Florita (magazine)
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Florita was a Spanish girls' comic magazine launched in 1949 by Ediciones Cliper and continued from 1958 by Hispano Americana de Ediciones, running until 1961. It published 590 issues, with the first series spanning issues 1–490 and a second series from 491–590.[1]
Florita was a popular Spanish girls' comic magazine which reflected the emerging modern values of the post‑war middle class and reached a peak circulation of up to 200,000 copies in the late 1950s.[2]
Notable sections
Encouraged by the success of the adventure comic El Coyote (1947), publisher Germán Plaza began experimenting with other genres. He tried humor with Nicolás (1948), and romantic comics for girls with the launch of Florita in 1949.[3]
The magazine was printed in a 26 × 18 cm format[4] with high-quality printing standards.[5] In addition to comic strips, it featured educational sections. Writer Terenci Moix recalled several of them:[6]
| Section title | Translation to english | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Pequeños defectos que debes corregir | “Little defects you should correct” | Civility |
| Creaciones de Florita | “Florita's creations” | Dresses |
| Decoración | “Decoration” | Decorative arts |
| Vidas ejemplares | “Exemplar lifes” | Biographies of famous women |
| Golosinas de Florita | “Florita's candies” | Cooking |
| Florita aconseja | “Florita advises you” | Counseling psychology |
| Detallitos | “Tiny treats” | Gifts |
| Balbuceos | “Babblings” | Photographs of babies |
Comic strips featured
| Year | Issue | Title | Author(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 1 | Florita | [Vicente Roso Ripoll G. (1957) Pérez Fajardo (1958) | – |
| – | – | Belinda | Steve Dowling | British press strip |
| 1949 | 1 | Juanito, Panchita y Dña Cata | Francisco Darnís | – |
| 1949 | 1 | Mopsy | Gladys Parker | U.S. press strip |
| 1949 | 1 | Lalita | Pili Blasco | – |
| 1953 | – | Luisa | Carmen Barbará[7] | – |
| 1954–1958 | – | Jane | Jorge Buxadé | – |
| – | – | Marcela | Jesús Blasco | – |
| – | – | Lizy | – | – |
| – | – | Pilili | Salvador Mestres | – |
| – | – | Maritina | Ripoll G. | – |
| – | – | Rita ya lo sabía | Ripoll G. | – |
| – | – | Rosy | Julio Ribera | – |
| – | – | Mary Angeles es así | Sabatés | – |
| – | – | Dalia y Dora | Dick Brooks | – |
| 1955 | – | Eva y Julieta Jones[8] | Stan Drake | U.S. press strip |
| 1955 | – | Mary-Paz | Gin | Original |
| 1955 | – | Susi | Gin | Original |
| 1957 | – | Lili Hotesse de l'Air | Christian Mathelot | Inspired Lilian, azafata del aire[9] |
Florita became the most popular girls' comic in Spain during the early 1950s,[10] reaching circulation figures of up to 100,000 copies per issue.[3]
In 1952, the magazine received formal authorization from the Dirección General de Prensa (General Directorate of Press) for regular publication, under a new legal framework that governed comic publications in Spain.[11] This new regulation intensified competition, and only the titles that best met the expectations and needs of readers were able to survive.[12]
Florita published a total of 490 issues during its first period.[4]
Second period: 1958–1961
In 1958, the title was acquired by Hispano Americana de Ediciones, which continued publishing Florita for another 100 issues, numbered 491 to 590.[4]
Featured comic strips
| Year | Issue | Title | Author(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | – | Yo te contaré... | Carmen Barbará[7] | – |