Since we interviewed David Guirao and we have read the comic of ‘San Juan de la Peña’ that he has illustrated with Pepe Serrano for Editorial Mira, in Go Aragón we have become addicted to comics. Therefore, we leave you some of the best authors of Aragonese comics. We warn you: their stories will hook you! After reading this article, if you were not at the 20th edition of the Zaragoza Comic Fair, you will be ready for the next edition knowing these authors.
David Daza
David daza is a freelance illustrator and comic book artist with more than 15 years of experience behind him. Since 2008 he works regularly with the U.S. industry. His participation in the miniseries Buckaroo Banzai: The Tears Of A Clone, the graphic novel of ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho or the creator-owned comic The Projectionist (Kickstarter). It is precisely his realistic style that has allowed him to draw works for the Star Wars and Transformers franchises, with an international publication present in the markets of more than 40 countries.
Daza has created covers and concept art for video games such as SupertoyCars, Kromaia, Tachyon Project and is present in platforms such as Nintendo, Sony or Xbox. Among his clients are companies such as Planeta-DeAgostini, Dark Horse Entertainment, IDW Publishing or Time Warner Cable.
Marta Martínez García
Marta Martínez is an illustrator, sculptor and colorist from Zaragoza. Born in Zaragoza, she graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona. She has worked as a colorist for DC and Marvel (among others) and she has colored Batman, Superman, Wonderwoman, Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain Midnight, Skyman, etc.
One of his most outstanding works is the Batman comic set in Barcelona, “El caballero del Dragón”, written by Mark Waid, with cover by Jim Lee, and pencilled by Diego Olmos. She also works for Ediciones Soleil in France. She combines her work as an author with teaching, a facet in which she works in tandem with illustrator Josema Carrasco.
David Lopez
David López was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and his family is from Palencia, but the long time he has been linked to Zaragoza makes him one of the Aragonese authors with greater international projection. He has been working for the big American industry since 2001, where he has worked on series such as Fallen Angel (DC 2002), Catwoman (2004), Hawkeye and Mocking Bird (Marvel 2008) and X-Men (2012).
After signing a brilliant stint in the series Captain Marvel (Marvel, 2014) and taking the claws out of Wolverine (Marvel, 2015), he is currently developing a full author work: Black Hand Iron Head for the digital platform Panel Syndicate. He collaborates in Cartoonist Streaming. He stands out because some of his most important series are starred by women, also since his beginnings in Espiral (La Cúpula 1998).
Carlos Azagra
Zaragozan by adoption. Carlos Azafra was born in Morón de la Frontera (Seville), but grew up in Zaragoza (where he joined the Zeta collective and worked for the magazine Andalán). He has been living in Barcelona for several years now, but is still closely linked to Aragonese comics through GP Ediciones and Malavida.
Azagra is known for his vindictive cartoons, especially Pedro Pico and Pico Vena, published for many years in El Jueves. In his Aragonese production stage he has published with Encarna Revuelta and David Terrer El último aragonés vivo, La amenaza robótica and Revuelta porcina (GP Ediciones) and with Xcar Malavida and Encarna Revuelta ‘Estoy hecho un cocinicas’, ‘Sigo siendo un cocinicas’ and ‘Todos somos cocinicas’ (Editorial Cornoque). Another of their works is ‘Descubriendo a Mosén Bruno’, one of the most popular Aragonese characters of the Aragonese Pyrenees, a comic with script by Maxi Campo,
In 2018 the Azagra-Revuelta duo presented two novelties: ‘TeBeO Labordeta’ (GP Ediciones), with script by Daniel Viñuales, a story to understand the history of Aragon through the figure of the great José Antonio Labordeta; and ‘Fonda Pascual’ (Editorial Cornoque).
Daniel Viñuales
comic authors dani viñuales
This cartoonist from Zaragoza studied at the School of Arts of Zaragoza, with a clear vocation towards drawing and comic script even before enrolling in the School. As an Aragonese comic author he has crossed our borders with several exhibitions in New York, Barcelona, Marbella and, of course, Zaragoza.
He has also published several comics, such as ‘Artal D’Escuer’, ‘The incredible adventures of Captain Morgan’ or ‘Cucarracha and Cerrudo’. Together with Sara Perales, in 2006, he founded the publishing house GP Ediciones, one of the flagships of Aragonese comics in the last decade.
In 2012 he returned as an author with ‘Saputo’, a path he has followed with ‘La bondad y la ira’, the biography of Ramón Acín with script by Juan Pérez. In 2001 he published ’13 grados 13 millas’, with drawing by David Tapia and color by Guillermo Montañés.
Luis Orús
Born in Fuentes de Ebro, it was clear that Luis Orús had to write about onions with Denomination of Origin. He is the creator of ‘Cebolla tú, cebolla yo: la tira que no pica’, a series of which he has published three albums. Self-taught author, together with Santi Blasco, he is one of the pillars of the fanzine of rural spirit Estafermo, and collaborates in other Aragonese fanzines such as Malavida or ¡Hey! In 2017, together with Pepa Pardo, he signed the children’s album ‘Pezmocamu’ (Editorial Cornoque). Some of his most recent works are the third installment of ‘Cebolla tú, cebolla yo’, ‘Mythtober’ and ‘Ventanas’, together with Roberto Malo. If your children like comics, Orús’ graphic novels are perfect for the whole family to enjoy.
Álvaro Ortiz
This cartoonist from Zaragoza studied graphic design at the Escuela Superior de Diseño de Aragón and illustration at the Escola Massana in Barcelona. In 2005 he published ‘Julia y el verano muerto’, followed in 2009 by ‘Julia y la Voz de la Ballena’, both published by Ediciones del Ponent. Thanks to this last comic he was nominated as best new author at the Barcelona Comic Fair in 2010. At the end of that same year he self-published the silent comic ‘Fjorden’ and won the AlhóndigaKomik grant, which allowed him to stay a year at the Maison des Auteurs de Angoulême to make his next work, ‘Cenizas’ (2012).
At the end of 2014 he published ‘Murderabilia’ with Astiberri, nominated for the Aragonese Comic Awards in the category of best script and best Aragonese work and also published in France. In 2015 he presented ‘Rituales’ (Astiberri), a graphic novel that made the Academy of Spain in Rome, thanks to one of the MAEC-AECID grants. In 2016 he signed ‘Dos holandes en Nápoles’ and ‘Viajes’, co-published with the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.
His most recent works are ‘El murciélago sale a por birras’ (2020; award for best work and best script in the X Premios del Cómic Aragonés) and ‘Prdro y Maili’ (2021), both with Astiberri. In addition to his dedication to graphic novels, Ortiz works as a freelance illustrator and designer.
Laura Rubio
The young Laura Rubio was born in Zaragoza, although today she lives in Teruel, the city where she has developed most of her artistic work. She studied High School at the School of Arts of Zaragoza and graduated in Fine Arts at the University of Zaragoza, Teruel campus. In addition, he has completed a Master’s Degree in Teaching in the specialty of Plastic Arts in Teruel.
His first comic, Zilia Quebrantahuesos (GP Ediciones, 2015), was nominated in the category of Best Work at the 2015 Zaragoza Comic Fair and has won awards such as the Fanny in the TRAN Awards of the Aragonese comic, in addition to having been translated into Aragonese in 2017. His second work, which was Queronea (2017, GP Ediciones) has been awarded as the work with “Best drawing” in the TRAN 2017 awards, and “Best Aragonese work” in the 2017 Zaragoza Comic Salon awards. He has worked on illustrated books such as Historia ilustrada de Albarracín (2019), among other publications. His most recent work is ‘Zilia Quebratahuesos: El fin del invierno’ (GP Ediciones, 2021), sequel to his first comic.
José Antonio Bernal
José Antonio Bernal is a comic artist, illustrator and cartoonist. He was the Revelation Author of the Salón del Cómic de Barcelona in 2007 and has collaborated in the now defunct newspaper Equipo, in Heraldo de Aragón and in magazines such as Panenka, Zaracómic, Capúzate, Amaníaco, Malavida or Retranca. In 2005 he joined the magazine El Jueves, with his most popular series, ‘Jano Incorpore Sano’, which was compiled by GP Ediciones in 2014. Bernal has continued as one of the regular authors of El Jueves with collaborations focused on current affairs.
In addition, he has combined this work with that of illustrator, with titles such as ‘Manual de Oregonés para foranos’, ‘Juan Sin Móvil’ or ‘Chico Águila’, and with that of humorist, in the company of Diego Peña and Rafa Blanca. In 2021 he published ‘Juan sin móvil 2’.
Sara Jotabe
Born in Zaragoza, she is president of the Aragonese Association of Comic Authors (AAAC) since 2018. This Aragonese comic author is a graduate in Fine Arts from the University of Zaragoza and has a master’s degree in Education in the specialty of drawing, she combines her work as an illustrator and comic author in digital media. After launching her first fanzine in 2015 (‘Una chica rara’), she debuted in 2016 in long-form comic with ‘Pajas Mentales’ (LetraBlanka). In this same publishing house he repeated in 2017 with ‘Diario de una vida de mierda’. In 2020 he published the webcomic ‘Tupper para Tres” (Fandogamia) and in 2021 ‘Quiero ser como tu’ (Panini). In 2018 he received the TRAN Award for Best Illustrator of Aragon.
We have already mentioned some of the Aragonese illustrators and comic authors, but of course there are many other renowned Aragonese cartoonists and colorists such as XCAR Malavida, Encarna Revuelta, Iru, Sara Soler, Chema Cebolla, David Cobos, Josema Carrasco, Fernando Blanco and Marta Carrasco… Let’s enjoy them!
