Meet a DMV Cartoonist: A Chat with José Villarrubia

Paul Gravett and José Villarrubia at BCC 2023

by Mike Rhode

A few weeks ago I went to the Baltimore Comic-Con with my friend Paul Gravett, the British comics historian who is the 'man at the crossroads' and knows almost everyone. He introduced me to his friend José Villarrubia, who agreed to answer our usual questions (but also recommended looking at his Wikipedia entry). Jose returned his answers within the hour, by far the fastest anyone ever has, to which he replied, "Teachers who procrastinate can get in trouble. Same with colorists." In addition to being a comic book colorist, he also teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he is a professor and  currently the coordinator of the Sequential Art Concentration. Here's a nice article the school did about him. I think there is plenty of potential for a long Comics Journal-type interview with him perhaps when my Int. J. of Comic Art duties have lessened.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

  Coloring, editing, and color restoration. 

How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?

 All in Photoshop.

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

 1961, Madrid, Spain.

Why are you in Baltimore now?

 I came here to study and I stayed.

What neighborhood or area do you live in?

 Mt. Vernon.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

 None in cartooning. I have a BFA in Fine Art and an MFA in Painting.

Who are your influences?

In comics Corben, Moebius, Neal Adams, Victor de la Fuente and Dino Battaglia. 

Speaking of Corben, a volume of Den that you worked on has just been released. What did you do on it?

I'm doing the art direction for the collection and the color restoration from the originals.

Can you discuss some of the ways this work is done?

The original art was scanned and I blended it with scans of diverse printings to recover the color. The result has much more detail and texture than the editions almost 50 years ago. I also wrote introductions and selected all the extra material.

If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?

Nothing, really.

 Or rather, how are you hoping your career will develop?

I hope to do more editing and art direction.

What work are you best-known for?

Batman Year 100 and Sweet Tooth.

What work are you most proud of?

My work with Alan Moore, particularly The Mirror of Love.

What would you like to do or work on in the future?

More restoration of classic comics, editing more illustrated books.

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?

I am never in a rut.

What do you think will be the future of your field? 

If I knew I would be very, very rich. But I think the future of comics is very bright.

What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Awesome Con, or others? Any comments about attending them?

José and Dean Haspiel at BCC talking about Cuba in 2010

Always the Baltimore Comic-Con (my favorite), sometimes SPX.

What comic books do you read regularly or recommend?

I don’t read any monthlies, just collections and graphic novels.  

Do you have a local store?

I did: Collector’s Corner on Charles Street. But it closed down.

What's your favorite thing about Baltimore?

The architecture, history, and the people.

Least favorite?

Crime, obviously.

What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?

The American Visionary Museum and the Walters Art Museum.

How about a favorite local restaurant?

My favorite, the Mt. Vernon Stable, closed. My current favorite is Minato.

Do you have a website or blog?

 No. I post regularly in Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, and Threads.

 How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected you, personally and professionally?

 The same as everyone else, which for comics professionals is “not much.” I missed the conventions and I am glad they are back.

Feb 16: Illustrating Spain in the US: the comic art of Anapurna

• February 16, 2022
• 6:30 pm

https://www.spainculture.us/city/washington-dc/illustrating-spain-in-the-us-the-comic-art-of-anapurna/

Illustrating Spain in the US: the comic art of Anapurna

Spanish comic author Anapurna shares the insights of her creative process and discuss comic art in a conversation with Warren Bernard, executive director of Small Press Expo.

Commissioned by the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain and curated by award-winning writer Ana Merino, Illustrating Spain in the US unites comic creators and scholars in a joint artistic effort to deepen into the Spanish presence in this country. Anapurna worked with Hispanism expert Lucia Cotarelo to explore the Spanish philological and literary legacy in the U.S. through a comic piece that evokes the poetics of the diaspora.

The exhibition Illustrating Spain in the US is currently on show at the Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain until early March.

About Anapurna

Anapurna is the alter-ego of Ana Sainz Quesada, graduated in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona and specialized in illustration and graphic narrative in IED Madrid. Working on different artistic disciplines and equally attracted by drawing, street art, painting, embroidery, and engraving, she loves making and reading every kind of comics.

A Madrid-based illustrator and artist published her first graphic novel, Chucrut (Salamandra Graphic), in 2015, awarded with the VIII Fnac-Salamandra Graphic Award. Her work has been featured in different magazines around the world, such as Larva (Colombia), Kiblind magazine (France) or Jot Down (Spain); and included in graphic anthologies in the United States (Anthology Editions) and Germany (Wagenbach).

About Warren Bernard

Warren Bernard is twice-nominated Eisner Award comics author and historian, who in addition to contributed to over two dozen books on comics history, has curated or contributed to retrospective gallery shows on various comics-related subjects. He has lectured on comics at the United States Library of Congress, The Center for Cartoon Studies and other centers of higher learning. Bernard is also the Executive Director of Small Press Expo, one of the most influential indie comics festivals in the world.

The Illustrating Spain in the US book is available for purchase.

PR: Announcing Dead Reckoning Fall 2020 Titles

Dead Reckoning announces three new graphic novels in Fall 2020.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Great Naval Battles of the Twentieth Century: Tsushima, Jutland, Midway

By Jean-Yves Delitte and Giuseppe Baiguera

In the history of civilizations, sea power has always played a preponderant role. This symbol of a nation’s scientific and military genius has very often been the deciding factor during major conflicts, putting the names of several clashes down into legend. With this collection, Jean-Yves Delitte and Giuseppe Baiguera plunge you into the heart of three of the twentieth century’s greatest naval battles:

Tsushima, Jutland, and Midway.

“This is an immersive tour of war at sea in the twentieth century that brings readers alongside sailors and pilots in the battles that shaped the modern world. Delitte and Baiguera are masters of the form, crafting elaborate comics art to recreate time and place in ways that will transport, teach, and thrill you.” —Jeff Parker (James Bond: Origin, X-men First Class, The Hulk and Batman ’66)

9781682475249 | 21 October 2020 | Paperback and eBook | $24.95

Atlas at War!

Edited by Michael J. Vassallo; Art Restoration by Allan Harvey

Atlas at War! collects fifty hard-hitting stories from Atlas Comics, the company that became Marvel Comics and published more war titles than anyone in the industry between 1951 and 1960. Comics historian Dr. Michael J. Vassallo has chosen the best of the best, many of which are coming back into print for the first time, from sixteen different Atlas war titles and featuring the artwork of twenty different artists—giants of the genre, including Russ Heath, John Severin, Bernie Krigstein, Joe Maneely, Jerry Robinson, Steve Ditko, and Jack Kirby. Each page has been meticulously restored from its first printing by comic art restorer Allan Harvey.

Atlas at War! covers the brutal pre-code period where graphic depictions of war action were rendered by artists who were World War II veterans themselves, as well as the post-code period, where code restrictions forced creators to tell stories without graphic violence but produced some of the most beautiful comic art of the genre. In addition to the artists, stories cover all aspects of war—from famous campaigns, weaponry, and personal soldier stories to political topics, Nazi atrocities, and even one story tinged with pre-code horror! Often overlooked in favor of its competitors, Atlas at War! will finally show that Atlas’ war titles were second to no one.

“Michael Vassallo knows more than anybody in the Marvel Universe about the rich history of the company's comics. His grasp and insights are astonishing! Make mine Michael's!” —Craig Yoe, curator of Don Winslow of the Navy and Marvel Masterwork Pin-Ups

“Atlas at War! is a treasure trove of lost war classics.”

—PJ Holden, artist for The Stringbags

9781682474709 | 9 September 2020 | Hardcover and eBook | $65.00

The Photographer of Mauthausen

Written by Salva Rubio; Drawn by Pedro J. Colombo; Colored by Aintzane Landa

This is a dramatic retelling of true events in the life of Francisco Boix, a Spanish press photographer and communist who fled to France at the beginning of World War II. But there, he found himself handed over by the French to the Nazis, who sent him to the notorious Mauthausen concentration camp, where he spent the war among thousands of other Spaniards and other prisoners. More than half of them would lose their lives there. Through an odd turn of events, Boix finds himself the confidant of an SS officer who is documenting prisoner deaths at the camp. Boix realizes that he has a chance to prove Nazi war crimes by stealing the negatives of these perverse photos—but only at the risk of his own life, that of a young Spanish boy he has sworn to protect, and, indeed, that of every prisoner in the camp.

Now a major motion picture streaming on Netflix.

9781682476277 | 11 November 2020 | Paperback and eBook | $19.95

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Meet a Visiting Cartoonist: Spain's Tomás Serrano

by Mike Rhode

Tomás Serrano visited Washington recently just as the city was shutting down from the coronavirus. We were still able to meet and chat about his work with local cartoonists Matt Wuerker and Mike Jenkins, although this interview was done by email later. Tomás is temporarily living in America and cartooning via long distance.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

Several types. At 25, I got my paid to start doing caricatures for a local newspaper in Salamanca, Spain. Years later I got into political and gag cartoons, and one of them won me the Mingote Award in 1995. Six years later, my first children´s book was published. In 2013, I made an animated musical video. In 2014, I began to work for the Spanish newspaper ABC drawing caricatures and editorial illustrations. Since 2015, I´ve been the political cartoonist of the online newspaper El Español and also sometimes I illustrate the editorials of the newspaper. In recent years, I did caricatures for the Magazine of the University of Chicago.

How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?

In the beginning, I used traditional tools like color pencils, gouache or watercolors. At this moment, I do sketches with a red pencil and mark the lines with a 5B pencil then scanning and adding color with a Tablet and Photoshop. It´s the fast way because, usually, I have only a couple of hours to send the cartoon.

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

I was born in León, Spain, in 1960.

Where are you living now? Why?

Since July 2019, I moved to Lexington, Kentucky because Heminia, my wife, is working as a middle school teacher. For me, living in the US is a great experience. I love it. The American culture was always present in my life since I was a child: old TV series, movies, illustrated books, music…

Is it hard being an editorial cartoonist from a different continent and with 5 time zones changes?

Not at all. It´s so easy now. The only difference is the time: There, I drew after lunch; here, before. I´m following the current Spanish trends through the radio, podcasts, streaming live TV and the online newspapers.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?  Why did you leave architecture?

My training is in architecture. This helped so much in staging my ideas and composing the images. I use to draw realistic architectural backgrounds because it emphasized the nonsense of the conduct of politicians. The strong crisis for architects in Spain from 2008 helped me to recover my passion for cartooning.

Who are your influences?

When I was young, my principal influence was Francisco Ibañez´s comics, Mortadelo y Filemón author. Visually, Disney´s artists were my favorites so far. Uderzo, Jean Giraud… Back then I didn´t like the UPA artists that I love now. Over time, I realized the influence of the freshness of my brother Carlos “badly done” drawings. Regarding humor, the movies of Charles Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, Bob Hope, Billy Wilder and Woody Allen. My favorite cartoonists are Jean Jacques Sempé, Ronald Searle, Charles Addams and the caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.

If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?

I think I´ve been very lucky in my cartoonist career. In Spain, I was awarded with the best prize you can get. I feel recognized by my the heads of my newspaper… I wouldn´t change anything.

What work are you best-known for?

Maybe for my current cartoons in El Español, the number one in the top ranking of the Spanish native online newspapers.

What work are you most proud of?

For my first published children´s book Salfón el limpiador de tejados, by the unforgettable moment when I told and drew it to my son Guillermo, improvising the characters and the story.  I would be happy if it was published in the States.

I´m so proud too of my Mingote Award and my first illustration in the US for the Magazine of the University of Chicago.

What would you like to do  or work on in the future?

I would like to design characters for the movies, or have orders for advertising campaigns, or covers of books… And yes, I would like to work for US publishers.

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?

I take it easy. It happens sometimes, but experience makes last minute ideas to come…  That´s what I always say to my daughter Paula. For drawing and for everything.

What do you think will be the future of your field?

These are bad times for the press, and there are a lot of people doing funny things for free on the net. Many online newspapers have no cartoonist. Maybe the brilliant ones will survive because an image has still a high value.

Mike Jenkins and Seranno share a caricature moment

What's your favorite thing about DC?

You know I was in DC only for a weekend. As a big fan of the movies, I liked to be in the places I´ve seen there: the White House, the Capitol, the Memorials… and The Exorcist steps! In addition, I would recommend the Blues Alley Club and the Off the Record Bar.

Least favorite?

There are outstanding buildings in DC (e.g. the Old Post Office), but some mixes of styles in the streets didn´t convince me. Anyway I´ll remember the beautiful houses in Capitol Hill and Georgetown.

What monument or museum do you enjoy? What did you hope to see, but missed due to the coronavirus shutdowns?

I loved the Lincoln Memorial and the National Portrait Gallery. I enjoyed the fantastic exhibition of John Singer Sargent portraits in charcoal. I missed, among others, the National Gallery of Art. I hope to come back.

How about a favorite local restaurant when you visited?

I enjoyed the Indian food of Rasika and The Smith's burger.

Do you have a website or blog?

I recently renewed my website: www.tomasserrano.com

Bhob Stewart's 1969 underground comics exhibit at the Corcoran

I never met Bhob Stewart who passed away this week. I'm sorry I didn't because our interests in pop culture overlapped. We must have corresponded about comics though, because my name was in his email address book, and his friend Brad Verter was kind enough to send a notice of his death, and some scans that he thought might be of interest. Bhob had apparently asked him to scan these for his blog Potrzebie, but didn't get a chance to use them.


Bhob was apparently instrumental in putting on Phonus Balonus, an underground cartoon exhibit at an offshoot of the Corcoran Gallery on Dupont Circle. Sean Howe has photographs online here, here, and here.

Here are the scans about the exhibit. I'm afraid most of them are only partially complete, but they give you an idea about what was in the show, and how it was received. Brad scanned the whole catalog of the show, and it's online here. Two libraries are shown in Worldcat as holding a copy of it - the Tate in London and UC Berkeley in California.

Corcoran Gallery's press release, page 1

Front cover to the catalog with art by Bhob.

Exhibit opening ticket.

Newspaper clipping with Skip Williamson art

Article from the New York Post.

Fragment of a Washington Post article

Partial Washington Post article from May 21, 1969.

Partial Washington Star article from June 1, 1969

Article from an unknown New York city magazine.

For more information on Bhob's life, read Bhob Stewart, 1937-2014, by Bill Pearson, Feb 26, 2014.