Editorial Bruguera

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Editorial Bruguera
Parent company (1986–2017)
Penguin Random House (2017–present)[1]
StatusActive
PredecessorEl Gato Negro
Founded1910; 111 years ago (1910) in Barcelona, Spain
FounderJuan Bruguera Teixidó
Defunct1986 Edit this on Wikidata
SuccessorEdiciones B
Country of originSpain
Headquarters locationBarcelona
Key peoplePantaleón Bruguera, Francisco Bruguera Grane
Publication typesComics, magazines, books
Fiction genresHumor, Literature

Editorial Bruguera is a Spanish publishing house based in Barcelona, which was devoted mainly to the production of popular literature and comics. It was created in 1910 as El Gato Negro, changed its name in 1940 and came to possess, as indicated by :

An industrial plant (in Parets del Vallès), an advertising division (Nueva Línea), a library (Proa), a distributor (Libresa), stamps subsidiaries (Ceres), several branches in the Spanish territory delegations outside (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Lisbon, Mexico, Portugal, Venezuela), and an internal communication newsletter (Nosotros).[2]

In 1986 Bruguera was acquired by , which renamed it Ediciones B. The Bruguera name was revived in 2006. As of 2018, the publisher has shifted its focus towards comic books and graphic novels.

In 2017, Grupo Zeta sold all its book publishers, including Bruguera and Ediciones B, to Penguin Random House.

History[]

El Gato Negro[]

It was founded in 1910 by under the name El Gato Negro and specialising in popular literature, joke books and especially in comic magazines.[3] They followed the example of the Spanish comic magazine TBO (founded in 1917) and in 1921 they created Pulgarcito which proved very successful. They published another twenty magazines including (1928) with content of Film Fun.

After Juan Bruguera's death in 1933 his sons, Pantaleón and Francisco Bruguera Grane, succeeded him.[3]

Classical phase[]

Pantaleón and Francisco Bruguera changed the name from El Gato Negro to Editorial Bruguera in 1939.

In 1947 the publishing house increased profits with other comics such as (1948), (1949), (1949) and (1951); romance novels of Corín Tellado and western novels (notably the ones of Marcial Lafuente Estefanía) and adventure comics such as or Capitán Trueno. In 1957 a group of comic artists tried to secede from the publisher and founded their own magazine , but they didn't succeed and in 1960 the magazine was acquired by Bruguera. Bruguera also published a comic for girls .

By then, Bruguera was one of the largest publishers of comics in Spain, along with , y Toray.[4] Over time, the family business also became a truly multinational publisher, being implemented in several countries in Latin America.

Other directions[]

Since the mid-1960s, they launched new magazines such as (1965), Bravo (1968) and (1969) in which the influence of television is clear. They also published in Spain Franco-Belgian comics such as Asterix or Blueberry, always beating their competitors.

In the 1970s they increased their production of comics, taking advantage of their feature characters and combining new and old material.[5]

In the literature field, they lost lawsuits against Corín Tellado and Marcial Lafuente Estefanía in 1974,[2] so they started to publish material by Jorge Amado, Jorge Luis Borges, García Márquez, Juan Marsé o Juan Carlos Onetti.[6] They also launched two pocket book collections: Libro Clásico and Libro Amigo.[5]

The end[]

In the early 1980s books such as Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez became big best-sellers.[7] Despite this, the publishing house filed for bankruptcy on 7 June 1982.

In 1986 it was acquired by and transformed into Ediciones B.[2]

It was briefly relaunched under Ediciones B from 2006 to 2010.

Comics[]

In the field of comics, the role played by the Editorial Bruguera after the Spanish Civil War was fundamental, especially its humor publications. Directed by , the Editorial Bruguera cartoonists created an easily recognisable style (called "Escuela Bruguera") that was halfway between children's entertainment and a satire of manners.

Comics titles and characters published by Editorial Bruguera included:

References[]

  1. ^ El grupo Penguin apuesta por el humor de la posguerra y reflota Bruguera in elespanol.com
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Cuadrado (2000), p. 187.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Martín (01/1968), pp. 11 a 12.
  4. ^ Martín (03/1968), pp. 135 a 137.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Martínez (2004), p. 52.
  6. ^ Vázquez Montalbán, Manuel (12/06/1982). Crónica de una ruina anunciada, "El País".
  7. ^ ARROYO, Francesc (10/06/1982). "La suspensión de pagos en Bruguera no supone la desaparición de la editorial," "El País".

Bibliography[]

  • (2000). , /
  • (09/2010). 100 años de Bruguera. De El Gato Negro a Ediciones B. Barcelona: Ediciones B. Depósito Legal: B-24625-2010. ISBN 978-84-666-3816-6.
  • (01/1968). Apuntes para una historia de los tebeos II. La civilización de la imagen (1917–1936). Madrid: Revista de Educación, n.º 195.
  • Martín Martínez, Antonio (03/1968). Apuntes para una historia de los tebeos IV. El tebeo, cultura de masas (1946–1963). Madrid: Revista de Educación, n.º 197.
  • MARTÍNEZ PEÑARANDA, Enrique (2004). Vázquez (El dibujante y su leyenda). Madrid: , Colección Sin Palabras, Serie A nª 04. ISBN 84-95634-49-X. Depósito legal: M-39015-2004.
  • (1975). El "comic" femenino en España. Arte sub y anulación Madrid: , S. A. Colección Divulgación universitaria, Arte y literatura, número 78. Depósito Legal: M. 8.752 – 1975 ISBN 84-229-0177-3.
  • Regueira, Tino (2005). Guía visual de la Editorial Bruguera (1940–1988) Barcelona: Ediciones Glénat S. L. Depósito Legal: B-2551-05. ISBN 84-8449-664-3
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