SLAMDANCE 2021 – Filmed and directed by his partner of many decades, Susan Stern, Bad Attitude: The Art of Spain Rodriguez (2021) is a biographical documentary detailing the life, artistic works, and bad attitude of trail-blazing cartoonist out of Buffalo, NY, Spain Rodriguez. A mix of interviews, presentations of his work, and following Spain around in his day to day life, Bad Attitude: The Art of Spain Rodriguez may either be an eye-opening introduction to the influence of Spain’s work on modern comics to those who have not heard of him yet, or a lovingly crafted ode to Spain for those who are already his knowing fans.

Finding his voice in the midst of America’s cultural reset in the late 1960s, Spain Rpdroguez produced decidedly chauvinistic but also wild and authentic cartoon strips that gut-punched the comic book world. A far cry from the works of Marvel and DC-type superhero and gumshoe comics, Rodriguez’s highly sexual and violent art made him the king of underground comics. His works are certainly polarizing–some will look at his images and feel empowered and in awe of the untamed content and artistic detail, but for others, they may see an uncouth and perverse darkness crawling out of his pages. Highly influential on artists succeeding him, Spain Rodriguez’s art lives on through outlawed comic books, his many sketches, and on walls around the Mission District of San Francisco, CA.

Spain Rodriguez counts himself among those artists influenced by the cowboy-and-Indian days of animated cartoons, which were racially insensitive, allowing him to both relish in but also recognize the badness of their backwardness. Overcoming a world dominated by expressionist art at the time, Rodriguez pushed forward with his own methodologies, railing against those that railed against comics that held up unflattering mirrors to the face of society.

A provocateur in artistry and a provoker to those in his personal life, Spain Rodriguez is noted as being “born bad” by his very own partner, Susan Stern, who shows that Rodriguez was indeed quite a character, much like his own cartoons. Interviewers include his life partner, sister, and daughter, feminist artists such as Susie Bright, and a handful of underground and “Zap Comix” artists who analyze Rodriguez’s work, as well as offer commentary on the factors in Rodriguez’s personal life that influenced his personality, and by extension, his artwork. In this loving documentary about a director whose influence I feel I’ve seen in works like Fritz the Cat (1972) and the like, I was treated to a new artist to appreciate and a fuller context of the history of adult-themed cartoons.

There is a fine line between radical progressive and genius, and Rodriguez expertly walked this line with the skill of a seasoned tightrope walker. Characterized as a rogue, rough and tumble youth, his comics displayed a raw view of life and unpopular opinions, bolstering masculinity and violence, and featuring characters that used non-politically correct, anti-war effort, anti-cop language. He used his art to educate people on these issues that were normalized in mainstream but he knew were poor reflections of society, and was an artist far ahead of his time whose hard-hitting, gritty comics with content from the full spectrum of life–from sex to politics–remain relevant and influential into present cartoon styles.

Bad Attitude: The Art of Spain Rodriguez is currently playing at Slamdance 2021.

7.5 out of 10