Maria Gallardo and Makoki
In the 80 was king of the underground. Makoki, public enemy number one, a violent and grumpy little guy, whose hallmark was a helmet full of cables, roll electroshock, became the symbol of an era in the pages of the now defunct magazine "The Viper." He even had his own song on the move, signed by Fernando Márquez "Lefty" and his group Paradise. Representative wild side of life, the lumpen, sex, drugs and rock'n'roll, the legendary antihero of paper, a social misfit fled the madhouse, bullets penetrated the underworld and attracted all kinds of readers.
Makoki once had its own editorial and head, even gave his name to a comic shop in Barcelona. The album "Escape from the model" went on to sell over 20,000 copies. It was a social phenomenon. Miguel Gallardo (Lleida, 1955), illustrator of the series and one of the authors most emblematic of our current story, recalls came back in 1977. The Catalan author has evolved in his work from those wonderful years of transgression underground, carving out a career as an illustrator in international press: "Herald Tribune", "New York Times" ...
has never entirely abandoned his work as a cartoonist. His album "Mary and I", based on her experiences with her autistic daughter, won the National Award for Comic of Catalonia in 2008. "It was a complete surprise to me," says the author. "The fact they chose Maria and I, which is not a very orthodox book, which draws on several sources, says much of the jury." This is a very special work. "It came of travel books that made for my daughter, where he was drawing the whole list of people she likes, also of the need to explain our history, the relationship between a father and a special daughter and our particular way of communicating ". A highly recommended title, signed by an artist who admits if flushing his influences: "All the world, B movies, cartoons, classic and modern comics, painting, shopping on" 100 ... "
Gallardo has evolved with his feet on the ground. His drawings have inspired other artists, also acclaimed. Take the ideas for their stories "of real life. And I discovered long ago is the best pool of ideas out there, you have right by your side. " When put to work, sketching a long, full papers and papers with ideas, the ink passes, scanned and colored with his beloved MAC. Header cites numerous authors: Segar, Vazquez, Charles Adams, Del Arco, Andre François, Savignac, Opisso, Gilbert Shelton, Max, Pepo Perez, CarlosVermut, Ben Katchor, Spiegelman, Crumb ... Creatively, he sees the comic as a medium rise . "The access of young artists and writers has been a breath of fresh air", explains the matter. "The fact that first published the novel as an exchange Alfonso Zapico Café Budapest says a lot about the time we spent. "
Gallardo has illustrated covers for books from weight and has signed with Victoria Bermejo several children's books. Ponce Angeles is author of "What's wrong with this child?" A guide on disability. Numerous awards look on your resume: Barcelona Comic Convention, Society of Newspaper Design, Serra d'Or, Junceda ... The era of "The Snake" was "my bachelor in comics, I learned everything there."
occasion of the visit MOSTRA Gallardo Valencia is projected COMIC the movie "Mary and I," unprecedented in Valencia, a documentary that has garnered rave reviews from critics and audiences.
Do you miss "The Snake"?
I miss the atmosphere there was rowdy camaraderie, hanging out with all those super-psychotic artists. Were other times and had half his age.
What remains of that time?
I think a lot, all the apparent chaos that generated that particular time was our mini-revolution in a time when the state apparatus and the media had not taken charge of communication and information. That small window of freedom continues to generate initiatives and ideas that I see reflected in everything from movies to the wild torrent of "Muchachada Nui". Music, design ... the energy is transformed, just as we have become different people.
Makoki How burst on the scene?
Ugh This is the big question. I got the idea of \u200b\u200ba literary fanzine which was a story told about a Majara escaping the mental hospital. There was still called Christus, giving the chance that he had written Borrallo Felipe, who was one of the regulars from our flat. From the second page, "Disco Express", Mediavilla was responsible for the scripts and sometimes the picture too. Like many of the characters that have become popular, there is nothing premeditated in his creation, a cluster of incidents that gives you something to work.
How do you they put him in working together?
Mediavilla was the scripts that came to be like story-boards, as the drawing too. At first he was in charge of funds, and sometimes the frames, because I had no idea of \u200b\u200bdrawing comics repajolera. Juanito was my teacher and my school. Based on repeated pages made me learn. At the end he gave me the storys sketched in planes and sausages I was adding my own. It was very fun and creative.
Makoki What the heck is?
Makoki character is a bridge, bridging the gap. And what distances! It's like Tin-Tin, by itself is not running. Catalyst makes the rock beside it. Often create problems so that the vomit of resolved as expeditiously as possible, but sometimes also give some ideas. Is a proto-punk.
What happened to the underground of the 80's?
Authentic just did not live underground. Nazario was practicing, Marshall, Max and his gang, selling comics in the bars and concerts, back in the mid 70's. Of "The Viper", and more commercial, involved the input of a lot of new ideas in a very stagnant market. Ideas connected with a generation eager to see reflected their lifestyles, tastes, their drugs and, finally, another different concept than our parents had instilled in us.
meant a lot ...
As I said before, it was a mini-revolution, a small golden age for comics, in which a new generation of comiqueros without having much idea of \u200b\u200bthe technique and the language of the medium, but loaded with lots of new concepts that had already seen the emergence in the U.S., France and Italy, was spent with everything that had to do something new and above all, fun.
Now handle another style in the stories.
years have passed, have added experience and the forms have changed. Everyone has to be renewed or remain on the site. I left the comic in the 90's with the album of my father as a last attempt to make a more personal story, following the birth of my daughter and the revolution caused in my life. It was also a fresh air intake on my way to see the comic, which was simplified to extreme minimalist. Now I enjoy telling stories because I myself have swept the limits I had set in my way of making comics. An example is the "Emotional World Tour." With Paco Roca I returned to the idea of \u200b\u200bcollaboration with another author who is always very rewarding and productive, inventing a new format halfway between the card travel and autobiography.
byline
Gallardo, Pepo Pérez, Mauro Entrialgo and Paco Roca. Sunday 17. 17:00 hrs.
-Passeig Russafa Hall Plaza.
PROJECTION OF "MARY AND I"
Sunday 17. 20:15 hrs. Lys Cinemas.
