Cartooning in Latin America (Book Review)

Cartooning in Latin America. Edited by John Lent, c2005, 396 pp., $35.00, #1572735619, Hampton Press (Note: this book is also found online, with the title listed incorrectly as both, "Cartoons in Latin America", and also as, "Cartooning in South America").

This work is not a true "history" (as is sometimes implied by comments found on the internet), but rather a collection of very focused essays or interviews. The chapters range from profiles of particular cartoonists to character analyses and/or cultural overviews. The book covers just 10 Latin Countries, some to a much greater degree than others. With the exceptions of Cuba and Argentina, none of the sections are really an all-encompassing look at any one country.

Comics and political cartoons often play a far greater role in societies least likely to tolerate freedom of expression. At many times in recent history, most Latin countries have or still do fall into this category. Sex and politics make up the most "dangerous" subject matters for comic artists, and as the table of contents below indicates, they are well-represented in the analyses here. Both of these topics were the focus "Semana Comica", a tabloid satirical magazine - the product of self-trained Nicaraguan cartoonist Roger Sanchez Flores - a.k.a., "Roger" (he signed his works, simply, "Roger"). Arguably one of the best chapters of the book is David Kunzle's (the only one pertaining to Nicaragua), "Róger Sánchez’s Humor Erótico and the Semana Cómica: A Sexual Revolution in Sandinista Nicaragua?" (Kunzle is the author of "The Murals of Revolutionary Nicaragua", here).

For anyone interested in Latin political cartoons and/or comics, this is a welcome anthology, since it pulls together material not readily available to many readers (many of these chapters were previously printed, but often in serials or forums that are hard to come by, or only now accessible via a for-fee database; for example, Kunzle's article on Roger Sanchez was previously available only in, "Latin American Perspectives", #101, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp.89-120 - a periodical not readily available to most people). However, the coverage in "Cartooning in Latin America" is somewhat scattered, not many readers are interested equally in each Latin country, nor are necessarily interested in the 10 countries chosen for inclusion here. A good book on "Roger", or a collection with a nice biographical essay would be of far greater interest to most readers, but as best I can tell, such a book has yet to be written. Roger's cartoons were translated and appeared in English, German, Italian, Russian, and Swedish. He won numerous awards. In late 1990, at the age of only 30, he died of stomach cancer. Roger ventured beyond big-time controversy and occasionally did other things, such as the cover art and illustrations for Forrest Colburn's wonderful little book, "My Car in Managua" here.

The contents of "Cartooning in Latin America" are not usually listed online; so, here they are (I listed the sole Nicaragua-related chapter first, and again where it falls within the text - ""Róger Sánchez’s “Humor Erótico” and the Semana Cómica: A Sexual Revolution in Sandinista Nicaragua?", (David Kunzle):

"Latin American Comic Art: An Overview" (John Lent); "Argentine Comics: History" (Andrés Accorsi); "Argentine Comics Today: A Foreigner’s Perspective" (Jeff Williams); "Oesterheld, The Literacy Voice of Argentine Comics" (Ana Merino); “Inodoro Pereyra - A Gaucho in the Pampa of Paper and Ink" (Ana Merino); "Children’s Comics in Brazil: From Chiquinho to Mônica" (Waldomiro Vergueiro); "Brazilian Adult Comics: The Age of Market" (Nadilson Manoel da Silva); "Brazilian Superheroes in Search of Their Own Identities" (Waldomiro Vergueiro); "Brazilian Pornographic Comics: Eroticism in the World of Carlos Zéfiro" (Waldomiro Vergueiro); "The Comic Book in a “Revolutionary Process”: Chile in 1973" (David Kunzle); "Chile’s La Firme versus ITT", (David Kunzle); "Chile’s Pepo, Much More Than a Condorito", (Jorge Montealegre Iturra); "Vignette: El Condor Pasa - Comics Production in Colombia", (Daniel Rabanal); "Vignette: Comic Art in Colombia - A Short Historical Journey", (Daniel Rabanal); "Cuban Political, Social Commentary Cartoons", (John A. Lent); "Parallel Lives: A History of Comics and Animated Cartoons in Cuba", (Dario Mogno); "Always the Other One: Salomón Caridad" (Blanco de la Cruz); "Dawn, Noon, and Dusk of a Tumultuous Narrative: The Evolution of Mexican Comic Art", (Armando Bartra); "Róger Sánchez’s “Humor Erótico” and the Semana Cómica: A Sexual Revolution in Sandinista Nicaragua?", (David Kunzle); "Peruvian Comics: The Early Years, Mario Lucioni. Conversations with Three Peruvian Cartoonists", (John Lent and Teresa Archambeault); "Cartooning in Uruguay: A Short History", (Daniel Puch); "(Mis)fortune in a High Barren Plain: A Personal View of Comic Art in Uruguay", (Carlos Federici); "Venezuela’s Alonso and the Art of Leaving it All to Art", (Gisela Gil-Egui).