en salas nacionales e internacionales. Paco Roca ha recibido la Medalla de Oro al Mérito en las Bellas Artes 2021 del Ministerio de Cultura del gobierno de España y en mayo de 2023 le concedieron el Premio al Mérito Cultural Ciutat de València.

Reviews

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of comics stories from some of Spain's top creators.

It's hard to know where to begin. I've been reading comics pretty much my entire life, since the early 70's at least. I've read all kinds: superheroes, westerns, romance, war, humor, funny animals, newspaper strips, undergrounds, alternative comics, British weeklies, manga, European graphic albums ... I'm fairly knowledgeable on the subject. So it's good that I still encounter books like this, full of excellent work by multiple creators who I've never heard of before. It's good to be reminded of just how much is still out there to be encountered. The comics universe is vast, and no matter how much you read, there's still more to discover.

As anthologies go, this is one of the better ones I've read. The stories range from autobiography to experimental, and all points in between. Some favorites: "Arizona Stratocaster" by Pere Joan, "Call It X" by Santiago Valenzuela, "Finland" by Javier Olivares, "Ticket to Malta" by Carlos de Diego, and "Demolition" by David Rubín. It's not that the rest of the book is bad or anything; it's just that these really resonated for me, "Finland" in particular. On the whole, this is an excellent anthology. Recommended!

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though many of these feel excised from larger works instead of being self contained or even thoughtfully excerpted, it is so great to learn about some Spanish comics writers/artists that it makes up for it. There is a good variety of style and tone. Wish there were more women, of course, and that the bios went more into what the people's publications were about/what they are known for instead of just a list of what they have published.

[Chelsea Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Favorites:
Melted - Alvaro Ortiz
Little Martin - Fermin Solis
Gunslinger - Miguel Angel Martin
*Writers Never Score - Ramon Boldu
*Let's Move to the Country! You Said - Clara-Tanit Arque
Horse Meat - Ana Galvan
Arrabiata - Sergi Pujol
*Finland - Javier Olivares
*Ticket to Malta - Carlos De Diego
Dreams - Juan Berrio

[Derek Royal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This appear to be a wonderful introduction to the diversity of artists, styles, and subject matter in the "new" comics coming out of Spain. For me, this collection had the feel of the old Mome anthology.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very mixed collection of quite short samples, so it's hard to say much. I quite liked some, but not the majority, and I'm not rushing to track down longer works by any of the contributors.

[Variaciones Enrojo]

Recopilación de ensayos y análisis sobre la historieta española con escritos de Paco Alcázar, Antonio Altarriba, Gabi Beltrán, Juan Berrio, Ramón Boldú, Clara-Tanit, Gabriel Corbera, Carlos de Diego, José Domingo, Kim, Miguel Gallardo, Miguel Ángel Martín, Max, Micharmut, Javier Olivares, Álvaro Ortiz, Pere Joan, Mireia Pérez, Marcos Prior, Rayco Pulido, Sergi Puyol, Paco Roca, David Rubín, Juanjo Sáez, David Sánchez, Bartolomé Seguí, Fermín Solís, Santiago Valenzuela, Juaco Vizuete, Alfonso Zapico e Irkus M. Zeberio.

[Alberto Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy interesante. Una amalgama de estilos representativos de los que se cuece hoy en día en la escena comiquera española.

Me ha sorprendido que no pocos de estos autores relacionan sus historietas cortas con obras anteriores suyas (o las ambientan en su universo propio).

[Blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eclectic collection of short graphic works from Spain in translation. Some stories are more self-contained than others. Some are certainly much more avant garde than others. Some are about the creative process and the artists, while others are fictional ranging from the absurd to the lyrical.

[Ulaş Engin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Güzel bir derleme. Bazı içerikler yorucu olsa da, bence İspanyolların çizgi sunuşları Avrupa için orijinalliğini koruyor. Tanışmadığım bazı çizerleri okumak çok keyifliydi. Bu tarz kolektif içerikleri keşke biz de derleyebilsek.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both the stories and the art are WAY better than any of the "Best Of American Comics" series!

[Daniel Oster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice anthology of comics from Spanish cartoonists. Each style and voice is unique, and it comes together to form a truly eclectic and interesting collection

[Comics Alternative · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://comicsalternative.com/euro-com...

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review of this anthology of Spanish comics is on tcj.com:
http://www.tcj.com/reviews/spanish-fe...

[Naoise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Está bien para ver un compendio de diferentes autores, y muchas de las historietas son interesantes… pero la gran mayoría se quedan cortas y dejan con ganas de más.

[Juan Fuentes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muestra bastante representativa de autores de cómic, tebeos o novelas gráficas, como uno quiera llamarlo.