José Guadalupe Posada’s Engravings of Unusual Births (ca. 1880–1910) — The Public Domain Review

As the cultural critic Ilan Stavans writes, “equally enjoyable, and most attractive to me, is the Posada who transports us to a universe of gothic, at times grotesque, magical, and bizarre incidents, or Posada the anarchist, dwelling on catastrophe, satire, and death. Death, in fact, is his primary preoccupation, as far as I am concerned — not an existential, painful death, but one that is irrevocable, social, and egalitarian.” Posada’s “universe is full of bats, griffins, skeletons, animal hybrids, snakes, explosions, pistols, demons, ghosts, and deformities.” Perhaps these gruesome characters should be taken seriously in their own right, rather than viewed merely as a side chapter in Posada’s portfolio.