Cartoons on wheels exhibitiion with Superlópez

Superlópez is a Spanish comic book character created by

Jan Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

. Created in 1973, Superlópez is a parody of

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

. Born ''Jo-Con-Él'' (translated as ''Damn-with-him'') on the planet ''Chitón'' (Spanish

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...

meaning something like ''Shut up!'') much like Superman's home planet of

Krypton Krypton (from grc, κρυπτός, translit=kryptos 'the hidden one') is a chemical element with the symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas that occurs in trace amounts in the atmosphere and is often ...

, he leaves his planet when he enters a spaceship and presses a button, an accident that sends him to Earth. He was raised by adoptive parents in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and concealed himself under the identity of office-worker ''Juan López'' (which is actually author Jan's real name). He works with his girlfriend, the bad-tempered '' Luisa Lanas'', the not-so-pally '' Jaime González Lidenbrock''; and his demanding, unnamed

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a ...

. This was revealed in the 8-page origin story in the first issue of his magazine. Other stories in the first issue reveal his "Fortress of Solitude", the "Villa Soledad" in the Arctic and have him fighting a rubber robot, the Galactic Gladiator, a sorceress from another dimension, La Incredible Maza (The Incredible Hulk), an atomic monster and a metal robot. Other recurring characters include ''Inspector Hólmez'' (a reference to

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

), an excessively bureaucratic police officer who suspects everyone; ''Martha Hólmez'', the Inspector's daughter, and computer geek ''Chico Humitsec''.

Editorial career

Euredit (1973)

In 1973, cartoonist Juan López Fernández "Jan" was commissioned to produce a book of very short comic strips parodying Superman. Antonio Martín, then editorial director of the comic book area of the Barcelona publisher Euredit and responsible for the commission, had to convince Jan -who did not consider himself a comedian- to do the job, and he did it quickly, without much faith. The work was included in the collection Humor siglo XX, dedicated to the satire of characters from comic books, literature and American cinema, such as King Kong, Tarzan or Frankenstein. The comics had to be silent, printed in black and white and in a 48-page landscape format, so, to overcome these creative restrictions, the author resorted to all kinds of graphic resources, such as thought snacks, kinetic signs or accentuation of expressions, with which he achieved great expressiveness in his drawings.
Jan conceived his parody of Superman in the manner of an ordinary Spaniard, "in the key of a tacky marriage" because it seemed to him to be the closest thing to the public at the time. This character, faced with the daily difficulties that he cannot solve and which frustrate him, adopts as an escape valve the tactic of imagining that he is a superhero. The jokes corresponding to this volume, traced with Rotring lines on sheets of folio paper and with an extension of up to four vignettes, have a simple and expressive line drawing, and present -despite the limitations of the format and the fact that they maintain little connection or continuity between them- effect gags on Superman, rather "domestic" mute jokes, which have little to do with the character later developed in the Superlópez comics of Ediciones B. Jan SalonBCN 2003 cropped

Recurring villains

Recurring villains include the evil professor ''Escariano Avieso''; ''Lady Araña'' (“Lady Spider”); the gangster ''Al Trapone'' (a reference to

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

; he is accompanied by goons like ''Carasucia'', ''Caracortada'', ''Carapincho'', gun-wielding ''Pistolet'', etc.); and the mob boss ''Refuller D'Abastos''.

El Supergrupo (The Supergroup)

In Issue No. 2 and 3 (“El Supergrupo”), Superlópez served as a member of a group of superheroes, all of which were Jan's creations. These included ''El Mago'' (''The Wizard'', a parody of

Dr. Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

); ''Capitán Hispania'' (''Captain Spain'', a parody of

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

); ''Latas'' (''Tin-guy'', a parody of

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

); ''Bruto'' (''The Brute'', a parody of The Thing); and ''la Chica Increíble'' (''Incredible Girl'', a parody of the token generic superheroine). These spent more time fighting one another over the leadership of the Supergrupo than fighting evil (a parody or reference from the internecine strife that is part of Spain's history). They also made a short appearance in issue 6 where instead of going after the outlawed Superlopez, they argue then fight each other. The Supergroup come back in book 63, where a scientist is altering reality. In book 69, the Supergrupo meet Los Ligiones Justicieros, DC's JLA, featuring parodies of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Aquaman. Superlópez began his career as a half-page comic strip without text then whole page strips with text where things for López normally ended up badly (reprinted in issue 13, The Genesis of Superlópez), before expanding into full albums which were later put together into annuals holding a number of issues, with adventures involving supervillains and criminal organizations, later evolving into longer, more complex stories concerning social topics affecting contemporary Spain (drug dealing and youth, political issues, pollution and environmental threats, etc.). Original writer ''Efepé'' (pseudonym of Francisco Pérez Navarro) left the character after the early issues and, from that point on, artist Jan took over the writing as well.

Other storylines

Juan travels around the world after stories with Luisa and Jaime and encounters lost races, treasures and so on. He also encountered assorted aliens, monsters, robots, mad scientists, wars,

Aztec gods Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of the Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. Accordi ...

and even had a trip to

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

. The stories are full of gags with him burning his large nose whenever he uses heat vision, of him getting a bump on the head when Luisa hits him, of him hurting his fist when he hits a metal robot. As well as bees, odd-looking little yellow creatures feature in the background in some panels and are revealed as ectoplasms in the "Los Petisos Carambanales" story. He even becomes a popstar and meets the ghost of the Prado Museum. Nothing was too way out for the strips as the characters went from one crazy scenario to another. Often Superlópez not only parodies Superman but also popular literature. This is the case in ''El Señor de los Chupetes'' ("Lord of the Pacifiers", a parody for

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

) or ''Al centro de la Tierra'' (after

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

A Journey to the Center of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (french: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel ...

) From the 1990s Superlópez adventures take place in real scenarios that are drawn using a realistic style. Famous buildings and monuments in

are often portrayed in detail, as well as those in other cities of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

(

Camprodon Camprodon (; from ''Camp Rodó'' "Round Field", ultimately from Latin ''Campus Rotundus'') is a small town in the comarca of Ripollès in Girona, Catalonia, Spain, located in the Pyrenees, near the French border. History The settlement of Campr ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

(

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

) or

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. As an internal joke, Superlópez says once that his adventures are evolving into simple traveling guides. Superlópez later often had science fiction stories like ''Tú, robot...'' (53) where an intelligent robot is created which then travels the world, unintentionally doing good and bad as it seeks to find out what it means to be human. Confronting the robot in the icy wastes, like in the original Frankenstein story, Superlópez is not sure what humanity is either. In ''El virus Frankenstein'' (56) a virus changes a young boy into a horrible monster while the ''El mundo de al lado'' (57) features a door to another dimension where maybe based on a Little Prince story, the people are enslaved into pulling huge wagons around the planet and ''Elecciones en Kaxim'' (58) feature him interfering in

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

s on a strange alien world. In book 62, Superlópez goes near a beam giant aliens use to cut planets up and his left arm is cut off at the elbow. It suddenly reattaches itself a few pages later and is normal again. In book 64, "The Time Thief", Superlópez meets

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

with his

Tardis The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...

, the

Daleks The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...

and the

Cybermen The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who''. The Cybermen are a species of space-faring cyborgs who often forcefully and painfully convert human beings ...

. In book 66, the "super group" go to the Skroll (Marvel Skrulls) planet and also borrowed some of the story line from Fantastic Four 24 (March 1964). The book deals with hospital overcrowding too. Later Superlópez books leave the caricaturesque tone of his first adventures to deal with current social issues:

illegal drug trade The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

tax haven A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

gunrunning Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal trade of small arm ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, dictatorships, or

illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

are some later themes. Book 69 deals with the illegally built Algarrobico hotel in Almeria, southern Spain. Book 70 deals with Muslim radicalisation of youngsters and extremism, a subject few others dare to touch. Jan announced he would finish to draw the character in 2022.

Complete issues

# ''Aventuras de Superlópez'' (1980) # ''El supergrupo'' (1980) # ''¡Todos contra uno, uno contra todos!'' (1981) # ''Los alienígenas'' (1981) # ''El señor de los chupetes'' (1981) # ''La semana más larga...'' (1981) # ''Los cabecicubos'' (1983) # ''La caja de Pandora'' (1984) # ''La gran superproducción'' (1985) # ''Al centro de la Tierra'' (1987) # ''Cachabolik Blues Rock'' y ''El fantasma del museo del Prado'' (1988) # ''En el país de los juegos, el tuerto es el rey...'' (1988) # ''El génesis de Superlópez'' (1989) # ''El asombro del robot'' y ''Una vez, en una ciudad...'' (1989) # ''Los petisos carambanales y otras petisoperías'' (1989) # ''Los cerditos de Camprodón'' (1990) # ''Periplo búlgaro'' and ''El tesoro del conde Arnau'' (1990) # ''La banda del dragón despeinado (Yakuza)'' and ''La bomba'' (1990) # ''Hotel Pánico'' and ''La cosa del pantano, el flautista de Hamelín y otras soserías''(1991) # ''Un camello subió al tranvía en Grenoble y el tranvía le está mordiendo la pierna'' (1991) # ''El tesoro de Ciuacoatl'' (1992) # ''Los ladrones de ozono'' (1992) # ''El castillo de arena'' (1993) # ''La aventura está en la esquina'' (1993) # ''Tyrannosaurus sect'' (1994) # ''Los gemelos Superlópez'' (1995) # ''La acera del tiempo'' (1995) # ''El infierno'' (1996) # ''Los gemelos Superlópez: Vamos a ver elefantes...'' (1996) # ''Los cybernautas'' (1997) # ''El supercrack'' (1997) # ''Las minas del rey Soplomón'' (1998) # ''25 años de Superlópez'' (1999) # ''Otra vez lady Araña'' (1999) # ''La guerra de lady Araña'' (2000) # ''Adiós lady Araña'' (2000) # ''El dios del bit'' (2001) # ''El caserón fantasma'' (2002) # ''Nosotros los Papino'' (2002) # ''El gran botellón'' (2003) # ''El patio de tu casa es particular'' (2003) # ''Monster chapapote'' (2004) # ''Las montañas voladoras'' (2004) # ''Tras la persiana...'' (2005) # ''Gritad, gritad, malditos...'' (2005) # ''La casa amarilla'' (2006) # ''La feria de la muerte'' (2006) # ''Politono Hamelín'' (2007) # ''Hipotecarión'' (2007) # ''Iba caminando...'' (2007) # ''En busca del templo perdido...'' (2008) # ''La brújula esdrújula'' (2008) # ''Tú, robot...'' (2008) # ''La biblioteca inexistente'' (2009) # ''¡A toda crisis!'' (2009) # ''El virus Frankestein'' (2010) # "El mundo de al lado" (2011) # "Elecciones en Kaxim" (2011) # "El Abejón Rey" (2011) # "Asesinato en el Toral Express" (2012) # "Asalto al museo" (2012) # "Los recorta planetas" (2013) # "Otra vez el Supergrupo" (2013) # "El ladrón del tiempo" (2013) # "El gran deshauciador" (2014) # "El supergrupo y la guerra de las latas" (2014) # "La montaña de diamantes" (2014) # "Tres pizzas y un muerto... (2015) # "El Supergrupo contra Los Demoledores" (2015) # "Mambrú se va a la guerra" (2015) # "En el laberinto" (2015) # "El Supergrupo contra los Ejecutivos" (2015) # "Gran auténtico vidente curandero" (2016) # "El trastero infinito" (2017) # "El Supergrupo contra el Papa Cósmico" (2017) # "Menguante" # "Nuevas aventuras de Mambrú" (2018) # "XXL" (2018) # "Robinson" (2018) # "La isla de basura" (2019) # "El secreto de la biblioteca" (2019) # "El bullying de las sorpresas" (2019) # "La invasión de los huertos vivientes" (2020) # "Los influyentes influencers" (2021) # "Sueños frikis" (2022)

In other languages

*Catalan: ''Super Llopis'' (In Andorra: ''Superlópez'') *Danish: ''Superdan'' *German: ''Super-Meier'' *Norwegian: ''Superegon'' *Swedish: ''Super Nilsson'' (Mentioned in a Spanish magazine, but not independently verified)

Films

There is a 2003 short animation film named '' Superlópez contra el robot de bolsillo'' by

Enrique Gato Enrique Gato Borregán (born 26 April 1977 in Valladolid, Castile and León) is a Spanish filmmaker and 3D/2D animation designer known as the creator of ''Tadeo Jones''. With this character (including two CGI animated shorts and one animated featu ...

, the creator of ''

Tadeo Jones ''Tadeo Jones'' is a 2004 Spanish short animated film directed by Enrique Gato. It tells the story of Tadeo Jones, an adventurer who enters a pyramid where he finds a family of mummies. The project of this film was born when Gato wanted to make ...

''. A

feature length A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

Spanish film '' Superlópez'' was released on November 23, 2018

References

External links

Cachis la Mar!Comic book coversShort Superlopez cartoon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Superlopez Spanish comics Parody superheroes Spanish comics titles Fictional Spanish people Satirical comics Superhero comics Parody comics Humor comics Spanish comics characters 1973 comics debuts Comics characters introduced in 1973 Parodies of Superman Spanish comics adapted into films