Boogie, el aceitoso en la Colombia de los 80 y 90: el negro Fontanarrosa, Samper Pizano y el miedo al falso héroe

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article provides a study of the main character in the comic series Boogie, el aceitoso from three convergent perspectives. Each of these perspectives stem from our own subjective experiences as young readers of Boogie, but they are also informed by current academic concepts. The first perspective addresses the character of Boogie as a false hero in opposition to a myth that provides a heroic interpretation of the character’s motives. The second analyzes both the work of Daniel Samper Pizano—the renowned Colombian writer and journalist—as a cultural mediator, and the impact that this work had on the readership of a national newspaper in Colombia. Finally, the third perspective focuses on the aesthetic aspect of Boogie, the style of the drawings and the composition of the frames created by Fontanarrosa. The conclusion about the short-lived presence of Boogie in Colombian newspapers points to the idea that a criminal false hero was too sophisticated a parody for a society that, facing waves of violence, was unable to accept and comprehend the criticism incorporated in the character.