Paco Sordo wins National Comic Award for ‘The Pact’

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The first graphic novel by the Cádiz-born illustrator pays tribute to comics and geniuses of the genre such as Vázquez or Ibáñez. “It takes us back to the Bruguera era and projects its legacy into the future,” emphasized the jury

‘The Pact’, Paco Sordo’s first graphic novel (El Puerto de Santa María Cádiz, 1978), earned the author the National Comics Prize, worth 20,000 euros and awarded annually by the Ministry of Culture. Released by the Nuevo Nueve label, ‘The Pact’ is a true tribute to comics and some of the legendary Spanish cartoonists, such as Vázquez or Ibáñez.

According to the jury that awarded it, it offers “an original and fast-paced script” and is “an exercise in the genealogy of the medium, taking us back to the Bruguera era and projecting that legacy into the present and the future.”

“There are few works more unique and indicative of the strange times we live in than this artifact, humorous in appearance and deeply existential deep within,” the jury added that a work presented as a mockumentary “on masterly way with reality and fiction” and offers “an edition in accordance with the author’s proposal”.

At the time when some geniuses of the Bruguera publishing house left it to found the magazine ‘Tío Vivo’, ‘The Pact’ is Sordo’s first solo comic. It tells the story of Miguel Gorriaga, an aspiring cartoonist in Barcelona in the 1950s, who wants to do everything to become a professional. He is a mentally disturbed person who will eventually take an unusual path to achieve his goal: kidnap the great Vázquez and force him to make comics for him. Miguel will color them in and write the dialogues. The result is, unexpectedly, a great success.

Francisco Sordo Artaraz is a cartoonist, graphic designer, animator and illustrator. He has worked for Nickelodeon, Ogilvy, Rovio, ING Direct, Vodafone or Movistar as an animator and designer.

In the comics field, he is known for his series ‘Internet, mode of Employment’ which appeared in the magazine ‘El Jueves’ between 2010 and 2014 and his collaborations for the digital magazine ‘Pride and satisfaction’ with the series ‘Comics Trash’ . As a freelance illustrator and cartoonist, he illustrated comics and children’s books both in Spain and on the French-speaking market.

He wanted to make “The Pact” while incarcerated, when he learned that Bruguera, now a label of Random House Mondadori, was launching a graphic novel competition that he did not win. ‘The Pact’ is also a genuine tribute, “although quite critical”, according to the author, to Bruguera’s way of making comics: from the cover – reminiscent of the Joyas Literarias Juveniles series – through the two-tone and the graphic style which recalls its editions.

“It is above all a tribute to Vázquez. An essential author about whom an image of mob and rake has been created, which he himself promoted, but which sometimes makes us forget that he is a key figure in understanding the history of comics in Spain, author of works as essential as ‘Las Gilda Sisters’, ‘The Cebolleta Family’, ‘Anacleto, Secret Agent’, ‘Angelito’ or ‘The Tales of Uncle Vázquez'”, the author explained when presenting a work that he hopes “some of those works will recover with some editions doing them justice.”

Source: La Verdad

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