El Víbora
CategoriesComics magazine
FrequencyMonthly
PublisherLa Cúpula
First issueDecember 1979
Final issueJanuary 2005
CountrySpain
Based inBarcelona
LanguageSpanish

El Víbora (Spanish: The Viper) was a Spanish language monthly alternative comics magazine published in Barcelona, Spain, between 1979 and 2005, with a peak monthly circulation of 80,000 copies.[1] The magazine was subtitled "Comix for Survivors".[2]

History and profile

El Víbora was established in December 1979.[3][4] The founders were a group of Spanish cartoonists led by Josep Maria Berenguer.[2] Catalan comics publisher Josep Toutain financed the establishment of the magazine[2] which was published by La Cúpula.[5]

Josep Maria Berenguer wanted to name the magazine as GOMA 3, a reference to Goma-2, an explosive notoriously used by the Basque terrorist/nationalist organization ETA during the 1970s.[2] However, the name was rejected by the Spanish authorities.[2]

El Víbora was published monthly[6] and had its headquarters in Barcelona.[7] The contributors included not only Spanish but also French and American authors,[3] including Peter Bagge, Robert Crumb and Charles Burns.[4][8] Native contributors were Max, Nazario, Mariscal, Pons, and Laura Pérez Vernetti.[2][9] Of them, Max created the characters of Gustavo, Peter Pank, Gallardo and Mediavilla.[2] Hernán Migoya served as the editor-in-chief of the magazine from 1992 to 1998.[2] The last editor was Sergi Puertas.[4]

El Víbora sold 45,000 copies in 1983.[4] Its circulation was 6,000 copies in 2004[4] just before its last issue in January 2005.[3] The magazine ran over 300 issues during its existence.[8]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the magazine was revived online, free of charge, as El Víbora para supervivientes (~ for survivors) for the duration of the lockdown in Spain. It contained mostly material from the original issues plus articles about coronavirus, with a cover about COVID-19.[1][10] This revival lasted for six weekly issues.[11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Stephen Burgen (15 April 2020). "Subversive cult comic revived in Spanish lockdown". The Guardian.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hernan Miyoga (2 May 2012). "Josep Maria Berenguer, 1944-2012: The Last Libertine Publisher". The Comics Journal. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "El Víbora. Spain". Afka. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "El Vibora Editor Confirms Potential Cancellation". Comics Reporter. 30 June 2004. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "A brief history of comics in Catalonia" (PDF). gencat.cat. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  6. ↑ Bart Beaty (2007). Unpopular Culture: Transforming the European Comic Book in the 1990s. Toronto; Buffalo, NY; London: University of Toronto Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-8020-9412-4.
  7. ↑ David Vilaseca (Autumn 2008). "Queer Transitions in Contemporary Spanish Culture: From Franco to "La Movida" (Book review)". Hispanic Review. 76 (4). doi:10.1353/hir.0.0024. S2CID 143962846.
  8. 1 2 "El Vibora #10". Comixjoint. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "Laura Pérez Vernetti". lambiek.net. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  10. ↑ "Vuelve El Víbora (1ª entrega)" (in Spanish). Ediciones La Cúpula. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  11. ↑ "6ª y última entrega de El Víbora para Supervivientes" (in Spanish). Ediciones La Cúpula. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
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