Every 17 March, Spain celebrates the Day of Comics and Graphic Novels (Día del Cómic y del Tebeo), an initiative launched in 2022 to recognise the cultural, historical, and creative value of comics, as well as their growing relevance today. The date pays tribute to the legendary magazine TBO, first published in 1917, which gave its name to the Spanish tradition of comic storytelling.

At the Guillermo & Michèle de la Dehesa Library, our comic collection may be small, but it reflects something essential: our commitment to diverse formats of knowledge, visual storytelling, and interdisciplinary thinking. Comics are not just entertainment; they are a powerful medium to explore history, architecture, science, and social change.

Our selection includes titles that embody this philosophy:

• Sapiens: A Graphic History offers an accessible and visually engaging journey through human history.
• Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud explores how comics work as a language and form of expression.
• Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World highlights inspiring stories of women who shaped history.
• The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt: Empire, Disease, and Modernity in French Colonial Vietnam blends graphic narrative with historical research, showing how comics can communicate complex academic topics.
• Mies presents the life and work of Mies van der Rohe through a visual narrative.
• Yes is More: An Archicomic on Architectural Evolution connects comics with architecture and design thinking.

These works demonstrate how graphic narratives can simplify complexity, foster creativity, and open new ways of understanding the world, values that are at the core of IEU Library.

On this Comic Day, we invite our community to explore these titles through our Library Catalog and discover how comics can enrich research, learning, and curiosity.