The satirical magazine El Jueves was born in May 1977, in the middle of the Spanish Transition. Its pages have humorously portrayed the end of the Franco dictatorship, the first democratic elections, the approval of the divorce law, the suppression of military service or the celebrities in gossip magazines and on TV. Rereading his jokes is reliving the history of a country in a closer and undoubtedly funnier way than academic books do. That is why we must celebrate that José Luis Martín recalls his editorial journey in this book titled, with the sarcasm typical of his profession, Desmemorias de una satirical magazine.
The interest of this work goes beyond the circle of specialists in comics or graphic humor – for them, reading is unavoidable – as it gives us a lucid portrait of censorship, the emergence of satirical magazines after the death of Franco or the evolution of humor and satire in our society. JL Martín – this is how he signs his cartoons, which this newspaper currently publishes – is one of the founders of El Jueves and the creator of the Quico, el progre strips and the El Dios comics. Currently, he publishes his humorous strips in the Opinion section of La Vanguardia. His career makes him one of the most authoritative voices to speak about freedom of expression, censorship or the fashion of political correctness.
Readers of El Jueves will also find juicy anecdotes from such outstanding collaborators as Ivá, Oscar, Perich, Kim and Gin, which will bring them closer to the most human side of these and other great names in the cartoons.
The book covers the history of El Jueves and, together with it, it is also possible to understand how our society has changed in almost fifty years and how the publishing industry has been transformed in this time. JL Martín explains that El Jueves sought from the beginning to combine recurring characters and current events, and maintains that the formula for success was “to do what no one dared to do… and surprise readers.”
He defends that irony goes further than outbursts and regrets the polarization of opinions and ideological trenches so common today. It deals with the difficult coexistence between comedians and politicians; and at that point he argues that the distance between Barcelona, headquarters of the magazine, and Madrid, seat of political power par excellence, allowed them to work with greater freedom.
The more than 500 pages are read in one sitting because they are written with the capacity for synthesis and communicative freshness that good comedians like him know how to use. In these memoirs you can perceive the humor and elegance that characterize JL Martín's drawings and, as in his jokes, the occasional biting phrase slips in when necessary.
A book written with talent and that brings us an extraordinary publishing adventure that is not yet sufficiently valued because, as the author laments, “in this country you can aspire to recognition from the intellectual caste or you can pretend to be popular, but both things at the same time.” time… never!” I hope this book helps change some prejudices.
