The party walls of Valencia are going to cease being simple white walls and become supports for large murals dedicated to Spanish and Valencian comicsThe City Council has launched a permanent urban art route that will bring some of the most recognizable comic book characters to the streets, reinterpreted by contemporary illustrators.
This cultural initiative aims to strengthen the Valencia's identity as a leading city in the ninth art, take advantage of its long comic strip tradition and offer the neighborhood, those visiting the city and cultural tourism a tour that is at once aesthetic, educational and accessible to all audiences.
A permanent route of murals featuring iconic characters
The initiative, promoted by the Department of Cultural Action, Heritage and Cultural Resources, envisions the creation of a permanent route of murals on party walls scattered throughout different neighborhoodsThese surfaces will feature classic figures such as Pumby, Carpanta, Superlópez, Zipi y Zape, Captain Trueno, Mortadelo y Filemón, the Gilda sisters, the Cebolleta family, Anacleto or El Guerrero del Antifaz, among many others.
The aim is that these characters, who for decades have been part of the collective memory through comics, “jump from paper to wall” and integrate into the urban landscapeThe selection combines references to Spanish comics in general with a significant emphasis on series and authors directly linked to Valencia.
As explained by councilor José Luis Moreno, the idea is transform the streets into high-quality cultural tours with comics as the main attractionbringing this language closer to a broad audience, not necessarily regular comic book readers. The route is conceived as an open circuit that can be expanded with new interventions depending on the availability of spaces and future budget.
The intervention has been designed flexibly so that each neighborhood can host different themed itinerariesgenerating specific proposals that engage with the history, character, and social fabric of each area. This envisions a cultural tourism that complements the more conventional approach, focusing on graphic creation and narrative heritage.
Dialogue between classics and contemporary creators
One of the most striking aspects of the project is the generational dialogue it proposes. Characters created by historical authors such as José Escobar, José Sanchis or Francisco Ibáñez They will be reinterpreted by contemporary Valencian illustrators, who will update their aesthetic to make them attractive to the eyes of the contemporary public.
This reinterpretation is not limited to a simple change of graphic style: Today's illustrators will adapt their works to the specific characteristics of each party wall.to the immediate urban environment and the spirit of the neighborhood where the mural is located. Afterwards, urban artists specializing in large-format works will be responsible for transferring these versions to the facades.
In this way, the city will combine the classic legacy of comics with current visual languagesemphasizing that comics continue to evolve and remain a living medium, capable of connecting with new generations without losing its link with those who grew up reading these comics.
Councilman Moreno has defined the initiative as a “A tribute to a universal way of telling stories”The proposal recognizes both Spanish and Valencian creativity, as well as all the generations of readers who have followed these characters for decades. It also aims to dismantle the stereotype that reduces comics to a product exclusively for children.
An open-air museum linked to the Micharmut Comic Centre
The mural route is conceived as a future urban sprawl Micharmut Comic CenterIt will be located in the historic center, in the former Excursionist Center. The city's intention is for this cultural facility to serve as the starting point for the route, which will gradually expand to other neighborhoods.
The Carme neighborhood has been designated as the initial site for the intervention, taking advantage of the concentration of available party walls and their relevance as a historical and cultural areaFrom there, the circuit will be gradually expanded as agreements are reached with homeowners' associations and more resources are allocated to the program.
The City Council has already identified around a dozen party walls seen in the city centermostly privately owned. Contacts have been initiated with the communities to explain the scope of the project, the technical and organizational conditions, and to request the necessary authorizations to work on the walls.
This year, the initiative has a game of 80.000 euros This amount, derived from the VLC Participa 2025-2026 participatory budget, will allow the first interventions to begin and lay the foundations for a project that is conceived without a fixed limit, subject to the funding that may be incorporated in subsequent years.
For the city council, this network of murals should function as a an “open-air museum” that integrates the art of comics into everyday lifeIn the style of European benchmarks such as Brussels or Angoulême, where comics are a visible part of the public space and the cultural offering aimed at both residents and visitors.
More than one hundred selected works and a pedagogical approach
The route design is based on a study commissioned in March 2024 to the Chair of Comic Studies SM Foundation-University of Valencia, co-directed by Álvaro Pons and Noelia Ibarra. The commission consisted of analyzing the most emblematic works and characters of Spanish and Valencian comics to determine which ones could be incorporated into urban art circuits.
As a result, a selection of more than one hundred works and authors which have shaped a unique and enduring iconography in the collective memory. The list covers three major historical periods: 1940-1969, 1970-1999, and 2000-2020, in order to offer a broad view of the medium's evolution and its cultural impact in Spain.
Among the selected titles are “Wrinkles”, by Paco Roca; “We’re All Right”, by Ana Penyas; or the series “13, Rue del Percebe”, by Francisco IbáñezAlong with many other works representing diverse sensibilities, genres, and formats, the intention is to include humorous and adventure comics, as well as memoirs, graphic essays, medical graphic art, and journalistic comics.
The study has paid special attention to the presence of Valencian authorship, which will account for between 30% and 50% of the titles incorporated into the circuit. Likewise, a balance between male and female authors has been sought, and a diverse representation of male and female characters, with explicit attention to the plurality of perspectives and experiences.
Each mural will be accompanied by a technical specifications accessible via QR codeThrough this digital resource, anyone can access information about the author, the plot of the work, the historical context in which it emerged, its sociocultural impact, and a recommended bibliography. The experience is designed as an educational tool suitable for all audiences, from those approaching comics for the first time to specialized fans.
Valencia, a city with a long comic book tradition
The proposal didn't come out of nowhere: Valencia has been a key center of Spanish comics for much of the 20th and 21st centuriesThe presence of publishing houses such as Editorial Valenciana or Editorial Maga helped to consolidate the city as a true capital of comics in the 1940s and 1950s.
Those years produced such popular figures as The Masked Warrior, Pumby, Roberto Alcázar and Pedrín, Purk the Stone Man or the FBI StoriesThese series became icons of popular culture across the country. They helped many generations escape amidst a complex social and political context and have become ingrained in the collective imagination.
In the 80s, the so-called The New Valencian School represented a profound aesthetic renewal on the national and international scene. Authors such as Miguel Calatayud, Mariscal, Sento, Daniel Torres, Manel Gimeno, Micharmut or Mique Beltrán contributed a fresh and colorful style that permeated not only comics, but also posters, graphic design and urban furniture of the city.
That momentum has continued into the 21st century with renowned figures such as Paco Roca, Ana Penyas, Miguel Ángel Giner or Cristina Duránwhose works have received major awards and have helped to project Valencia's image beyond our borders. This historical continuity reinforces the idea of the city as one of the great creative hubs of comics in Europe.
The study by Pons and Ibarra points out that comics, from magazines like TBO or Pulgarcito to current productions, It has been a melting pot of iconographies that have passed into the common imagination, accompanying the cultural changes of Spanish society and demonstrating that cartoons can deal with any subject, beyond children's entertainment.
A transmedia project to break stereotypes
Beyond the purely decorative layer, the mural route is conceived as a multimodal and transmedia project which aims to explore all the possibilities of comics as a language. The intention is to use public space to generate genuine “visual literacy” and show that comics are capable of addressing everything from fantasy and adventure to historical memory, essays, and scientific dissemination.
According to those in charge of the Chair of Comic Studies, the project aims to to project the image of Valencia as a city that values its creativity and uses it as an educational and emotional tool. This approach aligns with an international trend that links the ninth art with fields such as education, graphic medicine, and journalism.
The cartoonist Julia Cejas, author of the explanatory comic for the proposal, has praised the initiative as an opportunity to bring the most outstanding works of comics to the streets and integrate them into the daily lives of citizens. In their opinion, these murals can evoke memories, generate curiosity, and highlight the diversity and quality of the illustrators.
Meanwhile, the City Council insists that the route wants also attract a specific type of cultural tourismInterested in urban art and comics, this initiative joins other European cities that already offer similar circuits. The intention is for the interventions to form a coherent itinerary, where the different works maintain conceptual and visual links with each other.
The initiative was publicly presented at the Nave 3 Ribes Cultural Center, in an event attended by Councillor Moreno and the co-directors of the Chair. numerous representatives of the comic book worldIllustration and graphic designThis reflects the sector's interest in linking itself to a proposal with a commitment to continuity.
With this route of party walls dedicated to comics, Valencia takes another step towards consolidating itself as “city of comics” at a national level and to insert itself into the European map of muralism linked to the ninth artThe unveiling of the first murals, planned thanks to the initial allocation of 80.000 euros and the collaboration of the property owners, will be the litmus test of a project that aspires to grow in the number of works, neighborhoods involved and publics interested in discovering the city through its mural-like vignettes.
