They turn 75 but they are still children. Zipi and Zape are two of the most representative and also most popular characters in Spanish comics of all time. Josep Escobar created them in 1948 for the Pulgarcito magazine and the Saló del Còmic de Barcelona takes advantage of the event to pay tribute to them through an exhibition that has the incentive of presenting 50 originals donated by the cartoonist’s family, some of them unpublished. Among the comics that can be seen at the Fira Barcelona venue, three originals from 1959 stand out, in which Escobar’s style has already acquired a clarity and flexibility that are very characteristic of his mature stage. Another of the curiosities is being able to contemplate a work that was unpublished and of which only the pencil drawing was made.
The sample is divided into two areas. The first one reviews the history of Zipi and Zape through reproductions and explanatory texts that allow the visitor to understand the context in which they were born as well as their graphic and thematic evolution. It begins with the first single-page, mostly black-and-white comics, continues with the long, colorful adventures of the 1970s, and ends with the last pages, made in the 1990s. The second block presents the most attractive part, that of the originals, and is divided into three sections: one dedicated to the comics, another to the covers, and a last one with unpublished drawings and illustrations in a smaller format. Some of these images were not made to be published and show Zipi and Zape in unusual situations.
In the words of the critic and historian of comics Antoni Guiral, curator of the exhibition, “Zipi and Zape are one of the longest-running comic series in our country, since its creator maintained it for almost five decades, until shortly before his death. in 1994. It is a series that marked different generations of readers and that had a very significant evolution since it knew how to adapt to the society of each momentâ€.
The exhibition confirms that over the years, the two twins continued to be two mischievous children and they did not lose their love of playing soccer or their habit of getting bad grades in exams, but on the other hand, the punishments were softened, which were very politically incorrect during the beginnings. Escobar created a series of humor based on customs that he knew how to reinforce and keep alive thanks to a wide and rich gallery of secondary characters, including Zipi and Zape’s parents, Pantuflo Zapatilla and Jaimita Llobregat, Professor Minervo and a diligent classmate. class aptly named Sapientin.
Guiral is also the author of the book Zipi y Zape. The most famous comic book twins, just published by Penguin Random House under the Bruguera imprint to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the series. The book proposes a study of the time and the context of the work and reproduces for the first time original and unpublished material of the characters.
The celebration of the 75th anniversary of Zipi y Zape is complemented by a round table on Saturday afternoon (4:00 p.m.) and comes a year after another of Josep Escobar’s most emblematic creations, the hungry Carpanta, reached that same and respectable age. Carpanta was born in 1947 and became the best character to represent the rationing years of the Spanish postwar period.
The latest news on Escobar is rounded off with the screening of Once Upon a Time… a cartoon feature film that he himself co-directed in 1950 and that the Filmoteca de Catalunya has managed to restore after years of patient work. The film can be seen on Saturday at 11 am in the auditorium of the fairgrounds. The exhibition, the book and the film confirm Josep Escobar not only as one of the most important authors of the so-called Bruguera School of comics, but also as a restless creator who was a true multidisciplinary artist long before that word even existed.
