The Latin American Graphic Novel

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Alberto Centeno-Pulido (Western Carolina University)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Resources

Comics in Latin America are a complex cultural phenomenon, arguably as complex as the region itself. While the origins of the artform lie elsewhere, its development in Latin America is tied to the attempt of reflecting the realities (whether social, cultural, economic, or political) of the different countries in the area, rather than reproducing the imagery and themes of mainstream US and European comics. In some cases, Latin American comics (more commonly known as

historietas

) have transcended their geographical context and become huge successes in the US and Europe (Quino’s

Mafalda

and the works by Rius come to mind). In other cases, the work of certain authors was seen as subversive and had harsh and even fatal consequences for them, most notably the exile of Ariel Dorfman from Chile…

3051 words

Citation: Centeno-Pulido, Alberto. "The Latin American Graphic Novel". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 October 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19444, accessed 28 March 2024.]

19444 The Latin American Graphic Novel 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.