Fresh off the Boat and Off to the Presses
The Origins of Argentine Comics between the United States and Europe (1907–1945)
in European Comic ArtSearch for other papers by Amadeo Gandolfo in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Pablo Turnes in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
All currencies in US Dollar
Abstract
This article aims to analyse the origins and development of the comics industry in Argentina from a comparative and transnational perspective, positing its business model, professionalisation of artistic and editorial work and adoption of certain styles as part of a triangle in which Argentine comics are in constant dialogue with European (mainly Spanish, French and English) and US comics traditions. The article places a special emphasis on the latter. As part of the overall process of cultural modernisation, the early twentieth century encompasses a period in which the production of comics grew, was established and modified its creative patterns in all the countries involved in the study. Comics in Argentina consistently moved between innovation and imitation, with some original narrative and formal solutions that were sparked by a process of adaptation and mistranslation.
Contributor Notes
Pablo Turnes is a History Graduate from the Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. He holds a Master's of History of Argentine and Latin American Art from the Universidad Nacional de San Martín and a Doctorate in Social Sciences from the Universidad de Buenos Aires. He completed his doctorate as a fellow of the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research and is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani. He is Assistant Professor for the Research Programme ‘History of National and Latin American Media’ at the Universidad Nacional de Moreno. He was an organising member for the three editions of the International Conference Viñetas Serias (2010, 2012 and 2014). He offers comic criticism workshops with Amadeo Gandolfo, with whom he also co-edits the online magazine Kamandi (www.revistakamandi.com). He has published, El Exilio de las formas: Alack Sinner de Muñoz y Sampayo (2018) and La excepción en la regla. La obra historietística de Alberto Breccia (1962-1993) (Miño y Dávila, 2019). Email: pturnes@sociales.uba.ar
Amadeo Gandolfo is a History Graduate from the Universidad Nacional de Tucuman and holds a Doctorate in Social Sciences from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). He completed his doctorate as a fellow of the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research and is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the same institution. He is Assistant Professor for the option ‘The B Side of Sociology’ at UBA. He was an organising member of the International Conference Viñetas Serias in its most recent edition (2014). He is part of the Graphic Narratives Area of the Communications Career at UBA, under the direction of Laura Vazquez. He offers comic criticism workshops alongside Pablo Turnes, with whom he also co-edits the online magazine Kamandi (www.revistakamandi.com). Email: amdgandolfo@gmail.com