El Comic Book Day It has quickly established itself as one of the major cultural events on the Spanish calendar. Every March 17th, institutions, museums, libraries, universities, bookstores, and industry professionals coordinate a wide range of activities to celebrate comics as an essential part of the country's cultural life.
In the fourth edition of this commemoration, the Ministry of CultureThrough the General Directorate of Books, Comics, and Reading, a program has been designed that is being implemented in various locations throughout Spain. The objective is to bring to the forefront the artistic, historical and social value of comics, to highlight the diversity of styles and authors and to emphasize the importance of Spanish creation both within and outside our borders.
A celebration promoted by the Ministry of Culture
The institutional axis of 4th Comic Book Day Part of the Ministry of Culture, it coordinates conferences, professional meetings, and reading promotion activities. The program is designed as a combination of activities open to the general public and more specialized events aimed at the publishing industry and the comic book professional community.
In this edition, the official poster Is in charge of Candela Sierra, an author recognized with the 2025 National Comic Award. Her design has been made available to the public in all official and statutory languages of the State, so that any entity can use this image as a unifying reference for the celebration, downloading it directly from the website of the Ministry of Culture.
The official declaration of March 17 as Comic Book Day It arrived in 2022, when the Council of Ministers approved the anniversary at the Ministry's own proposal. The date is not accidental: it was chosen to commemorate the start of publication, in 1917, of the legendary magazine OBT, which influenced generations of readers and gave a popular name to comics in Spain.
With this institutional framework, the Ministry intends not only to showcase the creation of comics, but also to consolidate an annual event that serves as a meeting point for readers, authors, publishers, bookstores and cultural agentsTaking advantage of the date to launch initiatives, present studies and open new spaces for collaboration.
'Las Invisibles de Bruguera' and the gender perspective in comics
Among this year's most notable proposals are the conferences 'The Invisible Women of Bruguera', which take place on March 16 and 17 in the Ortega-Marañón Foundationin Madrid. This meeting is conceived as a tribute to the women who worked at the historic Bruguera publishing house, many of them relegated to the background despite their decisive contribution to the development of popular comics in Spain.
The opening of these conferences is led by the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasún, which is participating in the opening as a gesture of institutional support for a thorough reflection on the sector's history. The program has the direct involvement of the Comics Sector, the platform Tebeosphere and partnership Comic book fans, three actors who have been working for years in the analysis and dissemination of the ninth art.
As part of 'Las Invisibles de Bruguera', a preview of the 'Report on the situation of women in the comics industry 2025'The presentation will be given by the Director General of Books, Comics and Reading. María José Gálvez, together with the vice president of the Comics Sector, Sara JotaBe, and the secretary of Comic Book Girls, Montse MazorrigaThis work seeks to offer a updated x-ray of the female presence in the creation, editing and other professional fields related to comics.
The commitment to incorporating the gender perspective and the historical review This also translates into other activities associated with Comic Book Day, where the need to recognize hidden authorships, review canons, and broaden the focus to new voices, styles, and themes is emphasized.
Trade shows, conferences and professional meetings: Pachecomic and Futurcomic
Beyond the institutional events in Madrid, the official program of the 4th Comic Book Day It includes key events in other locations. One of them is the comic and manga convention. 'Pachecomic', which is celebrated from March 20 to 22 in San Roque (Cádiz)This event pays tribute to the cartoonist Carlos Pacheco, creator of international renown and one of the most recognized names in recent Spanish comics.
Within the framework of 'Pachecomic', the General Directorate of Books, Comics and Reading is organizing the workshop 'Poetry and Comics. The Generation of '27 in Cartoons', scheduled for Friday, March 20. This activity connects two anniversaries: Comic Book Day and the Day of poetry, which is commemorated on March 21, and proposes that attendees explore the work of the Generation of '27 through the sequential language of comics.
At the same time, in Seville The professional conferences are being held 'Futurcomic', organized with the participation of Mercurio, Jot Down, Hispacómic and the Seville Comic Book FairThese sessions focus on analyzing the future of comic book publishing in Spain, paying special attention to the presence of national production in a globalized and highly competitive market.
The opening of 'Futurcomic' features a speech by the Deputy Director General for the Promotion of Books, Reading and Spanish Literature, Jesus Gonzalezwhich presents the general guidelines for institutional support to the sector. Among the objectives of the meeting are Increase the weight of Spanish-created works in the available catalog, refine internationalization strategies and offer tools to publishers and authors to improve their international projection.
State Museums: workshops, treasure hunts and family comics
The State Museums They also join in the celebration of Comic Book Day with offerings designed for diverse audiences. Madrid, the National Archaeological Museum launches the family treasure hunt 'Hackers of History', which takes place on several dates (March 14, 15, 21 and 22) and uses the language of comics to bring archaeological heritage closer to children and adults in a playful way.
El Cerralbo Museum organizes the youth workshop 'Drawing in the Museum. Comic workshop in Cerralbo', scheduled for March 21. The proposal invites young attendees to explore the museum's galleries and reinterpret its collections through drawing and graphic storytelling, thus fostering a creative relationship with museum collections.
Outside the capital, the National Museum of Roman Art of Mérida program a children's workshop On March 20th, participants can discover aspects of Roman culture through activities linked to the comic strips. Toledo, the Sephardic Museum The workshop is offered on March 22nd. 'Create, draw, tell: comic workshop'designed for young children to experience characters, settings and stories inspired by Sephardic heritage.
The General Archive of the Administration He dedicates a specific space on his website to the cartoonist Antonio Hernández Palacios, one of the great names in 20th-century Spanish realist comics. This digital tribute compiles materials and references that help contextualize his work and place it within the history of Spanish comics.
Film library, academies and media: comics in dialogue with other arts
The commemoration of Comic Book Day extends to other units of the Ministry of Culture and cultural entities working in different but complementary fields. Spanish Film Library has incorporated into the March programming of Dore Cinema the screening, on the 17th, of the film 'The Barefoot Countess', directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz in 1954, framing it within a broader reflection on the relationship between film and comics.
The comic book will be presented before the screening. 'Ava'Published by Astiberri. Its authors, Ana Miralles and Emilio RuizThey will participate in a colloquium alongside cultural journalists such as Diego Salgado and Elisa McCausland, with the purpose of discussing the links between comics and other artistic disciplines, as well as the creative challenges of adaptations and crossovers between formats.
That same March 17, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando hosts a meeting with Candela Sierra, responsible for the official poster for Comic Book Day and winner of the National Comic Book Award for his work 'You know it even though I haven't told you'The event allows the public to learn about his creative process, review his career, and discuss the place of comics in the contemporary art scene.
The echo of the anniversary also reaches the media. The program 'Territory 9' on Radio 3 It moves its March 17 broadcast to the specialized bookstore Generation XLocated in the center of Madrid, this venue hosts a live broadcast featuring authors such as Kenny Ruiz, Verónica Álvarez, Paco Sordo and Pepe LarrazIn addition to a conversation with the booksellers at this comic book shop, admission is free until capacity is reached, making it easy for listeners and readers to join the celebration.
Libraries and universities: bringing comics to new readers
The public and university libraries They also take advantage of Comic Book Day to expand their collections and make them more accessible to the public. The Municipal Library León Gil Organizes, from March 9 to 25, a literary contest aimed at its users, focused on recognizing female comic book characters from yesterday and today from numbered images that are displayed in the library itself.
To participate in this contest, interested parties must identify the characters in the comic stripsWrite down your names and hand in the answer sheet at the library desk or send it by email, indicating your name, surname, and contact telephone number. A prize will be raffled among those who correctly identify all the figures. lot of bookswith a participation deadline of March 25th and the winner announced on March 27th.
In the university field, the Library-CRAI of the Pablo de Olavide University (Seville) promotes a specific activity dedicated to its Comic bookOn Monday, March 16, from 10:00 a.m. to 14:00 p.m., a stand will be set up at the Passage from the Enlightenment, next to the Celestino Mutis building, where A selection of comics is being presented to university students and staff. to encourage them to discover the available funds.
Throughout the morning, those who approach this information point can browse a sample of the more than 600 titles that make up the Comic Library and, if they wish, they can borrow them as if they were in the library itself. The collection includes comics European, Spanish, American, manga and other stylesIn addition to works of theory and criticism on the environment, with special attention to social, environmental and gender equality issues linked to the Sustainable Development Goals.
This type of initiative reinforces the idea of the library as space for continuous access to comicsThis was complemented by actions from the Library Cooperation Council (CCB), which has promoted the creation of a poster dedicated to comic book libraries, commissioned to the author Mauro EntrialgoThe aim is to emphasize the stable presence of comics in library collections and their role as a gateway to reading for different generations.
International projection and support for the Spanish comic book sector
Comic Book Day also serves to highlight the strategy of internationalization of Spanish comics promoted by the General Directorate of Books, Comics and Reading. Within this line of work, the Ministry of Culture provides funding of 30.000 Euros to Comics Sector Association so that it has its own space in the Bologna Book Fair, one of the most important events on the international calendar for children's and young adult books.
Within this framework, the following will be presented: International catalog of comic rights 2026This tool is designed to showcase Spanish production to publishers and agents in other countries, facilitate the purchase of rights, and encourage new translations and co-editions. This catalog brings together works from various Spanish publishers, ranging from graphic novels to children's, young adult, and non-fiction comics.
Participation in fairs of this type allows for organization professional meetings between Spanish publishers and potential partners, to promote specific catalogs and open the door to comic book adaptations in other cultural and audiovisual formats. The goal is for the national comic book sector to gain Visibility and stability in a competitive environmentdiversifying markets and generating new opportunities for authors.
In parallel, events such as 'Futurcomic' and studies on the situation of the sector offer a context for reflection in which diagnoses are shared, business models are reviewed and joint strategies are proposed to strengthen comic book publishing in Spain, both in the printed and digital fields.
The set of activities surrounding the 4th Comic Book Day It shows the extent to which comics have become integrated into the Spanish cultural agenda: from major museums to neighborhood libraries, from universities to specialized bookstores and public media, everyone participates in a celebration that vindicates comics as cultural heritage, space for contemporary creation and educational mediation toolWhile promoting its international projection and paying attention to historical memory and the diversity of voices that shape the ninth art today.
