Torres goes on a drinking spree with Lope de Vega and Captain Contreras in 'Sword and Pen', his latest comic.

Year 1624, Madrid during the Golden Age, a time of splendor for thought, culture, and Spanish art. But it was also a time of scoundrels, rogues, adventurers, comedians, and drunkards. In this context, Captain Alonso de Contreras and the poet Lope de Vega met, with the military man staying at the poet's house. This relationship is the basis for 'Sword and Pen,' the latest comic by the author from Malaga, Juan Antonio Torres, known as 'El Torres', who co-authored this adventure with Jorge Esteban Urabayen.

The project emerged from a commission by Cascaborra Ediciones, who wanted the scriptwriter from Malaga, a reference in national comics with a notable international trajectory, to create a work for their collection 'History of Spain in Panels.' The initial proposal was to make a comic about the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, but El Torres already had another story in mind: "During a visit to the Lope de Vega House Museum I learned about Alonso de Contreras and was hooked," he explains in a conversation with this newspaper. "I convinced them to tell the story of when Captain Contreras meets Lope de Vega, a night of revelry between the two, the Barrio de Las Letras, and everything around it: Lope, Cervantes, Quevedo, Góngora, battles, anecdotes, theater..."

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Many elements to create a vibrant story, very adapted to the language of comics. "What Jorge and I were clear about was that we didn't want to make a biography with data, we wanted to play with the language of the panels, talk about theater within the comic and make everything as believable as possible, with the language, Caravaggio-like lighting, and the portrayal of the actors as ugly, dirty, unshaven people...," the author explains. This search for verisimilitude involved detailed research and documentation to realistically depict Madrid of the era. In the texts, the book 'Discurso de mi Vida' written by Alonso de Contreras himself and a doctoral thesis on the same were of great help. The comic also includes poems by Lope de Vega and excerpts from his play 'Fuenteovejuna'.

The work took a while to get off the ground, as both professionals had other projects to advance - "you know, in this world you have to juggle three or four projects in the air" - but finally, 'Sword and Pen' hit the market just a few weeks ago.

• Title: 'Sword and Pen. Captain Contreras and Lope de Vega'

• Authors: El Torres and Jorge Esteban Urabayen

• Publisher: Cascaborra

• Price: Around 16-17 euros

For El Torres, this work also serves to reclaim our history as a great breeding ground for creating fiction. "Anyone can read it, but I think 'Sword and Pen' will be very interesting for those who are interested in our history, the golden age, or theater. Also for stories of drunkards that start with bravado and end with a celebration of friendship," he states. In the midst of the book's promotional tour, the event in Malaga is this week: it will be this Wednesday the 26th, at 19:00, at the Luces bookstore in Malaga capital, with the writer David B. Gil. An essential event for any comic book lover.

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