The best of independent comic in 2012, by Lourdes Ilián
Since 1994, Generación X has been an essential meeting point for comic onlookers and fans. With 16 stores in Spain, mostly in Madrid, it has become an editorial reference where, besides ordering imported comics and getting started at RPG and board games, one can also meet the author of 'A Game of Thrones', George RR Martin, or see the shooting of a famous Spanish commedy TV-show. Lourdes Ilián, one of the managers, recommends us five comics for catching up with what is going on in the independent comic world.
Times have been good for independent comics recently. More and more publishers are working with this type of publication - from the already well-established Astiberri, Sins entido or La Cúpula, to some of the newest on the block such as Apa Apa, Caramba or the most recent Entrecomics Comics. Out of all the comics published in Spain in 2012, I’ve selected the following because they punctuate a specific point in space and time. Enjoy!
'No Cambies Nunca' - David Sánchez (Ed. Astiberri)
David Sánchez, who amazed us with his last comic, Tú me has matado, returns with his Lynch-influenced world. This time though he uses that inspiration to create a world that is unsettling in a style that is every bit his own.
'Paying For It' - Chester Brown (Ed. Drawn and Quarterly)
In this comic, the author - a regular client of prostitutes - tells us about his relationship with them. He does so in a sometimes slightly raw but always tremendously sincere way and doesn’t set out to discuss any ethical arguments nor does he apologise for what he does.
'Humor Cristiano' - Alberto González Vázquez (Ed. ¡Caramba!)
This book (it's not a comic per se) brings together some of the comic strips and stories from the blog written by the author Querido Antonio. It’s a publication full of surrealist and biting humour.
'Whisky & New York' - Julia Wertz (Ed. Bang)
Some of this North American author’s work has at last been published in Spain. Whiskey & New York tells of the twists and turns in the author's life, her move from San Francisco to New York, her brother's drug addiction, her illness – she really has got Lupus! – all with the most self-deprecating sense of humour.
'Mister Wonderful' - Daniel Clowes (Ed. Pantheon)
For the time being at least, Daniel Clowes has left his unsettling stories behind to tell us about the fears and insecurities of two people who meet on a blind date. It’s a sensitive - not sentimental - and sincere comic.
