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Thursday, March 21, 2019

Jose Gonzalez and Vampirella - Scary Sensuality








 As I stated in my review of Vampirella #1, I have next to no experience with the character, and little with the Warren line. But there was one name I was fully aware of dating back many years, and that's Jose "Pepe" Gonzalez. I've included a few art samples, all from Vampirella, and I think you'll say that he could be considered among the masters of the comic medium. Strong draftsmanship, beautiful lines, and a photo realism on par with Neal Adams, et al.




9 comments:

  1. Pepe was wonderful, no doubt, and my gateway drug into Warren. No matter how silly Vampi's stories got, he never disappointed. There's a great biography of you should also check out, Doug, 'The Art Of Jose Gonzalez'. Fascinating stuff with ( obviously) awesome art.

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  2. 'Of him you should check out' I mean obviously. Gaah, my fingers are too big for this phone...!

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  3. If thats the Dynamite book I'll definitely second Pete's comment.
    Gonzalez had a real way with keeping movement in the more obviously photo-referenced parts of his work (generally the main female figures!), and blending it in with the more (Spanish) comic-book style of the rest of any given page.

    -sean

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  4. Thanks for the comments, gents. I have liked everything I've seen from Gonzalez and look forward to actually reading some of the tales he drew.

    Doug

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  5. 'The Art of Jose Gonzalez' is the kind of book we needed in the '80s — it's a magnificent compendium that took FAR too long to arrive. What Pepe could do with only a pencil and a slab of Bristol is as gob-smacking today as it was 40 years ago. IMO, when it comes to rendering the female form, Pepe is unparalleled, his closest competition being Esteban Maroto and perhaps Frank Cho (though his style isn't always to my taste). I love(d) mainstream comics, but Warren Publishing (and by extension, 'Heavy Metal' and Marvel's magazines like 'Epic Illustrated,' 'Bizarre Adventures' and 'Savage Sword of Conan') were where the créme de la créme of the artist roster were situated. Mind=blown and it never came back! ~ NOiR

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    Replies
    1. I heartily concur, sir!

      Doug

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    2. I should have included Frank, of course...as in Frazetta! (:

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  6. Gonzalez is one of those artists whose work I recognized long before I even knew his name; sometimes I flipped through various Warren magazines in stories (never bought them back then...) and I remember admiring his renderings - esp. of women, obviously.
    Honestly, I think it was only rather recently, i.e., after the internet showed up, that I actually learned his name when various comics bloggers posted reviews of the stories he drew. He's definitely one of the top-level masters.

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  7. Yes, I second all those comments, Jose Gonzalez was one of the true masters of the artform. I read the Warren mags back in the day, Vampirella, Eerie and Creepy, but it's only many years later that I've come to appreciate just how great the Spanish and Filipino artists were especially. They really had an exotic style which suited the black and white format perfectly. Viva Gonzalez!


    - Mike 'checks on Amazon to order that iconic 6 foot Vampirella door poster' from Trinidad & Tobago.

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