Paco Roca: The Winter of the Cartoonist

In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and WWII, five extraordinary cartoonists decide to rebel.

In 1957, Editorial Bruguera was one of Spain’s largest publishing houses, putting out hugely popular weekly magazines and comics for young and old. They also domineeringly retained all rights and creative control of their artists’ work. Thoroughly researched by the 2017 Eisner Award nominee and Spanish comics superstar Paco Roca, The Winter of the Cartoonist investigates the true story of five cartoonists who, spurred by poor working conditions, arbitrary editorial edicts, and nationwide dictatorial rule, went searching for a life-affirming creative freedom. These cartoonists had all just suffered under the Civil War (some even fighting on the losing side) and responding to the dark times caused by the Franco regime, left their stable positions at Bruguera as a group to start their own magazine, Tio Vivo, and achieve greater freedom. Little did they know that the corporation had heard about their plans and began actively trying to thwart their distribution and publishing efforts, turning their battle into a real-life David and Goliath tale. Critics will no doubt draw parallels between Roca’s story and events in the history of American comics publishing.

Paco Roca returns with another moving graphic novel that combines a fresh look at historical events with humor, compassion, and narrative mastery. The Winter of the Cartoonist provides historical context and short profiles of these artists — all prideful, enterprising, restless — as they serve as perfect everyday heroes for all of those who have chased a dream, no matter how high the obstacles that stand in front of them.