Sunday, January 25, 2009

Felipe Hernández Cava's and Pablo Auladell's Soy mi sueño - Coda

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Images:
1. El Cubri's take on Neocolonialism in comics (Burne Hogarth's "Tarzan," obviously); "Este es su heroe," - this is your hero -, Bang! # 10, 1973); in El Cubri's opinion the real heroes are the Africans who fought colonialism;
2. more from El Cubri: "One small step..." / "for a man..." / "...one giant leap..." / "...for mankind."; the third world waits for the benefits of such a great leap (after all these years it's still waiting, in fact); El Cubri's creations are closer to visual poetry than they're closer to children's traditional comics; what's interesting is that, even if they worked with expanded field's precepts, they viewed themselves as part of the restrict field (i. e.: the comics milieu): "Apolo XI," Bang! Trocha # 2 (July, 1977);
3. Wounded Knee, December, 15, 1890 - February, 1, 1973 (my translation): "That's where a people's dream ended" / "No, we say. The dream of the Indian people isn't dead. Today, more than ever, the dream is open." "De un genocidio... De un etnocidio" (on a genocide... on an ethnocide..."), Felipe Hernández Cava (w), Luis Garcia (a): Bang! Troya # 5 (September, 1977); the composition reminds me of Il quarto stato (the fourth state), a painting by Giuseppe Pelizza da Volpedo, 1901;
4. "Chicharras" (cicadas), Bang! # 13 (1977); an early autobio comic by Luis Garcia with the collaboration of Felipe Hernández Cava in the dialogues;
5. Cava in an humorous tone: drawings by Raúl (Fernández Calleja): Medios Revueltos (mixed media) # 1 (1988);
6. Federico del Barrio at the height of his powers: a great page from Lope de Aguirre, La conjura (Lope de Aguirre, the conspiracy), Ikusager, 1993; Felipe Hernández Cava, w;
7. the final page of Lope de Aguirre, La expiación (Lope de Aguirre, the atonement), Felipe Hernández Cava, w; "Rebel until I die because of your ingratitude, Lope de Aguirre, pilgrim;" Aguirre's last words in his famous letter addressed to king Philip II of Spain (1561; my translation); great art by Ricard Castells: this quasi-abstract page sums up all the drama in a brilliant way: it reminds me of Milton's last words in Samson Agonists: "And calm of mind all passion spent." (Milton, Penguin Books, 1985 [1671]: 288); this is the calm of death, as the desolate landscape proves, drawing a cross (but the seed was planted for Bolívar and Martin, as the script hints);
8. Que Podemos Fazer? (what can we do?, 2000): a comic published in Portugal with script by Felipe Hernández Cava and drawings by Monique Bruillard; it's a very short story about two International Brigades' volunteers (one from Germany, the other from the UK); the story ends exactly when they're entering Spain by train: it's as if Felipe Hernández Cava is reluctant in addressing the big one (is he?);
9. page about the war crime that was the bombing of Dresden; Soy mi sueño, Edicions De Ponent, 2008.

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