Luis Bermejo
Encyclopedia
Luis Bermejo is a Spanish
illustrator
and comics artist
known for his work published in Spain
, Italy
, Great Britain
, and the United States
. He has illustrated a number of novels, and worked for a while with DC Comics
.
Bermejo initially learned the trade as the assistant of Manuel Gago, before he began his comic book artist career in Britain in the late 1950s when through the agency A.L.I., he worked in the titles Girls Crystal and Tarzan Weekly. He worked on Thriller Picture, John Steel, War, Battle Picture Libraries, and Pike Mason in the early 1960s. In 1962 he started drawing the war-themed comic strip Mann of Battle for The Eagle, and would draw the strip Heros the Spartan for that title in 1963. Later in the 1960s he would draw the super hero Johnny Future. For much of the 1960s, Bermejo worked out of a studio in Valencia, Spain for the agency Bardon Arts with other artists including Jose Ortiz
, Miguel Quesada, and Emilio Frego. These artists including Bermejo started working with Italian agent Pierro D'Ami in 1968, where they would do many paintings for books and magazines. During this period Bermejo would do a number of comic strips for the magazines Tell Me Why, Once Upon a Time, Look and Learn and Tiny Tots.
In 1974 Bermejo, along with fellow Valencia Studio artists José Ortiz and Leopoldo Sanchez joined the agency Selecciones Illustrada
and soon started working for Warren Publishing
in U.S.A. Bermejo quickly became one of the most prolific artists for Warren, and would draw a total of 78 stories from 1974 through 1983, more than any other artist except for José Ortiz and Esteban Maroto
. Highlights of Bermejo's period with Warren included a full issue of Creepy
(issue 71) dedicated to him, as well as the role of the primary artist for The Rook, which was Warren's most well known recurring character after Vampirella
. Bermejo would also draw the serial The Fox in Vampirella in 1981 - 1982. He would win the award for Best All Around Artist at Warren in 1981.
Bermejo would write and draw an adaption of El Señor de los Anillos (The Lord of the Rings
) in Spain in 1980. After Warren's collapse, he would draw for Skorpio and Lancio in Italy, as well as Relatos Nuevo Mundo, Metropol and Zona 84 in Spain. He also created comics adaptations from the works of Isaac Asimov
and Raymond Chandler
.
Footnotes
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
and comics artist
Comics artist
A comics artist is an artist working within the comics medium on comic strips, comic books or graphic novels. The term may refer to any number of artists who contribute to produce a work in the comics form, from those who oversee all aspects of the work to those who contribute only a part.-Comic...
known for his work published in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He has illustrated a number of novels, and worked for a while with DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
.
Biography
José Ortiz (comics)
José Ortiz Moya is a Spanish comics artist, best known for several collaborations with Antonio Segura, such as the series Hombre.-Biography:...
, Miguel Quesada, and Emilio Frego. These artists including Bermejo started working with Italian agent Pierro D'Ami in 1968, where they would do many paintings for books and magazines. During this period Bermejo would do a number of comic strips for the magazines Tell Me Why, Once Upon a Time, Look and Learn and Tiny Tots.
In 1974 Bermejo, along with fellow Valencia Studio artists José Ortiz and Leopoldo Sanchez joined the agency Selecciones Illustrada
Selecciones Illustrada
Selecciones Ilustradas is a Spanish art agency founded by Josep Toutain.-Warren Publishing:Selecciones Ilustradas is probably most well known in America due to its connections with Warren Publishing, where S.I.'s artists drew hundreds of stories between 1971 through 1983. The deal with Warren and...
and soon started working for Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades...
in U.S.A. Bermejo quickly became one of the most prolific artists for Warren, and would draw a total of 78 stories from 1974 through 1983, more than any other artist except for José Ortiz and Esteban Maroto
Esteban Maroto
- Career :Born in Madrid, he began his career in the 1960s with series like Cinco por infinito, published in English by Continuity Comics as "Zero Patrol" ....
. Highlights of Bermejo's period with Warren included a full issue of Creepy
Creepy
Creepy was an American horror-comics magazine launched by Warren Publishing in 1964. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. The anthology magazine was initially published quarterly but...
(issue 71) dedicated to him, as well as the role of the primary artist for The Rook, which was Warren's most well known recurring character after Vampirella
Vampirella
Vampirella is a fictional character, a comic book vampire heroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and costume designer Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine Vampirella #1 . Writer-editor Archie Goodwin later developed the character from horror-story hostess, in...
. Bermejo would also draw the serial The Fox in Vampirella in 1981 - 1982. He would win the award for Best All Around Artist at Warren in 1981.
Bermejo would write and draw an adaption of El Señor de los Anillos (The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
) in Spain in 1980. After Warren's collapse, he would draw for Skorpio and Lancio in Italy, as well as Relatos Nuevo Mundo, Metropol and Zona 84 in Spain. He also created comics adaptations from the works of Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
and Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
.
Sources
- David A. Roach and Jon B. Cooke, The Warren Companion
Footnotes
External links
- Luis Bermejo biography on Lambiek Comiclopedia
- Luis Bermejo biography on Dan Dare
- Luis Bermejo's Lord of the Rings comic adaptation The Tolkien Library