In the mid-20th century, Spanish comics enjoyed a true golden era. Publishers such as Bruguera in Barcelona and Valenciana or Maga in Valencia published thousands of humor and adventure notebooks that became a principal source of entertainment for generations. The era offered affordable prices and appealing formats. Comic book pages were home to hundreds of characters that delighted children and young readers of the time.
In 1941, Roberto Alcázar and Pedrín emerged as iconic figures, created by Eduardo Vañó among others, leaving a lasting impact on society of that era. The story follows the encounter between Roberto and a young stowaway named Pedrín aboard the ship Neptunia bound for Buenos Aires. From that moment until the characters’ disappearance in 1976, the pair journey around the world, sharing daring adventures. The plots were straightforward and accessible, and the duo faced not only organized crime but also pirates, vampires, and Martians across diverse settings such as the American West, Africa, and India.
A few years later, in 1944, El Guerrero del Masko appeared. Set in the Middle Ages, the Warrior becomes a central figure in Spanish comics. This enigmatic masked fighter battles a troubled past while confronting many trials in the series. In classic adventure tradition inspired by American cinema and authors like Verne and Salgari, stories unfold rapidly with castles, secret passages, betrayals, and peril. It stands as one of the finest contributions to the national comic scene. The storylines were crafted by M. S. The success of El Guerrero del Mask belongs to its era, a time when comics were inexpensive, captured readers’ imaginations, and didn’t face heavy competition from other mass media. The character would fade in 1966 but be reissued several times. In 1978, following the creator’s passing in 1980, Nuevas Aventuras de El Guerrero del Mask appeared, attempting to adapt the character to modern times.
When it comes to humor comics, the best known is Jaimito, which published nearly two thousand issues from 1945 to 1984. The protagonist is a mischievous boy who often finds himself in trouble and rises to the role of a leader among a rival gang to El Barbas and his crew.
The magazine introduced other characters such as Doña Tere, Don Panchito and his son Teresito, or Gori Gori. Each character offered distinct stories that could continue week after week or begin with any issue, each tale spanning one to three pages with a cartoonish drawing style that amplified the humor.
In the realm of humorous comics targeting younger audiences, Pumby appeared in 1954, created by José Sanchis and featured in the pages of Jaimito during its early years. Valenciana published the first issue of Pumby magazine in April 1955, naming the publication after the main character. The adventures of this fearless cat crossed space and time, venturing into fantasy lands. Yet no matter how far Pumby roamed, Sanchis never forgot his Valencian roots, which show through in works completed in 1984, including nods to local culture like Fallas, paella, and orange juice.
In women’s comics of the 1940s, there was a clever girl who dreamed of a fairy-tale prince, though with a humorous edge. Like Mariló, Valencia’s leading girls’ youth magazine since 1957, these notebooks of the fifties targeted a teenage readership. This new phase emphasized the married and family life role, suggesting happiness comes through marriage and prosperity. The art shifted from the lighter, childlike drawings of the previous decade to more realistic depictions in clothing, jewelry, and décor. The American lifestyle dream—an educated young woman in a chalet, driving a car, and dating athletic men—was presented, a vision far from the real circumstances of the era in the country.
Recently, the Puçol School Museum organized an exhibition on Valencian comics from those years, showcasing a curated selection of the holdings preserved there and likely to travel. Thanks to decades of generous donations, the museum guards a rich collection of comics dating from the 1940s to the 1980s. Hundreds of notebooks were read with excitement by countless boys, girls, and teenagers who eagerly awaited the day kiosks would stock new issues.