Carme Barbará Geniés (born 3 July 1933), known professionally as Carmen Barbará, is a Spanish comics artist and illustrator. Her most famous character is the reporter Mary Noticias [es], who revolutionized the image of women in Spanish cartoons, breaking from their traditional romantic roles.[1]

Carmen Barbará
in 2010
Born
Carme Barbará Geniés

(1933-07-03) 3 July 1933 (age 91)
NationalitySpanish
Occupation(s)Comics artist, illustrator
Notable workMary Noticias

Biography

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Carme Barbará Geniés was born in Barcelona into a family whose members were very fond of drawing and painting.

Before becoming a cartoonist, her favorite comic was Tim Tyler's Luck (translated into Spanish as Jorge y Fernando), and she also bought the magazines Chicos [es], Mis Chicas [es], Maravillas [es], and El Hombre Enmascarado (The Phantom).

At age 14 she began drawing for a publication set up by a schoolmate. Then in the mid-1950s, she went on to publish fairy tales for Ediciones Alberto Geniés, owned by her cousin.[1]

Her next creation was the character of Luisa in the magazine Florita [es] for Editorial Plaza.

She drew for Ediciones Toray [es] and their comics Mis Cuentos, Alicia, Cuentos de la Abuelita, and Colección Azucena [es].[2] For Editorial Bruguera she drew Sissi and Cuentos Rositas in their women's publications, and Cuentos for girls.[3]

Starting in the 1970s, she focused on illustration.[4] She drew for the Ibero Mundial [es] strips Claro de Luna and Romántica i Marilin. It was also for this publisher that she drew, with scripts by Roy Mark (the pseudonym of Ricardo Acedo [es]), the series Mary Noticias.

Through agencies she worked for the international market: Scotland, France, England, and Sweden.[4]

Mary Noticias

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Carmen Barbará's most famous comic is Mary Noticias [es], published from 1962 to 1971 for Ibero Mundial.[4] Its title character revolutionized the image of women in cartoons, breaking from their traditional romantic roles. Mary works as a television reporter. Her freedom of movement was of some concern to censors of the day.[1]

The strip began on 21 June 1962 and 484 issues were published.

Style

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Barbará's style evolved from the "sappy softness" of the "marvelous comic" to the harder realism of romance comics.

Personal life

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Married with two sons, Barbará worked at home for years while taking care of them. She retired at age 65 in 1998.[1]

Work

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Year Title Writer Type Publication
1951 Serial Carmencita
Colección Azucena
1953 Luisa Series Florita[4]
1955 Serial Mari Tere
1955 Serial Alicia
1956 Serial Rosarito (Jobar)
1956 Pinky (Jobar)
1956 Serial Tres Hadas
1956 Serial Graciela
1958 Yo te contaré... Series Florita[4]
1958 Serial Marta (Cliper)
1958 Serial Princesa Carolina
1958 Serial Lindaflor
1962 Caterina Silvia Duarte Short comic Claro de Luna #174
1962 Mary Noticias Roy Mark Serial Ibero Mundial
1964 Mary Noticias Extra Roy Mark Serial Ibero Mundial
1964 Serial Cuentos Rosita Bruguera

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Gayà, Catalina (23 April 2014). "Carme Barberà: 'Hasta la censura se metió con Mary Noticias'" [Carme Barberà: 'Until Mary Noticias got censored']. El Periódico (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  2. ^ Ramírez, Juan Antonio] (1975). El 'comic' femenino en España. Arte sub y anulación (in Spanish). Madrid: Editorial Cuadernos para el Diálogo, S. A. Colección Divulgación universitaria Arte y literatura, número 78. p. 45. ISBN 84-229-0177-3.
  3. ^ Gon, Manu (28 September 2015). "El cómic femenino de España vuelve al primer plano" [The Feminine Comic of Spain Returns to the Foreground]. Última Hora (in Spanish). Ibiza. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e Cuadrado, Jesús (2000). Atlas español de la cultura popular: De la historieta y su uso, 1873–2000 [Spanish Atlas of Popular Culture: On Comics and Their Use, 1873–2000] (in Spanish). Madrid: Ediciones Sinsentido/Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez. pp. 114–115. ISBN 84-89384-23-1.
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