Euro Comics: Reviews of Spanish Fever, The Longest Day of the Future, and Growing Up in Public - a podcast by Stergios Botzakis & Derek Royal

Time Codes:

• 00:00:28 - Introduction
• 00:02:45 - Setup of reviews
• 00:04:37 - Spanish Fever
• 00:46:27 - The Longest Day of the Future
• 01:00:45 - Growing Up in Public
• 01:28:04 - Wrap up
• 01:29:12 - Contact us

This month on the Euro Comics series, Edward and Derek discuss three works translated from Spanish, and all published by Fantagraphics. They begin with the anthology Spanish Fever: Stories by the New Spanish Cartoonists, edited by Santiago García. This is a collection of contemporary comics coming out of Spain, bringing together works by over thirty creators including Paco Roca, Max, Miguel Gallardo, David Rubín and Miguel Ángel Martín, as well as newcomers such as José Domingo, Anna Galvañ, Álvaro Ortiz and Sergi Puyol. As the guys point out, the styles, genres, and themes are diverse, making this not only a valuable introduction to new Spanish artists, but a well-rounded comics collection by any standard.

Next, the Two Guys turn to two creators from Argentina. The first is Lucas Varela and his The Longest Day of the Future. This is a mostly wordless narrative satirizing hegemonic corporate culture. There's an almost cinematic quality to Varela's storytelling, and Derek and Edward liken it to a Pixar film infused with a darker Cohen brothers' sensibility.

Finally, the two wrap up with Ezequiel Garcia's Growing Up in Public. His is a memoir, but one that wanders loosely without any discernible endpoint...and with a curious injection of Moby-Dick thrown in, to boot. Indeed, both Edward and Derek appreciate Garcia's different take on graphic autobiography, and they look forward to more from this Argentine artist.

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