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Spain Rodriguez

Old school underground artist who has been producing fine comics for over 40 years now, if you can believe it!


Title Creator Publisher Series Price
Che: A Graphic Biography Spain Rodriguez Verso $7.77
($16.95 list)
Chespain
Read more and comment... 		Ernesto "Che" Guevara's life and times are concisely communicated in exactly 100 pages of comics written and drawn by the man born for the job, Spain Rodriguez.  One of the founding members of the original Underground Comix generation that helped define the 1960s, Spain (the single name by which he is commonly known and referred to in the comics world, but not, alas, in the wider world, for then we could have had a book that was titled, simply, an more appropriately, "Che by Spain") is someone who is sure to have been conversant with Che's iconic and political status during those heady days when his life and work was still in the air and so have had ample time during the ensuing forty-some years since his death to ruminate upon Che's significance as well as digest the morass of historical data and coordinate the diverse opinions into a single, solid over-arching narrative; this he has done.  In yet another example of the communicative efficiency of comics, this work, which can be successfully absorbed after dinner, imparts the saga of an era that will leave its readers more worldly and skeptical.  It must be said that most of the negative aspects that have been imputed to Che's character have been ignored and that some (i.e. conservative) critics will doubtless view this portrayal as a "whitewash."  Regardless of any and all opinions on the pros and cons of Che the man, we're confident in our positive appraisal of "Che" by Spain as making for an absorbing read. NOW ON SALE!
Nightmare Alley Spain Rodriguez, Willian Lindsay Gresham Fantagraphics $13.75
($14.95 list)
Nightmarealley
Read more and comment... 		This book ranks as one of the greatest comics adaptations of a pre-existent work of 20th century American fiction ever produced.  This might very well be Spain’s masterpiece.  His visualizations totally nail the the novel’s milieu, and his characterizations of the protagonist and his wide and varied supporting cast are spot on -- they just couldn’t be better.  This is an insightful illustration of Freud’s dictum that the unconscious is really in the driver’s seat.  It gives the reader a glimpse at what goes down on some of the intersections usually hidden in the many dark corners of society, and in so doing reveals the ineradicable stain made by corruption upon childhood innocence and how it plays itself out, at least this time...  This is a work that is sure to be enjoyed by any fan of Spain’s as well as anyone who apreciates the noir fiction of Jim Thompson, David Goodis, and Cornell Woolrich.  A bona fide 20th century fable.