Forty years of the Barcelona Comic Fair: when you could smoke on the premises and children came dressed as First Communion

In the first Barcelona Comic Fair, in 1981, not only could you smoke, but there was also a stand where they sold tobacco;

children were seen who came dressed as First Communion directly from the ceremony (and nobody thought they were

), Moebius and Will Eisner walked around as if they were mere mortals and a press article summed up the call: “The success has surprised many”.

So, not even the biggest fan of superheroes could imagine that Dan Defensor, Nick Fury, Loki and even Namor would have their own movie.

In later editions, great names in comics would continue to pass through the Hall: Hugo Pratt, Stan Lee, Art Spiegelman, Uderzo, Frank Miller, Vittorio Giardini... In 1982 Forges, Cesc and Perich would meet at a round table.

In 1997 Pumby would resurrect in a show about his father José Sanchis.

In 2003 Shin Shan would triumph.

And the 1996 edition would be inaugurated by the Minister of Culture Carmen Alborch and the Infanta Cristina, who was not characterized as the Scarlet Witch.

More information

A member of the jury of the Comic Hall believes that the award to Antonio Martín was "a mistake" and calls for a solution

The new appointment has another reason for celebration, as its director, Meritxell Puig, reminds EL PAÍS: "It is the Hall of return, of joy and party, of the return to face-to-face after two virtual editions in two very difficult years , and now without health restrictions.

The director clarifies that, although it is not mandatory, the mask is recommended, which is very superhero, it is convenient;

and she emphasizes that the enclosure offers in any case total guarantees of ventilation.

The exhibition on the 40 years of history of the Hall has been curated by Toni Guiralt and has three axes.

The first is a

which very graphically reviews what has happened in the world of comics from 1964 to 2022, with the idea that "for the Fair to exist, things had to happen before", and which is complemented by some showcases with publications from the fair itself, poster sketches and other material.

The second axis is a review of the 40 years in a series of tall cubes with information on each side, edition by edition, from the first in 1981 to the current one (still blank): exhibitions of each year, guests, press clippings (there are the Extras that EL PAÍS launched on the occasion of the Fair), or the prizes (since 1988, when it was created to take charge of the Ficomic organization).

The Fair, it is pointed out, has had only four locations: the Fira de Montjuïc where it started and to which it has returned since 2005, in the 23rd edition, the Drassanes,

The third axis is an attempt to explain what has happened in the comics industry in these 40 years, since the Fair existed and with it as a receptive factor and also an active subject: the generalization of specialized bookstores, the boom of comics, phenomena such as those of the

the explosion of manga in 1992, the irruption of the graphic novel... The exhibition also includes the 34 authors who have won the Grand Prize, from Alfons Figueras to Antonio Martín (it should be noted that only three women appear: Anna Miralles, 2009, Purita Campos, 2013, and Laura Pérez Vernetti, 2018).

As for the controversy over, precisely, the award for Martín last year, which generated discontent in the world of comics because many professionals considered that this special award should go to an artist and not to a historian or disseminator like the winner, no there is no reference in the exhibits.

Giralt, who was a jury last year, considers that "there was no reason" to explain it and that controversies in the life of the Hall award "there have been others".

The director, for her part, also downplays the matter, despite acknowledging that there are authors who maintain their position of not going to the Hall for the

"We keep talking, I like the dialogue, I listen to everyone and I understand that there are those who decide not to come, but the Hall is worth it," he says.

He emphasizes that the bases of the award have been changed so that the situation does not occur again.

Now it is clearly specified that only “scriptwriters, cartoonists or colorists” are eligible for the Barcelona Comic Grand Prize.

Meritxell Puig also points out that despite some criticism and that "it is difficult to change" they continue to deploy their project, which is committed to contemplating "all the variety of comics".

The director, whose contract does not specify her term in office, pays attention to sectors that she considers need more support, such as small and micro publishers or fanzines.

She also emphasizes the presence of women in the sector and in pedagogy, with attention to the creation of new readers, promoting the ComicKids space.

In the absence of the great spectacular thematic exhibitions that gave so much play in past stages of the Show (and that led to there being classic cars, planes and even a tank), he says that he does not see the need to focus on a theme that, in his opinion, "boxes you"

The alternative, he stresses, is "more diversity."

As for the relative lack of presence of international authors (there are, among others, the great Jacques Tardi, who brings his

; Jérôme Lereculey, Kath Leyh, author of

;

Peter Bagge, Sara Varón or Brecht Evens), points out that they have prioritized the authors of the house in consideration of the 40-year party and taking into account that when designing the guest program the situation of the pandemic and how it would affect to the trips

Another of the central exhibitions of this edition is the one dedicated to the deceased last February Miguel Gallardo, closely linked to the Fair —he is the only author who has drawn three posters for the fair, including the first—, and which has been curated by Roser Messa.

It is made up of 71 originals by the artist and different documentary material, with some very emotional personal things that his widow has donated.

The exhibition is not organized chronologically but by theme and includes pages from series, drawings of its famous characters, self-portraits, photos, record covers, posters (la Mercè or the April fair), letters from fans, cut-outs, tributes to other authors , and even a copy of the famous game

like the Goose, but when you fall into prison it is, of course, the Model.

Makoki, Loperena, Niñato, Buytaker, Blasito wander through the exhibition… There are also copies of her precious books about María, her autistic daughter.

And the pin that astronaut Pedro Duque created and wore in space, some of the Naranjitos that he collected (no one is perfect), and a curious album of stickers that he made with Curro, the mascot of Sevilla 92. Among the most interesting, the five plates of an unpublished story in which he led his unforgettable gang to the Blue Division and in which his stunned characters can be seen on the cover of

The magazine of the German army, decorated as veterans of the battle of Krasny Bor.

There are also drawings of a number of famous people who particularly interested him, such as Santo, the Mexican silver-masked wrestler.

The third flagship exhibition this year is the one organized by the famous author Cels Piñol within the framework of the new Comic Fantasy space and which is dedicated to role-playing games, "which are experiencing a new golden age".

Piñol (who, by the way, is shown in a photo in the 40-year-old exhibition queuing for Stan Lee to sign him) is enthusiastic about the commission and explains that he has organized a tour of all role-playing games, with historical material such as the red boxes of Dungeons & Dragons (30 years of the Spanish edition) "that we will have to put in armored display cases", he points out with fan passion.

The space-exhibition brings together clubs, cartoonists and scriptwriters who are players and who will carry out great campaigns live.

Demonstration games will also be offered, there will be a giant

of Devir Iberia, and a live role-playing game of

A space dedicated to

the popular game based on the comic by Piñol himself, could not be missing.

40th comic hall

From Friday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Tickets at 10 euros on the web and 12 euros at the box office (there are different discounts and children under 5 years of age do not pay).