For Your Consideration Special: Dynamite’s Masters of Spanish Comic Book Art

Robert Greenberger

Robert Greenberger


by Robert Greenberger

Masters of Spanish Comic Book Art

Masters of Spanish Comic Book Art


When not waxing nostalgic about graphic novels here, I do some writing and some editing. One of my current editorial projects is Dynamite’s forthcoming Masters of Spanish Comic Book Art, written by David Roach. Roach, a British artist who has work in 2000 AD and various DC Comics projects, has become quite the historian with his previous works on Art of Vampirella and the Art of Jose Gonzalez. Here, he tackles the complete history of the Spanish school of comic artists, including their explosive arrival in American comics in the 1970s. It’s a fabulous looking book and one I enjoyed editing given how much I learned from Roach about this school of art.

“It’s a strange compulsion I have!” Roach explained about his research projects. “I think partly it comes out of my collecting in that if I come across something that interests me — an artist for instance– I tend to want to find everything they’ve ever done, which in turn has led to me cataloguing almost every British comic ever published and lots of Americans, too. So over the years I’ve amassed this vast knowledge of comics and art which means I can consider putting together something like Masters of Spanish Comic Book Art without having to do decades of research, because I’ve already done it. I love the challenge of putting a book together from scratch, of composing its contents and the search for hidden treasures, its part puzzle, part treasure hunt. There’s also an aspect of feeling that I know about all these obscure things that I feel people would love if they ever came across them. It’s like being a keeper of secrets which I’m dying for other people to learn.”

Art by Longaron

Art by Longaron


What we learn in the book is how important it was for these men to hone their skills through the years, working not just in Spain but across Europe, notably in the weekly British comics. You can watch them grow and excel, experiment and work in a variety of styles based on the genre.

“I guess for me it’s a combination of exceptional drawing ability, together with a taste for decoration, for rendering, tones and experimentation. As anyone who buys the book will see there are some incredibly diverse styles and each has something unique to offer to the viewer,” Roach added.

Art by Garcia

Art by Garcia


“Spanish comics paid very poorly so for many artists the imperative behind their work was to churn it out as quickly as possible in order to make a living. It is a bit of a mystery really, how so many can draw so very well, in a way that the art just seems to pour out of them. Artists like Jose Ortiz, Victor De La Fuente and the Romero brothers were just phenomenally quick but seemingly without sacrificing quality at the same time. I wish I knew how they did it because I’m exactly the opposite!”

Around 1970, agents for the Spanish artists came to America and wound up showing their work to Jim Warren, who immediately saw their potential. Suddenly, Ortiz, Esteban Maroto, and many others filled the pages of Eerie, Creepy, and Vampirella, ushering in a new look and feel to the magazines.

Art by Enrich

Art by Enrich


“Artists like Pepe Gonzalez, Luis Garcia, Fernando Fernandez, Sanjulian and Enrich for instance drew and painted so realistically that it might have seemed impossible to reach that level for most would-be acolytes,” Roach said of their impact. “When the magazines stopped appearing in 1983 I often felt like I was the only fan interested in them. But as time has gone on it has become apparent that the thousands of fans who bought Warren’s titles absolutely adored them, and still love the artists today. In Spain, of course, many are regarded as national treasures, but I think even there they are still rediscovering many of these great names. I hope this book will really put them on the map.”

While many were at home in the black and white magazines from Skywald, Warren, and Marvel, few beyond Maroto made it into the color titles. “Mostly I think it’s because they weren’t interested in superheroes, and increasingly that’s what the color comics became dominated by. Many retired or moved into illustration or fine art painting. Unlike most American comic artists of the era, the Spanish moved back and forth between comics and painting all the time and many became highly accomplished gallery artists. It’s another unusual aspect of their artistic make up that sets them apart from other countries. It’s worth mentioning that now, of course, the new generation of Spanish artists like David Aja and Daniel Acuña are quite at home drawing superheroes and there are more Spaniards working in American comics than ever,” Roach said.

Art by Pujolar

Art by Pujolar


Fans of the Warren era or good art will learn quite a bit from the book. “One of the things I was keen to do was to showcase work these artists did for countries around the world so along with art from America and Spain there’s lots from Britain, France, Germany, Scandinavia, and even Australia,” Roach said. “I’ve tried to find as much original art as possible so the book is almost like an artist’s edition of Spanish comic art, but for the fraction of the price. I wanted to include the very best Spanish artists and to showcase their very finest pages along with amazing talents that few people will have ever seen before.”

Despite his indexing and depth of knowledge before digging into this book, he still learned a lot, much of which came while searching for the best scans or original art to include in the expansive gallery section. “I’ve been scouring the world for artwork and come across so much I simply didn’t know existed, particularly in Germany. When Warren and Skywald went under many of the artists just carried on in Germany, so artists like Maroto, Sanjulian, Enric, Fernandez, Penalva and many others had this vast other career producing artwork that looked exactly like Warren covers way into the new millennium,” Roach explained. “I think beyond anything else though, it showed me that as much as I think I know, there are always amazing new things to discover out there. In trying to bring together artwork from all the various countries it’s opened up whole careers that I knew nothing about and I think the written part of the book (of which there’s quite a bit) will come as a revelation to most readers.”

Art by Sio

Art by Sio


Roach continues to draw and even had a chance to do strips that recently ran in 2000 AD #2000, but the research has also influenced his own work. “As a Brit I grew up with Spanish artists. In fact the very first comic I bought — TV Action — included Jose Ortiz and Enrique Badia Romero among its artists. In my early years, I came to love American artists as well — people like Neal Adams, Bernie Wrightson, Gil Kane, Russ Heath, and so many others. Discovering Warren was a massive moment though and certainly had a profound influence on me. I started work in comics in the late ‘80s at 2000AD which always featured a mix of British and Spanish artists so I very much felt at home there. In my Judge Anderson strips in particular I was really pretending I was drawing for Warren with lots of textures and scratching all over the place. What can I say, I just love this style!”

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Masters of Spanish Comic Book Art

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