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Ronald Frenz comic

Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas

Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas

At 40, cartoonist Paco Roca has finally achieved his childhood dream — to spend all day at home in his pajamas! However, his blissful, loungewear-clad reverie is beset with a host of mundane problems: He dreads small talk with “the world’s biggest bore,” but his excuses and white lies are finally catching up with him. When good friends breaks up, taking either side could lead to social disaster. The simple mission to change his train ticket descends into an impossibly complicated, Kafkaesque affair. And worst of all, his partner keeps hanging the toilet paper roll the wrong way! In the vein of sitcoms like Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, Roca’s comic vignettes brilliantly satirize the pesky pitfalls of modern-day life. Like most of us, Roca’s alter ego just wants to be liked and to do the right thing, but finds that through crippling indecision, cowardly behavior, and the absurd machinations of the universe, he is usually thwarted. The ensuing situations he finds himself embroiled in are as hilarious as they are often painfully relatable.

The Treasure of the Black Swan

The Treasure of the Black Swan

The Treasure of the Black Swan was adapted into an original television series, La Fortuna, starring Stanley Tucci and debuted in the US on AMC Plus in January 2022.

The House (2019)

The House (2019)

Through flashbacks into each sibling’s memories — the fig trees they grew up climbing, the pergola they never got around to building, the final visits to the hospital — Roca gives us a glimpse into domestic moments of joy, guilt, and disappointment while asking what happens to brothers and sisters when the only person holding the family together is now gone. At once deeply personal (dedicated to Roca’s own deceased father) and entirely universal, The House details the struggle to overcome the past, while still holding onto the memories.

Wrinkles

Wrinkles

Retired bank manager Emilio, suffering from Alzheimer's, is taken to an assisted living home by his son. He befriends his roommate Miguel, an overconfident ladies' man. Together, they employ clever tricks to keep the doctors from noticing Emilio's ongoing deterioration ― and keep him from being transferred to the dreaded confinement of the top floor of the facility. ("Better to die than to end up there." Their determination to stay active as individuals and maintain their dignity culminates in an adventurous escape.

The Winter of the Cartoonist

The Winter of the Cartoonist

A graphic nonfiction story of the five extraordinary cartoonists who decided to rebel in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and WWII. In 1957, Editorial Bruguera was one of Spain's largest publishing houses, putting out hugely popular weekly magazines and comics for young and old ― while retaining all rights and creative control of their artists' work. Spanish comics superstar Paco Roca investigates the true story of five cartoonists who, spurred by poor working conditions, arbitrary editorial edicts, and nationwide dictatorial rule, went on a quest for creative freedom. Little did they know that the corporation had begun actively trying to thwart their distribution and publishing efforts, turning their battle into a real-life David and Goliath tale. The Winter of the Cartoonist provides historical context and short profiles of these artists as they serve as everyday heroes for all of those who have chased a dream, no matter how high the obstacles that stand in front of them.

The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse

Francisco, a wounded, despairing 16-year-old Republican Guard in the Spanish Civil War, attempts to flee to freedom by crossing the French border. In his escape, he encounters a remote lighthouse, far from the warring factions. He is granted shelter by Telmo, the aging operator of the lighthouse. As Francisco recuperates, Telmo's tales of epic adventurers who sailed the lost seas and discovered worlds unknown reignite the spark of life in the young soldier.

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