(Not) Looking Together in the Same Direction: A Comparative Study of Representations of Latin America in a Selection of Franco-Belgian and Latin American Comics

Abstract

For almost a century, the creation of comics set partly or entirely in Latin America has been something of a tradition in France and Belgium, two countries where comic book production is abundant. For a very important nucleus of (mostly) Belgian comic authors the Americas have been of capital importance (one of them grew up in Argentina; three others travelled to North America, drawing from their experiences to create what is now considered some of their best and most significant work). Yet in their work and that of their Franco-Belgian successors, Latin America continues to be essentially represented by fictional countries. Given that there are no colonial links between Belgium and Latin America, this interest in Latin America is all the more striking when we consider some of the images used to represent Latin America in the Franco-Belgian tradition and the fact that Latin American comics do not reciprocate by depicting France or Belgium extensively, but rather focus on national issues.

This thesis fills several gaps by bringing to the fore culturally significant texts that have been largely disregarded and underlines the contribution of Francophone Europe to the creation of the “idea” of Latin America. I approach the depiction of ‘Latin America’ in these comics with a two-pronged tactic. First, using comics from centres of Latin American comic production (Mexico and Argentina) I compare and contrast various aspects of Latin America as represented in the Franco-Belgian and in the Latin American traditions: the state and masculinity, a perceived economic backwardness, a perceived geographic remoteness, colonisation and its aftermath and the imperatives of selling oneself to a foreign market. Second, I seek to address the reasons why there is no corresponding interest on the Latin American side and why Franco-Belgian comics appear to favour fictional Latin American countries by considering what it is that Latin America means in Franco-Belgian and Latin American comics.