Presentation

Art as an aesthetic practice of men is positioned under the heterogeneous.

umbrellas of the social superstructure, where the symbolic systems allow for the
representation not only of a psychic reality but of the manifest social reality
through various means of communication.

The objective of this monographic work is to analyze the shock in the

meaning effect of a text product of the transposition of a device
scriptural and canonical, to another comic-related and associated with the rise of the media
mass communication. Homer's 'The Iliad', a mirror of Ancient Greece, narrates
struggles and resentments but ultimately constitutes a song to universal pain. For its
, The Iliad in its version "The Classics in Balloon" by Roberto Fontanarrosa sings
with another voice and another tone if one desires to be transgressive, the classic melody, but in

absolute complicity with the Argentine reader. This one receives the sublime text until
then reserved for elites, while at the same time 'their national being' is who has
has been rescued through nostalgia and memory.

The axis of analysis finds support in the theoretical elaborations of Oscar

Traversa and Oscar Steinberg about the multiple transpositive possibilities in
regarding the reinterpretation of perspectives towards texts.

The variation in the construction of meanings in relation to will then be seen.

figure of the hero, Greek and overwhelming, earthly or divine in the first case, Argentine,
tanguero and player in the second. Song and counter-song, although mixed by the
phenomenon of transposition, both aim to provide a socio-cultural framework
to subjects that are always historical while being universal.
 2

Semiosis

Everything that can be, is

Since ancient times, human groups have relied on both the

verbal language as well as other activities, for example understood as language
graph, for the purposes of participation and installation in social life, thus forging a
connective and mobile tissue that relates different areas of communication to
time that cohesively unites the social group into a whole.

The social production of meaning in the hands of the whole implies exchanges and
restrictions understood as asymmetric operations that are rooted in the
sphere of production and reception1of a message that is permanent
substitute transit2requires as a sine qua non condition a material support that
make possible the exchange and circulation of such materiality of meaning
any social discourse.

In this way, textual sets allow cognitive operations.

differentiated that model the construction of different worlds, modified in the
time, as often happens in any aesthetic practice that never remains indifferent to the
inclusion of interlaced techniques on a device in compliance with its role
linking. This results in making procedures available that recreate a
new meaning for the social actors immersed in new relationships as well
linking.

It is in this frequent transit that the space where the phenomenon of the
transpositions. The passage from one material support to another has allowed circulation through
example from narrative sequence to visual, as demonstrated by the comic strip or the
photo novel since the last third of the 19th century, a moment when it begins to
a growth curve is manifested in terms of transpositions thanks
to the emergence of technical artifacts with the consequent mediation of society.

The change in the signifying materiality is then manifested in

relation to a change of scale, in terms of possibilities for social reach of
those things that were previously restricted and that maybe would have
continued banned from having existed the transpositive phenomenon, and rupture of
scale, understood not only as a quantitative modification allowed by the installation
media of the transposed text but as a new form of relationship with the object3.
1
Kerbrat Orecchioni, C.
2
Oscar Traversa, "Three Observations on the Notion of Device", Theoretical Class 30.08.2010
3
Oscars Traverso, 'Ten Observations on Transposition', Theoretical Class of 11.08.2010
 3

Relationship that changes those cognitive and emotional relationships maintained until
so with the text, since they modify the rules within the system, they
transitions from the rhetorical procedures of language to those specific to the image.

In summary, the actors are repositioned within the culture for the purposes of
an infinite semiosis in the Peircean sense4and in constant search for completeness.

The song

First transposition: The Iliad has transitioned from oral culture, belonging to
common culture of the Greek peoples around the 9th century B.C., to another script,
becoming one of the supreme legacies for humanity, as it us
we are faced with the oldest poem in Western literature. It reminds us of Eric
Havelock in 'The Muse Learns to Write', which is from the appearance of the
writing as a term of confrontation, which we have access to the instance of
primary orality, devoid of any contact with the written record. canonical work,
belonging to the epic saga, The Iliad reaches us through the mouth of the rhapsode
Homer (from Greek: the one who does not see) allows throughout 15,693 verses that
their ode composes the access to that fundamentally spoken Greek universe.

Now following Benveniste as well as Kerbrat O. we understand that

the enunciation is the act of producing a statement, from this it follows that
In reality, what can be studied is the product, that is, the statement and not the ...
production of the same. Therefore, the traces of the act will remain to be identified in that
product, that is, the indications of subjectivity in the statement that allow for accounting
who is the subject of the enunciation. Thus in the written text of the poem there can be
to parse the traces that refer us to a situated enunciating subject in the word
speaking as a builder of social discourse. Different elements are put into operation.
acoustic elements such as adjectives, interjections, the use of vocatives and epithets.
In the case of adjectives, they appear at the beginning of some speeches producing
rhythm and pleasure while soaking the scenes with a certain bitterness not for that reason

making them less beautiful: ("Unfortunate one, what grave offenses do Priam and his
children?” Song IV – “Fool! Before the fateful day came to Patroclus, it was pleasing to me
"to refrain from killing the Teucrians" (Song XXI). The interjection, for its part, is
used to impose value on the warriors, meaning in terms of resolution and
will so necessary for the war that is narrated: (Ea! Charge Teucers

4
Oscar Traversa, "Carmen, the one with the transpositions", U.B.A., Buenos Aires, 1995, Page 48
 4

magnanimous, the strongest of the Achaeans is wounded” Song V - “Come, slaves,

tell me the truth" (Song VI). But it is the epithets that have crossed the centuries.
as will be seen later, characterizing each god or warrior; for the moment
we will present the characteristics of each faction 'Achaeans of beautiful greaves' against

“Teucros, horse tamers.” They deserve mention, even if it is small.

call to the Muses, daughters of Mnemosyne, precisely so that they may record in their
remember the main events and carry out the respective transmission
Tell me, Muses, who possess Olympic palaces, how did he fall for the first time?
fire in the Achaean ships.” Song XVI), as well as the comparisons of attitudes
passionate men with the forces of Nature, which still remains very
near the man of the archaic society in the midst of the development of technology
to master it ("Like the bees that have nested in a rugged path and do not
they abandon their abode as the hunters approach, thus they do not want to retreat from
the doors while they do not perish..."Song XII). Moreover, it illuminates the structure
narrative a balance between the episodes contributed by the use of an action language
that permanently positions its agents, be they gods or men, as
protagonists of the story. At this point, we should not forget the exemplary act.
for the society that contributes the myth of the epic. Ultimately, the poem yes
well it has as its backbone the narration of the final part of the Trojan War,
we have said its meaning lies in the value of reconciliation and peace.

In order to properly understand the transpositive phenomenon that is

The following will analyze, with some detail, the storyline of the text.
source, accepting as initial knowledge that in every war there are underlying issues

confrontations from the economic point of view and in this particular war the
dishonor pronounced upon a man, by a woman. Helen of Troy, considered the most
beautiful Helen of Troy betrays her husband Menelaus, brother of Agamemnon the Atreid.
fleeing alongside Paris towards Troy while providing the Achaean kingdom with the excuse
suitable for starting the conquest expedition.

"It will be disastrous and unbearable what will happen if you dispute over the
mortals and you promote uproar among the gods…" (Song I: Plague-Cholera)

The Iliad (from the Greek Ilion: Troy) manifests its purpose right from the beginning.
first and necessary to sing of the wrath of Achilles and its consequences, since
With his resentment and hatred, the hero harms the integrity of the social group to which he belongs.

The preliminary invocation to the Muse, patroness of verses and musicality of

the same demonstrates it: ("Sing, Muse, the wrath of Achilles, the son of Peleus, wrath
 5

fateful that caused countless evils to the Achaeans and plunged many souls into the Underworld

valiant roses of heroes..." Song I).

The poem opens with a grand scene whose temporal framework corresponds to the
culminating point of the tenth year of the Trojan War. An old priest of Apollo,
Crisis comes before the Greek king Agamemnon to beg for the release of his daughter,
Cressida, taken as part of the spoils in one of the campaigns to the Asian territory.
But Agamemnon Atrides, king of men, proud and greedy, refuses to yield to the
woman, whom he retains as part of his property and for whom he rejects a brave one
...old age will come upon me in my house...working at the loom and sharing
my bed...Song I). Crises, although terrified in his heart by the insults
received, feels hatred and helplessness as both a father and an elder.

Anger settles in history because of this seemingly insignificant act,

where all the action of the poem takes place. Crises implores justice and revenge ('Let them pay the

"give me your tears with your arrows" Song I) welcoming the vengeful god Apollo,
cruel, who responds to the plea with a plague: ("...but then directed his deadly
arrows at the men and there were many pyres of corpses continuously burning.
Achilles who calls the people to the assembly and through the mouth of the seer Calchas learns the

the reason for Apollo's anger translated in the punishment that devastates the Greeks. To appease
Divinity means returning Chryseis. Returning Chryseis means yielding power.
Agamemnon, blinded by his position, refuses to give up his slave, provoking
so the conflict with Achilles whom in tacit punishment for confronting him
publicly asks to hand over in exchange for his loot, the slave Briseis. The discussion heats up
Such violence that Achilles, filled with rage, tries to kill the king and although he succeeds

to repress oneself, he breaks down in an inconsolable cry, his honor has been violated.
from Peleo, unrelenting in his anger, he again scorned the Atrida with injurious words...
Song I)

This discussion between kings also serves the poet to show the disagreement.
political figure of a town regarding its ruler, a topic that, although it remains as
background throughout history, yet it remains opaque: (“Glorious Atrides, the
most greedy of all... insolent king devourer of your people... you only command to
abject men... this would be your last outrage... Song I).

Then Discord, penetrating among the crowd, threw down the challenge
"fateful for all..." (Canto IV: Violation of the oaths)
 6

Soothing by the goddess Minerva, sent by Juno, wife of Jupiter, receives

Achilles the imperative that will cross the songs more than once: 'Control yourself' ('For this
outrage, you will be offered splendid and triple gifts one day. Restrain yourself and obey us.
Canto I). "The godlike Achilles", later, takes refuge with his mother, the goddess Thetis.
who implores begs Jupiter for the punishment of Agamemnon granting victory to the
Teucer will then be compelled to ask him to return to battle. And although
this completed request will provoke discord between Jupiter and Juno, since
different towns defend, manage to find the gods peace in the bed while in the
earth the seed of discord has been sown. In this way the first song gives
beginning "in media res" (from Greek; in the middle of the thing) to the poem with the formulation
initial of the theme, the desertion of Achilles in battle as well as the presentation of the
gods who will actively intervene in the action.

A solemn moment then installs the tension through the first deception.
What is put into operation: Jupiter communicates to Agamemnon through a dream.
the unavoidable surrender of Troy, so that its army can prepare to enter
again in battle. The Muses are summoned as witnesses of the extensive
enumeration of ships and main leaders both Achaean and Trojan. Both
hosts advance face to face; Achaeans, under the orders of Menelaus, 'brave in the
"fight" and outraged husband and Ulysses, "destroyer of cities", the Teucrians, in command of
beautiful Paris, and Hector, "with trembling helmet" both sons of Priam, king of Troy.
Gods and warriors are wrapped in treacherous arrows and miraculous mists, so it is
demonstrates the Song V: “Principalía of Diomedes,” entirely dedicated to this
fierce warrior who launches fiercely against the Trojan lines without finding any restraint
In his attack ("Cobra ánimos Diomedes and fights with the Teucrians, I have already instilled in you...

breast the intrepid valor..." Song V). Pallas Minerva, defender of the Achaeans fights.
beside him as she victoriously charges against Venus and Mars, who appear wounded
forced to return to Olympus.

They are not absent in the poem, as a way to close the first third in which Achilles has
completely disappeared and as a link that softens the violence narrated up to this point,
the words of love between Hector and his wife Hecuba in the context of the last
conversation they will hold, filled with ominous omens; for just in the Song
XXIV, you will see him again but as a corpse(“…you will feel a new sorrow at seeing yourself without him

man who could free you from slavery..." "Hector extended his arms to his son
while the beloved wife smiled with her face bathed in tears” Song VI), neither the
supplications for protection to the gods by the mouths of Trojan women.
 7

When opposing divinity, man fights with a protected warrior.

"By some god, a grave harm soon befalls him" (Song XVII: Principalía of
Menelaus

The period corresponding to the 9th-8th centuries B.C., a time when it can
registering the Homeric work finds the gods much closer to men, more
specifically of the kings, note on purpose that it coincides with the political institution
from the monarchy, which could lead one to think of a co-governance of kings-gods. Be
accompanying the military leaders in the battles ("Thus the glorious Tritogenia, daughter
of Jupiter, the Achaean army was marching and encouraging the hesitant" Song IV)
defining them then in favor of one community or another or transfiguring into
humans to interfere in earthly actions (‘...and Minerva, taking the form and the
the voice of the tireless Deiphobus reached Hector and said to him... Song XXII) just as they fight

they harm themselves ("...but Minerva, pointing to the side of the god, tore with
the beautiful complexion of Mars" Song V) the Homeric gods are distributed
powers, honors, resentments and hatreds, it is worth saying that the motives that drive them in

they do not differ from those passions that govern humans.

While a different attitude can be found in the deities of the period

corresponding to Classical Greece, 5th century, coinciding with the institutions of the
Republic, in which the gods appear further away from man, only deliver to him the
to be born a portion of fate known as moira making everything that happens
outside of what they predestined, it becomes the tragic action and peripeteia of the hero.
You can notice in both cases that the gods enact the blindness of man.
Consider the effects of blindness the pride that was seen earlier in the
Atrida Agamemnon refusing to return the woman acquired as spoils. Another
an example is provided by the absolute silence in which Achilles is enclosed, 'he of the swift feet'

"light" as recounted in canto IX where Agamemnon, at the cost of humiliating himself and in
offer a reward not to be underestimated, send an embassy that turns out to be unsuccessful,
asking the hero to return to the fight since the Greeks have been completely defeated
danger. However, it is the grim gesture of arrogance and pride the response to the
...I will neither deliberate nor do anything with him, and if he deceived and offended me, no longer...

he will deceive me with his words... run calmly to your perdition...” Song IX.

When the reader stops at this rejection of Achilles, one can observe the
contradiction that Homer brings to light as this attitude contrasts with the
wishes to be known as solicitous, from the leader of the Myrmidons expressed in the first song.
But it can be assumed that if the hero had been consistent with them, the meaning
the poem would have been altered and perhaps even lost. The persistence of the
 8

I find myself in a continuous crescendo for tragic actions to unfold and explode.
dressed in blood and beauty.

But always the thought of Jupiter is more effective than that of men...
(Canto XVI: Patroclea)

The Achaean wall is soon broken by the Teucers and at the command of Jupiter, they
they begin to burn those ships mercilessly. Sovereign Jove has forbidden his
see the intervention of the gods in the fight ("And he no longer set his eyes on
Troy because her heart did not fear that any immortal would come to help either.
"the Teucrians and the Danaans" (Song XIII),only those will dare to disobey and challenge him.
brother Neptune, although subtly since having been born first he owes
respect and submission and his wife Juno. The 'venerable Juno, with snowy arms' resorts
to her feminine charms to attract her husband into her arms and then with the help
of Dream, brother of Death, to give an advantage in combat to the Argives. An advantage that
lasts until the Father of all gods awakens and rearranges the scene to his
will("Juno malevolent and incorrigible, you have made Hector stop fighting and
that their troops fled" Song XV), the triumph returns to the hands of the
Trojans, the Achaean resistance embodied in the ferocity of Ajax Telamon appears.
totally crushed.

It is in these exalted circumstances that Patroclus, a faithful friend and companion

Achilles' beloved begs the hero to lead the rest of the Myrmidons into battle.
using your armor('Send me with the other Myrmidons, in case I become the
aurora of the salvation of the Danaans and allow me to be covered with your armor thus
teucros confuse me with you" (Song XVI). A long ceremony crowns the departure of
Patroclus, followed by the horses, immortal Xanthus and Balios and the mortal Pedasos, to
that anyway at the hands of Hector, accompanied by the archer Apollo,
find your death ("And when, like a god, you charged, oh Patroclus,
fourth time, it was clearly seen that you were already reaching the end of your life… "Song XVI). Fierce

it is the battle around the body of the young Myrmidon, dragged through the dust, Ajax and
Menelaus implores divine aid. The dire news reaches Achilles who no longer
needs nothing more to unleash her pain and her hatred ("May I die on the spot already
that I could not help my friend when he was killed, he has perished far from his country...
the death of Patroclus manages to mobilize the previously unmovable hero, who from here
In more, he will only be able to breathe revenge in his tormented soul. Wrapped in a
shining armor and protected by a shield that deserves the extensive description of
poet, engraved work of Vulcan with flames above his head that he would place
 9

Minerva rises on the battlefield, laying aside anger and beginning to give
death to any Teucer who dared to confront him (...and Achilles leaped into the river as if
he was a deity, with only the sword and meditating on cruel actions in his heart...
Song XXI).

Jupiter then summons the final council of the gods in the poem allowing that
each one takes sides with whoever they wish, since the fury of Achilles is so immense.
What contrary case would he alone destroy the whole Ilium. King Priam orders to open the
city gates to shelter its men, only Hector remains outside to
wait for the light-footed one in the final battle ('The Teucrians sheltered in the city
like cervatos... the ominous fate only stopped Hector so that he would stay outside of
Ilion..." Song XXII. Sovereign Jove took that day the golden scale to know about
who would correspond to death, and it leaned towards the one with the trembling helmet (…only
the neck and throat were left exposed, the place where it comes out the fastest.
soul, there the divine Achilles wrapped the spear to Hector... (Song XXII). However
Achilles, consumed by resentment, not satisfied with having killed Hector,
he tortured even with the body of his enemy, before the desperate eyes of Priam and his
family and just as he would have done with his dear Patroclus, he dragged him through the dust
again and again(“…he immediately saw that the swift horses were dragging the corpse of
Héctor outside the city..." Song XXII. A new divine intervention will be necessary
so that the Pelida is moved by the plea of the old king who dares to enter into
the Achaean camp in claiming the body of his son ('Hand it over to me so that I
"behold with my eyes and receive this abundant ransom..." (Song XXIV). Achilles yields,
the tears invade both characters, each now has a corpse and a
funeral as an instance of tribute ("Achilles, as I bid farewell to the black ships, I
he promised not to cause us harm until the twelfth dawn...
This scene corresponds to Canto XXIV, the last of the poem and in counterpoint to the
first dominated by hatred, closes with the peace of bitter enemies.

The Iliad then becomes a complete, closed universe governed by its

own laws, whose effect of meaning could not be summarized in a succession of
warrior narratives full of harshness that two armies carry out to achieve
the liberation of a woman, neither by the ambition of a king in his eagerness to conquer
to possess new lands under his domain. On the contrary, Homer has gone much further
Far away, it has managed to reflect the complexity of human existence in twenty-four songs.
with its greatness and its miseries. Calm can only be the result of struggle.
intestinal and painful, corresponding to the sphere of the public as a consequence
of a social practice as of the private, the result of all laid down anger.
 10

The transit

"Transpositions do not return to what is written, what is written above, without ceasing, to the

transpositions (Oscar Traversa)

The social operation of changing support has become a constant phenomenon of

the culture in which texts, media, and languages exchange rules, spaces and
rhetorics. A new textual production arises with each transposition and brings along
a significant variation as a consequence of the different ways of
representation that is put into motion5.
The change of support and the new procedures thus shock the
structure of the source text since what supports change is matter
significant. By trying to refine the concept of significant matter, we understand that
it is the portion of perceptual matter that always implies a change in conditions
of the production of social discourse6In the proposed case for analysis, we will observe
clearly a logic of rupture within such conditions. From the plausible
artistic-narrative configured poetically as seen, around
reiterations and particular rhythms transition to the overflowing transposed narration of
images and words supported by colloquial turns as well as humor,
they fracture the original meaning. However, there are also partial parallels in what
which the poetic operation refers to, a first example shows us two rhapsodists, two
Homer, both blind singers. 'Homer' then becomes a polyphonic voice, it is
that poet of the 9th century, is the drawn rhapsodist who parodies with a guitar in hand and is

Sad Milonga

Homero Manzi, Argentine composer, nothing less than the forger of popular poetry
of national identity and a key piece in the oral culture: tango.
To support the theory of the logic of breaks and parallels as
components of the products of the transposition we review the thesis of 'autonomy'
of aesthetic substance”, accepted by Benveniste in principle: the products
aesthetic aspects belonging to systems with significant units such as language, even
those that operate through iconic signs have their own significance beyond
5
Traversa Oscar, "Carmen, the one of the transpositions", [Link].
Steimberg Oscar, 'Book and Transposition'
6
 11

the signs they use, which allows us to think that art would not involve
an identical convention between two speeches. However, he himself later proposes the
relativization of your thesis7to claim that the real problem of the
transposition as a phenomenon of discursive circulation rooted in the paradox that
it should be accepted as part of its composition: while it entails
"direct equivalences" highlights "deviations and differences"8From what has been presented
we conclude that the 'principle of comparison' will certainly be central to the
effects of understanding the two cultural objects that are placed in relation to
contiguity will show its differences, the basis on which the production of
sense9.
To that effect, we should first focus on a macro perspective.
comprehensive to account for in terms of Eliseo de Verón10the recognition of
"epoch" always attentive to the conditions of production both of the discourses as
of the social imagination. Cultural distance opens the gap unreservedly, of the device of
book and Greek rhetoric to the novel construction of the statement mixed between
word and drawing, the comic strip. Hierarchy distributed between its two constituents that without
The embargo in Fontanarrosa's hands seems to fall into some imbalance given the humor.
literary tan through which one could do without some image without losing it
the comedic effect.

Greek-Argentinian literary humor

Insert in defined historical circumstances we find 'The Classics in Balloon'

published in second edition back in 1990, let us remember that it has just begun
In Argentina, what will later be known as 'the Menem decade' which implies the
strengthening of the system of government with the consequent solidity in the
democratization of culture and the dissemination of knowledge to all
social layers11. The comic appears as a social indicator of a culture of
masses, which requires a totally active and complex relationship between text and reader, from

7
Benveniste analyzes medieval painting in light of certain conventions such as themes.
represented as well as the syntax rules used
8
Traversa Oscar, 'Carmen...' Op. Cit., Page 49
9
Traversa Oscar, "Ten observations..." Op. Cit.
10
Verón Eliseo, "Graphic Press and Theory of Social Discourses", Barcelona, Gedisa, 2004
11
Spanish Santiago, Class corresponding to Practical Work, 16.11.2010
 12

the psychological and ideological determinations12up to aesthetic and literary pleasure. In

Coquena Group Editorial, a publishing house dedicated to educational publications and
for the Quirquincho Books collection, we can understand that the binomial
The comic for the youth audience works, especially considering that this 'Iliad' does not
counts and much less shows bloody episodes of a war, of spears that
they enter and slice clavicles to finally roll corpses in the Greek dust.
Thus, its meaning summarizes in the decade of the '90s to 'a classic in the hands of a
"classic"; the Iliad in the pencil of the "Negro" cartoonist Fontanarrosa, an icon of identity
national, by that point, tastes of affectionate rescue, of parodied salvation from
that endless chant.

However, if we invite our macro perspective to pause on one of the

paratexts that appear in such publication we find the proposal of
go back another decade. In 1980, Ediciones de La Flor presents 'The classics in
"globo" in the context of "The classics according to Fontanarrosa", still continues what will be the

last de facto government of Argentina, censorship in the mass media

it remains the sinister vedette. It is an edition that, in the midst of the dictatorship, is covered with

the shield of Achilles as 'a classic', but it really seems to evoke what one
has lost the freedom of expression and with it the 'national being', sensitive and with
collective consciousness. Tracing the conditions of production of this version of The
Iliad that was Homeric and then bequeathed, we know that its very first appearance
corresponds to the mythical political humor magazine 'Satiricón' that existed between the years 1972 and

1974, the date when it was closed by the government of Isabel Perón, reached the
200,000 copies sold, proof of the success of that unrestrained mockery of life.
Argentinian politics. Thus we can verify that the comic appears as a parable of
the society, which has the strength of ideological narrative since it is a genre, as
Oscar Steimberg reminds us13that supported by its realistic trend appeals
constantly to the reader to whom it offers 'mediated representations of reality'
by the style of the illustrator that then shapes his narrative manner.
the author informs us of some particularities of Argentine comics
regarding the paratexts that used to accompany them, also included in the material
let's analyze, but let's briefly look at the differences between the generic model and
the one proposed by Ediciones de La Flor, later recovered intact by Editorial Coquena.
In Latin America, it was common for comics to include advertising material for
generally with the function of underestimating the public by inviting them, for example, to consume

from a mail course, however in our object of analysis we can observe

Kerbrat Orecchioni, "On Subjectivity in Language", Op. Cit.

12

Steimberg Oscar, "Reading Comics", Buenos Aires, Nueva Visión, 1977, p. 42

13
 13

that paratexts, although external materials, share the language and the manner
graph of the content at the time they attempt the historiographic recomposition of the
Argentine comic that around 1950 was experiencing the peak of the genre, without failing to mention

for critical but rigorous analytical comments on that comic strip discourse that
he prayed from more than half a century away to break with his only 'condition of
entertainment14.

Paratexts in the publications of "Satiricón", Ediciones de la Flor and Editorial Coquena

We review the discursive instance in this way at a paradigmatic level, but

clearly anchored in the framework of historicity, from which we think may
to apprehend the sense mutations as a consequence of the transposition that
It functions as a link between Hellenic culture and today's popular culture.
We will now bring the magnifying glass closer to the phrase in order to grasp every small feature.

of humor and try to translate it from 'accessories of symbolic essence'15for

outline in this way the process of identification with certain traits of the
certainly internalized characters16, as recognition indices largely
from the Argentine social imaginary. Reception as if it were a children's story
as presented by the publication of Coquena Grupo Editor, the Iliad in balloon does not annul
not at all the enjoyment of a lucid reading capable of encompassing the narrative fact in its
full form.

The balloons

The parody is the daughter of the rhapsody and vice versa (Escalígero)
We have said that the comic strip through the incorporation of certain
motorized narrative techniques not only drive a very particular narrative form but also set

Ibid. Pages 33 and 49

14
15
Ibid. Page 24: "Reading in pictures"
Ibid. Page 27: "To be superman"
16
 14

in act a historical motive, the Trojan War, presenting it within the

parameters of humor. In terms of transposition, we find ourselves within what
Gerard Genette17he calls 'hypertextuality' what he defines as 'all relationship
that links a text B (hypertext) to a previous text A (hypotext) in which it is inserted...
evoking it more or less explicitly and without which text B could not at all
exist. To this definition of hypertextual practice, the author adds the socio- function
cultural present in every device change and that responds to a social demand
often associated with commercial purposes, as well as aesthetic function,
exclusively creative in which it is supported, in our case the draftsman, to give
freedom to its artistic sensitivity. It also distinguishes two types of transformations.
possibilities for addressing hypertext, one of them, defined as 'simple', consists of
transpose characters and action schemes to another space-time situation; a
the second way in which it describes as "complex" tells a totally different story
distinct but generating a mimetic performance that refers us to the concept of
"imitation". Taking this classification as a reference, we understand that the Iliad of
Fontanarrosa, hypertext in relation to that of the Greek poet, hypotext, would appear as
an oscillation between both described transformations. While it maintains a
line of action and relationship between characters, although we will expand to
continuation with ellipses and cuts, will often imitate the epic style that
he will also know how to erase at the end of a joke.

In any case, the enunciation that distorts the canonical 'The Iliad' is established within

of the parameters of the 'parody' present in the Aristotelian system of genres

poetic as a narrative action of low moral or social dignity but that
etymologically it appears as "song to the side or in counterpoint" (from ode: song and
para: next to). In this regard, Genette continues to remind us that with respect to the
epic text the rhapsodist could simply modify the traditional diction or the
musical accompaniment with what could generate the shift towards a meaning
comedic, parodic. In our comic strip, we will find the comedic component not so much
as it mocks the epic, an example of a noble genre, but rather as it mocks the very thing itself

Genette Gerard, "Palimpsests - Literature in the Second Degree", Paris, Seuil, 1982, p. 14
17
 15

Argentine identity, built not always on the basis of great gestures of

nobility.

Argentinian custom at the international level is invariable over time.

At the narrative level, we have outlined varying degrees of transformation.

since the refictionalization through the image in succession puts in
functioning of the psyche capable of reorganizing the statements. The parody is linked
with different rhetorical procedures that allow for the juxtaposition of both works in the
reader's mind. We will review some of these procedures next.

Tango as intertext
We understand intertextuality as the relationship of co-presence between two or
more texts, in a simpler way like "a text in another." Michael Rifaterre18
it further expands the concept by stating that: "intertextuality is the mechanism inherent to
literary reading... indeed, only it produces significance.” He also insists on
that the intertextual 'trace' is at the level of detail, that is, at the micro level
semantic-stylistic structure, in other words at the level of the phrase for which
can be resorted to the allusion: "statement whose full understanding implies the
perception of your relationship with another statement to which this or that necessarily refers

of its inflections, not perceivable in any other way19.

Four are the selected tangos belonging to the rhapsodist of our
the era of Homero Manzi, everyone sings in unison some sorrow since the

Permanent dissatisfaction is a central component of tango, ultimately an oral narrative.20.

The sadness and despair caused by the death of a young woman in the case of
Sad milonga, the memory of a lost passion in the passage from youth to
Adulthood appears in 'Malena', nostalgia as the balance of dead dreams and the weight of
past that life took away in "Sur" while "Che bandoneón" points to piety
for the pain of others. But setting aside the individuation of meaning proposed by each
one, we know that in tango the emotionally restricted man opens up allowing
18
...in 'Palimpsests...' Op. Cit., Page 10, selection of the chair
Genette Gerard, Op. Cit., Page 10
19

Castilian Santiago, Class corresponding to Practical Work, 02.11.2010

20
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laid bare the depth of his suffering. We could interpret that thanks to the
Rapsoda Homer of the comic many heroes of the ancient kingdom to whom it was
forbidden to cry for their dead find liberation from their inner self: ("The great
Priam did not allow the Teucrians to weep; they did so in silence and with heavy hearts,
they piled the corpses on the pyre, burned them, and silently returned to the
sacred Ilium" Song VII). But it is the reader of the comic strip who feels summoned in
tango as a subject of popular reflection to approach the meaning of life and
death shortening all distance with the original text, as well as through
the letters present an allusion to the Hellenic world.

Che Bandoneón "Sur" (1948)

Homero Manzi

Modification of the text structure and marks of enunciation

The Iliad by Fontanarrosa composed of a total of 36 vignettes can
divided in turn into six separate sequences, each separated by each of the
seven entrances of the rhapsodist with a fragment of tango on his zither. Each one of
these sung entries will allow for the delineation of both a temporal and narrative ellipsis
of the actions. We know that any parodic procedure underscores certain
elements to get rid of others, making the comic something more lax
what other literary formats when it comes to constructing the plausible although always
it remains close enough to the parodied text. By the way, it can be observed
that the element to accompany the melody is a zither instead of a guitar,
associated first with divine chants, distant from man that paradoxically will serve
as a backdrop of earthly anguish: "Sparta and Ancient Troy... lost heaven..."
6th entrance – 'Nostalgias of the things that have passed/Athens that life took away...' vignette
final).
Also begun “in media res” as its hypotext provides the reader with the framework of
situation of the Trojan War announcing the central theme: the refusal to fight
Achilles lost in his rage, which is not mentioned in this first sequence.
Framed in parodied fragments of 'Malena', the second part opens to give
 17

participation to the goddesses Juno and Minerva that we have known as fervent
protectors of the Achaeans and yet they are demystified from the moment that
that one of them appears smoking very calmly, a state that can be read from
the gesturing, a cigarette in one hand while the other, young and capricious, just cries out to be

venerated. An exclusive sequence is reserved for the father of all gods,

Jupiter, who informs us of his mandate under which he prohibits participation of
the gods in the contest, a scene that coincides again with the Song VIII in which
Jupiter announces his decree at a meeting of the gods. But he appears in the room.
a segment of an added scene, the anger of King Priam with his son Paris, the abductor of
Helena on the grounds of making us aware of the reason that triggered the war. Until
here, except for the beginning, Achilles has also disappeared from the action,
appears again in the fifth fragment in which, over fourteen panels, receives
The news of Patroclus's death decides to return to battle, organizes the funerals.
for his friend and is assisted by Minerva transformed into an eagle. The latter is a
of the many deformities that occur; in the final battle against Hector, battle
which is not represented, just like any other in the comic, Minerva transfigures
in one of the charioteers of the chief Teucer, Deiphobus, to persuade him to accept the combat
face to face with Achilles. Never throughout the twenty-four songs that compose
the goddess is not attacked by anyone, on the contrary, it is she who hurts
the gods like happens with Venus and Mars who must return wounded to Olympus and for
with whom Jupiter has different reactions. Regarding the outline of character of
the characters we see in this way the alteration of certain behavioral patterns in the
that humor intervenes as a mitigator of the tragic nuance. The closure is a
true example of counterpoint since it completely distances itself from the effect of
sense pursued by Homer that is replaced by national nostalgia
Argentina, having lost part of its identity in a historical context that it
he traversed for years placed in the voice of "the bitterness of the dream that died."

Visual and verbal representation

We just need to review then the symbols that have been granted.
importance in the effects of synthesizing the identities of both peoples, but always
ready to function as trampolines to reach verbal nonsense.
The heroes: "Aganmelon" by Agamemnon, a verbal ending distorted by the
incorrect use of the enclitic pronoun, a characteristic of our colloquy and that
It may have served to parody some character linked to it.
politics or humor; "Melenao" by Menelao, a suffix characteristic of gauchesque poetry.
 18

and 'Diodemes' by Diomedes, a term sensitive to the jargon of speaking backwards that even
it can be thought of as 'give me God'.
The sacred air: vignette by vignette a certain solemnity appears that responds
as an aura of the origin story gathered, for example, in the use of epithets:
"Achilles, king of the Myrmidons", "Helen, the one with shadowy eyes" or "Ajax, son of"
"Telamón" as well as the presence of the eagle, a bird of good omen that accompanies with its
more than one battle flight, the horse Pegasus, which although mortal is part of the chariot
of Achilles led by Patroclus or the Zephyr, a wind respected by gods and men.
Lunfardo and clichés: they make the comic closer to the Argentine reader.
we see the goddess 'Minerva' whose name coincides with a renowned lemon juice
expressed launched in the Argentine market between the years '70 and '80 wanting to throw its

content about Achilles as a punishment, the shield of a warrior bears the seal of
Adidas, a leading sports brand during the same years that serves to highlight the
economic component of every war, the names of "Peteriby" also appear.
"Pinotea" used to parody Greek names like the ones we have been
citing, however, there are two voices that correspond to the names of two types of
woods used also by the middle classes of society and to which we can
include within the reading public in the referenced era to renovate the old apartments of
mosaics, finally there is mention of horse racing that has always been
they have been part of the national ensemble close to tango.
 19

So

Steimberg already warned us that transposition meant a process

complex within the culture that even surpassed the limits of development
a technology. Throughout our work we have had the luxury of moving from reading
formal of the canonical text to a more relaxed one, but not less serious in just one
device change. And although our purpose was to try to visualize those
traces that reflected the modifications in the production of meaning through
from the different historical contexts we must be able to accept to conclude that in the
point where both universes distance themselves, paradoxically they meet, and it is
precisely in the universality of human passions. Heterogeneous passions that
from a distant place or around the corner they have the timeless capacity to
call upon the muses and dedicate a song to them that before being written goes through the
man's throat and transposes it.
 20

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR REFERENCE

Castilian, Santiago
Class corresponding to Practical Work, 02. 11.2010

Genette, Gerard
Palimpsests

Kerbrat Orecchioni, Catherine

On Subjectivity in Language, Buenos Aires, Hachette, 1981

Steimberg, Oscar
Book and Transposition
"Reading comics", Buenos Aires, New Vision, 1977

Traversa, Oscar
"Carmen, the one of the transpositions", Buenos Aires, 1995

Eliseo Verón
Graphic Press and Theory of Social Discourses