Inodoro Pereyra
| Inodoro Pereyra | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| First appearance | 1972 |
| Created by | Roberto Fontanarrosa |
Inodoro Pereyra (The Renegade) is an Argentinean comic created in 1972 by the writer and cartoonist Roberto Fontanarrosa. The comic is about the life of a lonely Argentinean gaucho living in the Argentinean Pampa. The character introduces himself saying: “I'm Pereyra by my Mom, and Inodoro (meaning ‘toilet’, used ironically due to his father profession) because my Dad was a Sewage Worker.”
The comic appeared for first time at the end of 1972 in the popular humor magazine Hortensia, originating from the Córdoba Province (Argentina), which was the home of a pool of talented people at that time.
The comic was originally a parody about the linguistics and stereotypes of the native people. Specifically, the main characters were some gaucho characters from comic books (such as Santos Leiva, Lindor Covas “the wild”, El Huinca or Fabián Leyes, etc). The comic at this time was more elaborate graphically. In all these early editions, Inodoro hosts a diverse and weird group of visitors in the Pampa region of Argentina, while his inseparable friend, Mendieta, the talking dog, shares the adventures of his owner. Mendieta frequently shares his opinions with Inodoro, giving birth to phrases like: “Let us negotiate, Mr. Inodoro” and “Who gave birth to it!” (similar meaning to “What the fuck!”).
Then the comic appeared in the Mengano and Siete Días magazines, with adventures in each episode. Mendieta once declared that he was in reality “a Christian man that was turned into a dog shape due to a moon eclipse”. Mendieta occupied the co-protagonist role in these times.
The episodes of Inodoro Pereyra in this period mostly consisted of two or three pages. Each series was composed of around 10 episodes.
At the beginning of each episode the author gives a short recap of what happened in the previous episode. The recap was in a humoristic style, using radio theater language, gauchesca poetry and feuilleton language in an ironic way. Finally, in 1976, Inodoro settled down with his partner, Eulogia Tapia, and Mendieta in a famous newspaper from Buenos Aires called Clarín, where the comic was published in single editions. The previous coverage of adventures gave way to a greater focus on dialogue and subtle humor.
The drawing style suffered a major change after 1975. From 1972 until 1975 the characters were drawn with a slim shape with thick lines and striking contrasts. From 1976 Inodoro Pereyra appeared with a drawing style that gave him a soft expression (rather than the angry wrinkles of the past), while his partner “La Eulogia” is no longer a young stylized woman but a rotund and clumsy housewife.
...
Wikipedia