Francesc Capdevila
Encyclopedia
Francesc Capdevila better known by his pen-name Max, is a Spanish artist who has worked in illustration, design, and comics. He is an important figure in Spanish comics, creating such popular characters as Gustavo and Peter Pank
early in his career, and more recently Bardín. His clear line style (indebted to the Valencian tradition) tells humorous, angry, and sad, surrealistic stories.
on September 17, 1956. His early reading was dominated by publications of the Bruguera Publishing house, such as TBO, Pumby, and Jaimito. He later came across American classics such as Flash Gordon
and The Phantom
and the Franco-Belgian albums of Asterix
and Tintin
.
In 1973 he joined the group El Rrollo (which included, among others, Nazario
and Javier Marshal), publishing his first comic strips in their fanzine The Masked Rrollo, which he also sold in the streets of Barcelona. At this time, Capdevila was discovering underground comics, and in particular the work of Robert Crumb
, who became his first great influence.
As a student he joined the Faculty of Fine Arts, with the goal of becoming a painter, but eventually felt more attracted by the narrative capacities of the comic strip, where his career ended up. In these years he published in magazines such as Matarratos (Rat Poison), Star, Butifarra and Integral.
(parodying both the animation of Walt Disney
and urban tribes).
In 1984, coinciding with the birth of his daughter, he moved to Majorca, the home city of his wife. In that year he published El carnaval de los ciervos (The carnival of the red deer), which was an important aesthetic and thematic change. Graphically, his new influence was Yves Chaland
; narratively, it was his first foray info mythological and fantastic themes, characteristic of his work from then on. He created La muerte húmeda (the humid death), El beso secreto (the secret kiss) and then El canto del gallo (the crow of the rooster), a work in which the new influence of Belgian illustrator Ever Meulen
is evident.
, creating the mascot for the centenary of football club Barcelona
, and the execution of an animated short for the series Microfilm on the television channel Cinemanía. Part of this graphic work has been compiled in the volume Espiasueños.
Short comic strips such as Los invasores (the invaders) and La construcción de la torre (the construction of the tower) and an unfinished graphical novel of more than 200 pages called El mapa de la oscuridad (the map of the dark) show a further development in style and a distancing from the clear line, towards a more sober tone with a broken line. The influence of Art Spiegelman
's Maus
, appears to have allowed greater narrative depth.
By 1993 Capdevila was working independently of the industry. He created the comic strip Nosotros somos los muertos (we are the dead), a tough story about the war in the Balkans. Self-published as a fanzine photocopied and sold at the International Comic Fair in Barcelona, it became the germ of the magazine of the same name (also well-known by its initials NSLM). Until the last issue of NSLM in 2007, it published the works of some of the most exciting international cartoonists and illustrators.
2005 saw the publication of an adaptation of chapter 26 of Don Quixote in the anthology Lanza en astillero (lance in the shipyard).
His latest creation is Bardín, a character used in different formats and publications It demonstrates the influence of Chris Ware
, but with touches of the Bruguera school. Bardin has freed Capdevila from editorial impositions, leaving him free to experiment and to give free rein to his imagination.
This path of experimentation has increased in the recent years, when - free of external editorial impositions - he has had total creative freedom. Examples of this are the creation of the magazine Nosostros somos los muertos, that he co-edits with Pere Joan, and the creation of his latest character Bardín, which mixes a very wide range of subjects and aesthetics including humor and philosophical reflections in an anarchic publication style that mixes formats.
Peter Pank
Peter Pank is a Spanish comic book written and drawn by Max, the pseudonym of Francesc Capdevila.Peter Pank is an adult-oriented parody of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan...
early in his career, and more recently Bardín. His clear line style (indebted to the Valencian tradition) tells humorous, angry, and sad, surrealistic stories.
Childhood and youth
Capdevila was born in BarcelonaBarcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
on September 17, 1956. His early reading was dominated by publications of the Bruguera Publishing house, such as TBO, Pumby, and Jaimito. He later came across American classics such as Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
and The Phantom
The Phantom
The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
and the Franco-Belgian albums of Asterix
Asterix
Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix is a series of French comic books written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo . The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on October 29, 1959...
and Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
.
In 1973 he joined the group El Rrollo (which included, among others, Nazario
Nazário
Nazário is a small town and municipality in eastern Goiás state, Brazil.-Location:Nazário is located 74 km. west of the state capital, Goiânia a few kilometers west of the Rio dos Bois, a major tributary of the Paranaíba River. The regional center, Anicuns, is 21 km to the northwest...
and Javier Marshal), publishing his first comic strips in their fanzine The Masked Rrollo, which he also sold in the streets of Barcelona. At this time, Capdevila was discovering underground comics, and in particular the work of Robert Crumb
Robert Crumb
Robert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...
, who became his first great influence.
As a student he joined the Faculty of Fine Arts, with the goal of becoming a painter, but eventually felt more attracted by the narrative capacities of the comic strip, where his career ended up. In these years he published in magazines such as Matarratos (Rat Poison), Star, Butifarra and Integral.
Career
In 1979 El Víbora (The Viper) was created, and Max was part of the founding artistic team. He used a character he had created previously, Gustavo (revolutionary, environmentalist, and anarchist) and in 1983 Peter PankPeter Pank
Peter Pank is a Spanish comic book written and drawn by Max, the pseudonym of Francesc Capdevila.Peter Pank is an adult-oriented parody of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan...
(parodying both the animation of Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
and urban tribes).
In 1984, coinciding with the birth of his daughter, he moved to Majorca, the home city of his wife. In that year he published El carnaval de los ciervos (The carnival of the red deer), which was an important aesthetic and thematic change. Graphically, his new influence was Yves Chaland
Yves Chaland
Yves Chaland was a French cartoonist.During the 1980s, together with Ted Benoît, Serge Clerc and Floc'h, he relaunched the Ligne claire style in French comics.-Biography:Chaland published his first strips in the fanzine Biblipop when he...
; narratively, it was his first foray info mythological and fantastic themes, characteristic of his work from then on. He created La muerte húmeda (the humid death), El beso secreto (the secret kiss) and then El canto del gallo (the crow of the rooster), a work in which the new influence of Belgian illustrator Ever Meulen
Ever Meulen
Ever Meulen is a Belgian illustrator and comic strip artist. His work has appeared in Humo, the magazine for which he drew "Balthazar de Groene Steenvreter" and "Piet Peuk"...
is evident.
Later years
With Mujeres fatales, published in 1989, he worked directly for the French market. This offered the advantages of greater professionalism and a better pay, but he felt that the editorial requirements constrained his creativity. After this, he produced other commissioned works: La biblioteca de Turpín (The library of Turpín), El jugador de los Dioses (The player of the Gods) and Alicia en el País Virtual (Alice in Virtual Land). By this time, his main professional occupation was no longer comics, but illustration and design. In these fields, Max's work is very broad, including covers for The New YorkerThe New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, creating the mascot for the centenary of football club Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
, and the execution of an animated short for the series Microfilm on the television channel Cinemanía. Part of this graphic work has been compiled in the volume Espiasueños.
Short comic strips such as Los invasores (the invaders) and La construcción de la torre (the construction of the tower) and an unfinished graphical novel of more than 200 pages called El mapa de la oscuridad (the map of the dark) show a further development in style and a distancing from the clear line, towards a more sober tone with a broken line. The influence of Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman is an American comics artist, editor, and advocate for the medium of comics, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning comic book memoir, Maus. His works are published with his name in lowercase: art spiegelman.-Biography:Spiegelman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Polish Jews...
's Maus
Maus
Maus: A Survivor's Tale, by Art Spiegelman, is a biography of the author's father, Vladek Spiegelman, a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. It alternates between descriptions of Vladek's life in Poland before and during the Second World War and Vladek's later life in the Rego Park neighborhood of...
, appears to have allowed greater narrative depth.
By 1993 Capdevila was working independently of the industry. He created the comic strip Nosotros somos los muertos (we are the dead), a tough story about the war in the Balkans. Self-published as a fanzine photocopied and sold at the International Comic Fair in Barcelona, it became the germ of the magazine of the same name (also well-known by its initials NSLM). Until the last issue of NSLM in 2007, it published the works of some of the most exciting international cartoonists and illustrators.
2005 saw the publication of an adaptation of chapter 26 of Don Quixote in the anthology Lanza en astillero (lance in the shipyard).
His latest creation is Bardín, a character used in different formats and publications It demonstrates the influence of Chris Ware
Chris Ware
Franklin Christenson Ware , is an American comic book artist and cartoonist, widely known for his Acme Novelty Library series and the graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he resides in the Chicago area, Illinois...
, but with touches of the Bruguera school. Bardin has freed Capdevila from editorial impositions, leaving him free to experiment and to give free rein to his imagination.
Works and style
Max is one of the few Spanish strip cartoonists from the mid 1970s who remains active. During this long trajectory his style has undergone a constant evolution. The author himself has never denied the influence of other artists such as Robert Crumb, Yves Chaland, and Ever Meulen in various phases of his career.This path of experimentation has increased in the recent years, when - free of external editorial impositions - he has had total creative freedom. Examples of this are the creation of the magazine Nosostros somos los muertos, that he co-edits with Pere Joan, and the creation of his latest character Bardín, which mixes a very wide range of subjects and aesthetics including humor and philosophical reflections in an anarchic publication style that mixes formats.