Her formative stage in the US and other countries and her experience of almost a decade as a professor at the University of Amsterdam allowed her to verify the scarce presence of the memory of Spain in the academic discussion. So he decided to contribute to its dissemination through the study of the graphic novel as a vehicle to publicize our history. And, after analyzing in detail four works published between 2005 and 2013, Carmela Artime confirms its suitability as a means to transmit and build our story, in addition to verifying that all the authors agree on the complaint and the political aspect, although each generation differs in the way of approaching it. More emotional, in the case of the children of those who lived through the conflict, and with an intellectual approach in that of the youngest.
“The graphic novel is a very effective way to create memory and talk about the past and I framed my study in the boom that occurs from the year 2000. There is an influence of this international movement, in which “Maus & rdquor;, as a reference to the Holocaust, or “Persepolis & rdquor;, but the Spanish authors have a look towards the perpetrator, they try to understand his evolution, and also towards the Civil war in exile, crossing borders& rdquor ;, Artime lists some of the main conclusions.
The selected titles are “Prey rope & rdquor;a collection of stories of women imprisoned after the war by Jorge García and Fidel Martínez; “The art of flying & rdquor;where Antonio Altarriba and Kim tell the story of the former’s father; “The grooves of chance & rdquor;, by Paco Roca, about the La Nueve battalion in France through the experiences of the exiled Republican Miguel Ruiz; and “A novice doctor & rdquor;an account by Sento of his father-in-law’s life.
Artime sees in them the influence of an author prior to the international rise of the graphic novel on memory, Carlos Giménez, creator of “Paracuellos”, considered the masterpiece of Spanish comics, and also of “36-39. Bad Times & rdquor ;. “There are many aspects of aesthetics and how contemporary authors approach memory that are already present in it,” he points out.
That “inheritance & rdquor; it looks very clear on the iintention to “disturb & rdquor; the reader, not to leave him indifferent: “They put in front of your face what are the consequences and the suffering that war causes. These graphic novels confront you with pain, torture and death. And, in a certain way, they force you to reflect. I remember that when I read them they touched me a lot.”
The format itself, adds Artime, facilitates this reflection. “In a movie you have less time, but in the graphic novel you can go back and forth. Many times, the reader returns to the drawing linked to the text that caught your attention to think about it. The comic offers an easy and effective reading in this sense & rdquor ;, she comments.
the expert began “Memory construction in the contemporary graphic novels (2005-2015): the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath” while living in Amsterdam and finished it in Pontevedra, his hometown, where he returned after the pandemic. The work constitutes her doctoral thesis under the supervision of Teresa Iribarren at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and was qualified cum laude.
The denunciation of Spanish novels differentiates them from other foreign works. “Marianne Hirsch develops the concept of postmemory, which has to do with the way in which the traumas of parents or grandparents, their experiences in war or prison, persist in the bodies and heads of their descendants. And a careful reading of “Maus” reveals that it is more an exercise by the author to understand how the experiences of his father affected him than to denounce. However, in “The art of flying & rdquor ;, Antonio Altarriba tries to understand the suicide of his father, but it is also a celebration of his life, of wanting to praise him & rdquor ;, he compares.
And it is in this clear political vindication of the victims where the differences between the Spanish authors are seen: “The second generation, the children of those who lived through the war and experienced the dictatorship, extol the lives of their relatives. The protagonists are real characters. And through that individual celebration there is a collective complaint. Meanwhile, the third generation, less attached to the transitional aspect and with a completely different assimilation of democracy, do so from a very intellectual point of view and with a certain distance& rdquor;.
generation distance
Artime highlights how the creators themselves reflect on this generational distance and gives as an example the moment in which the journalist who interviews one of the protagonists of “Cuerda de presas& rdquor; he insistently thinks about her desire to go to the bathroom while she tells him about her harsh experiences. “She is a very old lady who is remembering how they tortured her and her companions and, despite the harshness of the story, there is that distance & rdquor ;, she adds.
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Paco Roca also addresses this distance in “Los suros del azar& rdquor ;. His alter ego and Miguel Ruiz occupy facing cartoons on the page during an interview to underline that generational difference and the words of one invade the space of the other. “Its not understandable. There is a lack of mutual understanding because of the different experiences and expectations & rdquor ;, she comments.
Another of the conclusions of his study is the mixture between truth and fiction that exists in all four novels. Although, again, differences are also perceived in this aspect: “In the second generation there is a research work, without a doubt, but it is, above all, within the family. And the resources that the authors use are personal documents such as letters or photographs that they also include in their novels. However, the third generation mostly resort to academic books and experts& rdquor;.
