Review by Graham Johnstone
Manuel ‘Spain’ Rodriguez was a pioneer of Underground ‘Comix’. A regular in Robert Crumb’s flagship Zap Comix anthology, counter-cultural newspaper the East Village Other (EVO), had already featured his comics, and published his 1968 tabloid comic Zodiac Mindwarp. My True Story showcases his non-fiction work.
These ‘true stories’ are of two types, sensibly gathered as ‘Memory’ and ‘History’. Spain, following Justin Green, and Crumb, was an early adopter of autobiographical comics. However, unlike the deliberately everyday anecdotes of Harvey Pekar and later creators, Spain tells stories few have lived. This includes the revelation of Rock’n’Roll, and membership of biker gang The Road Vultures. Even for underground comix, some are disarmingly candid, while Spain’s matter of fact realism renders them more shocking than, say, Crumb’s improvised flights into fantasy. In ‘Dessert: What the Fifties Were Really Like’, a carload of guys failing to pick up women, find a man who attends to each of them. Their subsequent treatment of him is shocking yet plausible as a psychological fig-leaf for their forbidden desires, though Spain gives their ‘victim’ the last words. True to subtitle, it’s a fascinating insight into that outwardly buttoned-up decade. In these observational ‘memories’, Spain is typically invisible: a journalistic fly on the wall, presenting situations without involvement or commentary. However, the title story, (styled “an R. Crumb type exposé”), and ‘Hard-Ass Friday Night’ are more confessional. In the latter, the rookie Road Vulture, yearns for a taste of the gang’s legendary violence, but can’t actually hit out until he finds justification in a crewcut jock from his past. That proves an enduring theme: conflict between progressives and establishment ‘squares’.
’History’ moves the theme from interpersonal to international stories. Those challenging the establishment here are peasants, citizens of the Paris commune, deserting soldiers, and anarchist revolutionaries. Spain impressively distils complex histories into compelling human stories, sometimes around a famous figurehead (like Spanish Civil War general Durruti), and other times around minor or invented characters. We might call these stories page-turning, but most have few pages to turn, and ‘Nestor Makhno‘ (featured image) only two. Spain contextualises the Ukranian Civil War in the 1917 Russian Revolution, and summarises the political differences. His captions themselves have military vigour and precision: “[Makno] swept North replacing Bolshevik Commissars with libertarian communes.” The separate ends of Makhno’s movement, and life are captured briefly, but poignantly. Spain’s eleven images, are similarly rich. The one illustrating military use of peasant carts, creates an almost time-lapse effect of troops at various stages of disembarking, running and taking aim, exemplifying Spain’s storytelling skills.
Spain is one of several Underground Comix artists taking inspiration from Wally Wood. It’s easy to spot Wood’s camera angles and zooms, and his rendering techniques, from cinematic lighting to Ben-Day dots. Many of Wood’s famous ‘Panels that Always Work’ are here: silhouettes, dark foregrounds, open panels, and ‘look downs’. Instead of Wood’s restrained realism, though, Spain creates bold images with the exaggerated perspectives and dynamic energy of Jack Kirby. From these masters, Spain has created his own distinctive style, ensuring clarity of storytelling, and visually appealing pages. Amongst such strengths, the occasional odd figure, leaden ink line, or over-rendered page, hardly matter.
My True Story is a strong collection by a creator overdue wider recognition. It’s also an easier starting point than his, occasionally over-the-top, fictions. These 130 magazine-sized pages of vivid memories and histories, are thrilling and distinctively Spain.
This edition is out of print, but look for these stories (and omitted companions) in Fantagraphics’ 2020s series of Spain collections.
