Art For Art’s Sake #224: The Beauty Of Tony DeZuniga
by Richard Bruton
Welcome once more one and all to the all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza of comic art that is Art For Art’s Sake, featuring the art of Tony DeZuniga…
Yep, we’re going to end this week with a look at the Filipino artist Tony DeZuniga. But before then, a little stroll through the comic art that’s taken my eye this week…
“On a much lighter note I doodled my version of Girl With a Pearl Earring. That gal can be so darned negative!”
John Cei Douglas – Grey Days
Harvey Kurtzman:
“These pages were from an article in U.S. CRIME magazine, 1952, shortly before Harvey Kurtzman invented Mad. Courtesy of Glenn Bray. I’ve never seen these before.” (Via Michael T Gilbert)
Marshal Law Commission by Quique Alcatena.
And another… Gerardo Zaffino.
Marguerite Sauvage – Power Girl…
Alex Toth –
John K Snyder III – Moon Knight commission
“Super Pets and Hoppy the Marvel Bunny commission. A3 watercolour.”
Fred Hembeck – playing off that classic Kevin Maguire’s Justice League #1 cover…
Yep, this one…
Chris Bachalo – Delirium and Death…
Charles Burns – Iggy Pop cover…
Michael Kaluta –
Lee Garbett – Groot…
Blueberry by Colin Wilson
John McCrea – Hulk, Monsters,
And to end…
Tony Dezuniga
We’ll end this week with one of those great moments of linking from one thing to another and ending up going on a deep dive into one artist’s work.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll have heard mention of the name Tony DeZuniga. But again, if you’re anything like me, you won’t necessarily know much more about him that that he co-created Black Orchid and Jonah Hex.
But then you’ll be lucky enough to see David Roach putting up a piece of DeZuniga’s artwork and be absolutely entranced by the skill and beauty of what he did – and that sends you on a journey to find some more of his artwork. And it’s just so classically good, so full of life and spirit, absolutely gorgeous work. This was that piece of work…
Anyway, DeZuniga was born Antony de Zuñiga in 1941. As one of the first Filipino comic artists working in US comics he opened the door for so many others, including Ernie Chua (Chan), Alfredo Alcala, Nestor Redondo, Alex Nino, and Gerry Talaoc.
From 1970, DeZuniga found work at first DC Comics and then at Marvel. He’d work for both companies extensively for the next couple of decades before moving into conceptual design for video games and illustration.
DeZuniga passed in 2012, leaving behind a body of work at both DC Comics and Marvel Comics that pretty much encompassed every one of their characters, all of it stylish and beautiful.
