Spanish Napoleonic Comic's

I came across a Spanish site with a bunch Napoleonic comic's, some of them dating back to the 1940's but they run through into the mid-80's.

I never knew such a thing ever existed, I don't know whether this was a peculiarly Spanish thing but I can't recall anything similar in the UK, well at least not for Napoleonic's there was of course an equivalent for WWII in the 'Battle' comic's, maybe therein lies at least part of the answer. For sure Conan Doyle's Brigadier Gerard stories are Napoleonic themed but the comic 'medium' is a very different thing and much more accessible so we are talking of something very different.

It seems that Spanish comic's have existed since the 1860's though they really took of after the Civil War, with the golden era being the '40's. The suggestion is that these theme's were compatible with the political atmosphere of the times. Though the number of comic's covering the War of Independence was small they emphasised the guerrilla war rather than the action's of the regular army, portraying the individual hero beating off the evil or unintelligent foreign invader. Interest waned in the '50's with the comic's disappearing altogether in '52 only to reappear some time later with more historical accurate drawing and storyline but a maybe less accessible message in to a changing political climate, by the 70's the comic's had elements that could be seen as mimicking an 'Asterix the Spaniard' image though by the '80's the comic's are telling a historically focused story set in a largely historical accurate context. Today the comic's have largely disappeared in Spain, at least those covering the War of Independence are no longer in existence.

My Spanish is almost none existent but these comic's do make interesting reading anyhow and there just has to be a Sharpe Practice Scenario or two in every issue don't you think? Worth taking a look at I think if only for curiosity value, note the comics can be a little slow to download from the site, be patient.