Art For Art’s Sake #137: Style, Grace, Beauty – Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
by Richard Bruton
Another week, another Art For Art’s Sake, taking a spin round some great comic art…
Wally Wood… of course!
Don Rosa – Guardians of the Lost Library –
Elektra – Annie Wu
Francesco Francavilla – Enemy Ace
Rogue by Joelle Jones –
Jose Luis Munuera – great Spirou and Fantasio
Kanome Shirahama – Batgirl and Huntress: Future State –
Kris Anka – Runaways
Great Corto Maltese homage by Matias Bergara –
Marvel Masterworks Avengers – by Michael Cho
Two from Mike Maihack – Leia and Loki…
Adam Strange by Mike McKone –
A couple of fab Dave Johnson Nick Fury pieces…
MW Kaluta – Rocketeer –
Spider-Man by Moebius, from a Marvel Press Poster in 1991
Tim Sale –
Now, to end with… José Luis García-López. A veteran artist, someone you should know, although you may well not.
He’s is an artist’s artist. You mention his name and you’ll invariably see the artist smile, mixed perhaps with a wistful look knowing that they’re never going to be THAT good.
He’s made thousands of pages of comics work, mostly for DC Comics, over the last 50+ years and his work on the DC style guide and merchandising means he’s probably the most viewed artist at DC, yet most of the people seeing his work will sadly never know it’s him. Odds are, if you’ve ever seen a lunch box, bedsheets, curtains, clothes, or most anything with a classic-looking DC character on it, you’re either looking at a Garcia-Lopez piece of art or something based on the style guide he made for DC.
He was born in Spain in 1948 and began his career in US comics at Charlton. But since the ’70s, he’s worked almost exclusively at DC.
His work is just grace personified. Stylish, economical, the wonderfully clean and detailed work is just stunning.
As you’re going to see.
No, he’s not as well-known as the likes of Neal Adams, John Byrne, Jim Lee et al. But he’s an artist’s artist, a true professional, an amazingly prolific artist and an artist whose work will live on for generation after generation.
