Pumby #20
Pumby #20 (11 February 1956) marks a creative turning point in one of the most beloved Spanish children's comic magazines of the twentieth century: it is the issue in which the artist Karpa takes credited authorship of the Cangurito strip and, in doing so, crystallises the supporting cast that would define that feature for decades — specifically establishing Pedrito as Cangurito's named adventure companion (earlier appearances by Sanchis had called the same character 'Molécula' or 'Ardilleto') and fixing Bocazas as the pair's recurring antagonist. The issue sits in the magazine's early biweekly run, just nine months after the debut of a publication that would go on to become, in the judgment of Spanish comics historians, the most important children's tebeo in the country. As part of the broader Pumby universe — a sprawling anthology of anthropomorphic-animal strips produced under Editorial Valenciana's dominant Valencia school — this number illustrates how the magazine's ensemble format allowed individual artists to step forward and give permanent shape to characters that had previously existed in a more fluid, multi-author state.
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The Pumby magazine launched in April 1955 under Editorial Valenciana, a Valencia-based publisher that had become the leading regional comics house and a major national force alongside Barcelona's Editorial Bruguera, operating under the artistic direction of José Soriano Izquierdo. The title character — a cheerful anthropomorphic cat — had been conceived by José Sanchis Grau as early as 1953–1954, first appearing in the sister magazine Jaimito before earning his own anthology title. Issue #20 appeared on the biweekly schedule the magazine maintained until July 1958, when it converted to weekly publication; physically, issues 1–34 (including this one) measured 24 × 17 cm, a smaller format than the enlarged editions that came later.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: 11 February 1956 (confirmed by Tebeosfera's issue-level catalogue).
- Pumby #20 is the issue in which artist Karpa takes over as credited author of the Cangurito strip, a handoff that stabilised the character's core cast going forward.
- In this issue, Cangurito's companion is definitively named Pedrito — earlier Sanchis-written installments had called the same role 'Molécula' (issue #3) and 'Ardilleto' (issue #8), making #20 the point at which the character's name was fixed.
- Bocazas is established as Cangurito and Pedrito's recurring nemesis starting with Karpa's tenure, which begins here.
- The Pumby magazine featured an anthology of anthropomorphic-animal strips drawn by a stable of Valenciana artists; regular contributors across the run included Sanchis (Pumby), Karpa (Cangurito), Edgar (Caperucita Encarnada), Nin (Trompy), Sifré (Peluca), and Cerdán (Plumita), among others.
- Creator José Sanchis Grau (1932–2011) was born and based in Valencia; he had been publishing comics since 1949 and created Pumby while still in his early twenties.
- The Pumby magazine ran for 1,204 numbered issues (1955–1984) plus 44 special extras, and later spawned the companion title Super Pumby (1959) and the Libros Ilustrados reprint album series (1967–1974).
- The magazine won Spain's National Children's Magazine Award three times (1963, 1965, and 1975), and the Pumby strips were later translated and sold in Portuguese, Greek, and French editions — initially without compensating Sanchis, who eventually recovered his authorship rights.