Spain (aka Manuel) Rodriguez (1940–2012) was among the satiric and absurdist artists in The East Village Other’s ensemble of pioneer underground comix makers. He brilliantly parodied the superhero conceits and created his own mark on the genre, employing the action-pulp drawing style. His main character, “Trashman,” was always clad in leather motorcycle gear and wielded an automatic assault weapon.
Spain’s work ultimately left an indisputable impression on today’s comic strip post-’60s rebels. A feature documentary about Spain, Bad Attitude: The Art of Spain Rodriguez, directed by Susan Stern, will have its New York City premiere tomorrow at the 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival.
The premiere starts at 7:25 p.m. at Cinepolis Chelsea, and Stern will also be on hand for a post-screening Q&A with the audience. Discounted tickets for the premiere can be found here. Tickets for the second screening on Nov. 15 can be found here.
If you are not in NYC, don’t fret. The festival is also screening online. You can stream the doc from the comfort of your home from Nov. 14–28. (Tickets here.)
(And check out the teaser here.)
