Five essential editorials for comic lovers

That being the case, here is my little list in which, instead of comics, I have had the happy idea of ​​listing publishers. In other words, here is the selection of publishing houses that, in my personal opinion, have published in this year what is now unmissable works that should not be missing in the home of any comic book lover.

In order for this list to be useful, I deliberately leave aside the large publishing houses, which do not need any support to be known by the reader, and I concentrate on those small publishers that have in their catalog authentic gems that, unfortunately, often pass by. unnoticed by all those who do not know the publishing market in a more than exhaustive way.

I would like to start with Liana Editorial. At its head is Marta Tutone, a Sicilian living in Madrid who, with a keen eye, publishes some of the most interesting graphic novel works that emerge from the hand of her compatriots. Italian fumetto is little known in our country, and those who come to its publications will enjoy works as interesting as a biography of ‘Gertrude Stein’ and ‘Feminist Art. Women who revolutionized art’ (both by Valentina Grande and Eva Rossetti ), The second edition of ‘Kusama, obsessions, loves and art’ (Elisa Macellari), or the classic ‘Historia del gallo Sebastián’ (Ada Govetti).

Could not be missing from this list Fulgencio Pimentel, that in 2024 has published what is for me the most avant-garde comic, ‘Domingo Flamenco’ (Olivier Schrauwen), the complete edition of that essential classic of the North American graphic novel ‘Bola Ocho’ (Daniel Clowes), or such interesting and with a pulp aroma like ‘Ciudad del Underworld’ (Teddy Goldenberg).

Apa Apa Comics is another publisher that is committed to the avant-garde. Among this year’s harvest, ‘The good citizen’ stands out (with Andrés Magán in a state of grace) and that poem in vignettes that is ‘Because of a flower’ (María Medem). Both titles cannot be missing from the library of any fan of experimental comics or avant-garde graphics.

I can’t forget the stamp Graphic Andanawhich combines two very clear editorial lines: children’s and youth comics, with works of extraordinary educational value such as ‘The Periodic Table’ (Raquel Gu), and adult comics. Among the latter, extraordinary comics stand out such as ‘The Parenthesis’ (Elodie Durand), which received the Newcomer award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, or ‘Vivian Maier, Light-Dark’ (Emile Plateau and Marzena Sowa), a biography about the well-known American photographer. Finally, although it is not ready for Santa Claus to give it to you, as I write these lines, ‘The Last Days of Robert Johnson’ (Frantz Duchazeau) arrives in bookstores, a highly documented and exciting biography of the legendary guitarist in the history of jazz.

Grafito Editorial has published at least two outstanding comics in 2024: ‘Plan de Huida’ (Agustín Ferrer Casas), a documented fiction about the theft of the Mona Lisa, but not from the Louvre, but from the Prado Museum; and ‘Adventure in the museum’ (Fernando Monllor), a youth comic to introduce teenagers to the masterpieces housed in the great temples of art.

I hope that ABC readers take good note of these publishing houses. If on these special dates you want to surprise your loved ones, or treat yourself to a small treat in vignettes, you will do well to take a look at the wonderful catalog of all of them.

All that remains is to say goodbye until the end of January, when my first list of editorial news will arrive with which 2025 will start. Merry Christmas!

Released pages

Biography of the Parisian life of Gertrude Stein, a key figure of the artistic and literary avant-garde of the first decades of the 20th century, in her roles as a collector and accomplice, in the years of the birth of modernity.