Carmen Barbará
Carme Barbará Geniés (born 3 July 1933), known professionally as Carmen Barbará, is a Spanish comics artist and illustrator. Her most famous character is the reporter Mary Noticias, who revolutionized the image of women in Spanish cartoons, breaking from their traditional romantic roles.[1]
Carmen Barbará | |
|---|---|
.tif.jpg.webp) in 2010 | |
| Born | Carme Barbará Geniés 3 July 1933 |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation(s) | Comics artist, illustrator |
| Notable work | Mary Noticias |
Biography
Carme Barbará Geniés was born in Barcelona into a family whose members were very fond of drawing and painting.
Before becoming a cartoonist, her favorite comic was Tim Tyler's Luck (translated into Spanish as Jorge y Fernando), and she also bought the magazines Chicos, Mis Chicas, Maravillas, and El Hombre Enmascarado (The Phantom).
At age 14 she began drawing for a publication set up by a schoolmate. Then in the mid-1950s, she went on to publish fairy tales for Ediciones Alberto Geniés, owned by her cousin.[1]
Her next creation was the character of Luisa in the magazine Florita for Editorial Plaza.
She drew for Ediciones Toray and their comics Mis Cuentos, Alicia, Cuentos de la Abuelita, and Colección Azucena.[2] For Editorial Bruguera she drew Sissi and Cuentos Rositas in their women's publications, and Cuentos for girls.[3]
Starting in the 1970s, she focused on illustration.[4] She drew for the Ibero Mundial strips Claro de Luna and Romántica i Marilin. It was also for this publisher that she drew, with scripts by Roy Mark (the pseudonym of Ricardo Acedo), the series Mary Noticias.
Through agencies she worked for the international market: Scotland, France, England, and Sweden.[4]
Mary Noticias
Carmen Barbará's most famous comic is Mary Noticias, published from 1962 to 1971 for Ibero Mundial.[4] Its title character revolutionized the image of women in cartoons, breaking from their traditional romantic roles. Mary works as a television reporter. Her freedom of movement was of some concern to censors of the day.[1]
The strip began on 21 June 1962 and 484 issues were published.
Style
Barbará's style evolved from the "sappy softness" of the "marvelous comic" to the harder realism of romance comics.
Personal life
Married with two sons, Barbará worked at home for years while taking care of them. She retired at age 65 in 1998.[1]
Work
| Year | Title | Writer | Type | Publication |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Serial | Carmencita | ||
| Colección Azucena | ||||
| 1953 | Luisa | Series | Florita[4] | |
| 1955 | Serial | Mari Tere | ||
| 1955 | Serial | Alicia | ||
| 1956 | Serial | Rosarito (Jobar) | ||
| 1956 | Pinky (Jobar) | |||
| 1956 | Serial | Tres Hadas | ||
| 1956 | Serial | Graciela | ||
| 1958 | Yo te contaré... | Series | Florita[4] | |
| 1958 | Serial | Marta (Cliper) | ||
| 1958 | Serial | Princesa Carolina | ||
| 1958 | Serial | Lindaflor | ||
| 1962 | Caterina | Silvia Duarte | Short comic | Claro de Luna #174 |
| 1962 | Mary Noticias | Roy Mark | Serial | Ibero Mundial |
| 1964 | Mary Noticias Extra | Roy Mark | Serial | Ibero Mundial |
| 1964 | Serial | Cuentos Rosita Bruguera | ||
References
- Gayà, Catalina (23 April 2014). "Carme Barberà: 'Hasta la censura se metió con Mary Noticias'" [Carme Barberà: 'Until Mary Noticias got censored']. El Periódico (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- Ramírez, Juan Antonio] (1975). El 'comic' femenino en España. Arte sub y anulación (in Spanish). Madrid: Editorial Cuadernos para el Diálogo, S. A. Colección Divulgación universitaria Arte y literatura, número 78. p. 45. ISBN 84-229-0177-3.
- Gon, Manu (28 September 2015). "El cómic femenino de España vuelve al primer plano" [The Feminine Comic of Spain Returns to the Foreground]. Última Hora (in Spanish). Ibiza. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- Cuadrado, Jesús (2000). Atlas español de la cultura popular: De la historieta y su uso, 1873–2000 [Spanish Atlas of Popular Culture: On Comics and Their Use, 1873–2000] (in Spanish). Madrid: Ediciones Sinsentido/Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez. pp. 114–115. ISBN 84-89384-23-1.
External links
- Carmen Barbará at Lambiek Comiclopedia
- List of works at Tebeosfera (in Spanish)