Francisco Ibáñez (1936-2023), one of the most prolific and renowned Spanish graphic humourists, lived near the Biblioteca Gabriel García Márquez, where there is a special collection devoted to him and his works.

In January 1958, the first series of Mortadelo y Filemón, his most iconic characters, was published in the magazine Pulgarcito. Between 1957 and 1963, he embarked on a period when he gradually forged his own style within Bruguera, in which he created infinite characters and adapted some of his best series for the publisher’s different magazines and comics: La familia Trapisonda (Pulgarcito, 1958); 13, Rue del Percebe (Tío Vivo, 1961); El botones Sacarino (El DDT, 1963); Rompetechos (Tío Vivo, 1964); and Pepe Gotera y Otilio (Tío Vivo, 1966).

Over his career spanning more than 60 years, Ibáñez created a vast number of characters with a very personal kind of humour.

This special collection contains a selection of Mortadelo y Filemón comics from the following collections: Magos del Humor‘Magos del Humor’ / ‘Mestres de l’Humor’, ‘Olé’ (Ediciones B), Grandes del Humor‘Grandes del Humor’ (El Periódico), ‘El Mejor Ibáñez’ (El Periódico) and ‘Superhumor’. The collection also includes comics featuring other characters created by Francisco Ibáñez (El Botones Sacarino, 13, Rue del Percebe, Rompetechos, etc.) and books about Francisco Ibáñez and his characters and the history of TBO and Editorial Bruguera.

The Barcelona City Council awarded him the City’s Gold Medal for Cultural Merit in 2023, several months before he died.