Paco Roca

Feeling that my knowledge of Spain’s recent history is scanty, I was excited to see this book coming out soon. I’ve grown to appreciate graphic novels, and getting to know an unfamiliar piece of history in a compelling manner is right down my alley. This book turned out to be a fascinating read; a tribute to the author’s mother and her hardscrabble life growing up.

From a historical perspective, this is a masterpiece. It only briefly touches on the war (the main character was too young to have seen or experienced much of the war), but the main historical element dealt with the political climate of the late 1940s through the 1960s. Frankly, some of it was difficult to read; especially the parts about the deep societal divides in the country, and the propaganda that kept it all in place.

The main part of this book is telling a family story. That, too, was difficult, but I’ve come away with deep admiration, both for the author’s willingness to share both the good and bad of his family history, as well as for the people who clung to faith and hope amidst deplorable circumstances.

This is a complicated story, but not hard to read or follow. There were parts I struggled with—I did not like the illustrations of Adam and Eve in the garden; I felt they were too revealing. I also struggled with some of the character’s choices and opinions (such as justifying an affair), even though I know these things happen all the time. It was also hard to read about some of the physical abuse that went on in the home.

Overall, I’m glad I had a chance to read this book, although I doubt I’d read it again. It has brought a part of history to life for me that I’ve never encountered before, and for that, it was a worthwhile read. If I was to give the book a star rating based on illustration and storytelling styles, I’d easily give it five stars, but I feel like I can’t because of some of the content. If I ever have a chance to read another Roca book, however, I would be eager to see what else he does—this one was fascinating!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.… (mer)

I'm about 50/50 with Paco Roca projects. I loved the geriatric misadventures of Wrinkles, but this excursion into memoir disappoints with its blandness.

The first section, from Memorias de un hombre en pijama, are all one-page strips with lots of jokes about dating, being a cartoonist, and working from home -- or rather, wandering around one's apartment while procrastinating. Each page is pretty dense, usually with 12 panels, setting up and paying off what are pretty mild or cliched gags, including some about running out of ideas for the strip, which was apparently appearing in some periodical in Spain.

The second section, from Andanzas de un hombre en pijama, revives the strip with a 12-page time-travel epic before settling back into 2-page gags -- now with nine panels per page -- about being a cartoonist and family man. It gets a bit meta at one point as it examines the many ways Roca's avatar in the strip -- the "man in pajamas" of the title -- is a fiction.

The third section, from Confesiones de un hombre en pijama, bookends 2-page strips with a couple longer stories. Having used up so much the slice-of-life material, Roca gets political, creating essays about economics, colonialism, anti-capitalism, and universal healthcare.

None of the above is bad, but it didn't do much to stand out in a field crowded with graphic memoirs about cartoonists and their home life. Being set in Spain didn't bring as much of a new slant as I thought it would. And Roca's tendency to include dozens of celebrity cameos -- Groucho Marx, Superman, the Pink Panther, Alfred Hitchcock, etc. -- didn't actually do much to enliven the pages.

FOR REFERENCE:

Collects three volumes of the Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas series: Memorias de un hombre en pijama (2011), Andanzas de un hombre en pijama (2014), and Confesiones de un hombre en pijama (2017).… (mer)