Strictly, boomers are people born between 1946 and 1964, during the birth boom – hence the name – after World War II. Bartolomé Seguí, born in Palma in 1962 and therefore a boomer to all intents and purposes, has decided to add ingenuity and humor to the matter and address the concerns of this age in a traditional graphic novel titled, precisely, Boomers (Salamandra Graphic).
Through a group of six friends who have known each other for years and who have already turned sixty, Bartolomé Seguí offers us a lucid look at the dreams of the past, life as a couple, sex, the emergence of new technologies and the world we leave to those who will come after.
In the comic, the conversations between the six characters around a table, as on the cover of the book, are interspersed with the couple’s chats and the thoughts of Ernesto, a character who serves as the guiding thread of the story and who has several points in common. with the author. In these pages you can read some unforgettable phrases, which mix realism with humor in equal parts, and ingeniously portray the consequences of the passage of time.
Boomers X-rays the lives of sixty-year-olds with humor and affection. Those who have reached that age will surely feel represented and will appreciate the lucid but endearing vision that Seguí offers. And for those who have not yet reached that age, the book serves as a warning of things to come. Both will be attracted by the stories that are told in this graphic novel. There are priceless doses of realism in these cartoons.
Bartolomé Seguí, responsible for both the script and the drawing and color of Boomers, manages to make the dialogues ring true, as if we had heard them during a dinner with friends. That is one of the great virtues of this comic, knowing how to transmit authenticity and closeness. Another virtue has to do with the graphic part. No one should be surprised at this point by Seguí’s artistic quality, but it is worth highlighting his ability to adapt his drawing register to the story he tells. A detailed drawing without overwhelming, based on a clear line style that does not imitate anyone. And the range of colors – slightly autumnal – contributes to creating the climate that the story needs.
In Boomers, the author recovers two characters who starred in the comic Lola y Ernesto (1990) after being published in the pages of El Víbora magazine. Of course, there is no need to know about those previous adventures to enjoy Boomers. As the author himself explains in the book’s preface, Lola and Ernesto continued to exist after those first adventures and now they wanted to see what their lives were like after so many years. When they are recovered, with white hair and already in their sixties, that effect of authenticity and empathy that Seguí seeks (and achieves) is multiplied. All a success.