Life in Pictures: Auto(Bio)Graphic ‘I’s of Carlos Giménez

Abstract

Abstract Carlos Giménez belongs to the most acclaimed Spanish authors of autobiographical comics. His series Paracuellos (1977) has been placed among the most relevant works regarding historical memory as it provides a testimony of the Spanish dictatorship and life among the walls of Francoist boarding schools. Throughout his oeuvre, Giménez addresses not only themes of historical and political affairs of each period, but he also confronts many social ills, offering a faithful portrayal of roughly four of the most tumultuous decades in Spanish history. This paper aims to revise Giménez’s graphic life narratives and the way he moves forward in time to construct significant milestones of his personal life story, inseparably embedded in the history of Spain. Through his unique style, which combines caricatured characters set in a black & white layout and his typical dose of skepticism, Giménez dissolves himself as a narrator and a character by means of multiple alter egos who challenge the premises of Lejeune’s autobiographical pact.