Alfonso Azpiri Mejía (17 January 1947 − August 18, 2017) was a Spanish
comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
artist known for creating mainly adult-themed comics.
Biography
Azpiri was born in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. His early work was published in the 1970s and was mainly aimed at the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
market which then welcomed stories containing a mixture of horror, sex and nudity. Azpiri's work, drawn in a comical style, featured amply breasted women getting involved with
werewolves
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf–humanlike creature, either purposely or after bei ...
,
mummies
A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...
,
vampires
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...
and the
Frankenstein monster
Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's ...
.
His work has been translated and published in a number of magazines, including '' Heavy Metal'' and ''
Penthouse Comix
''Penthouse Comix'' is an American mass-market, magazine-sized comic book, published by Penthouse International/General Media Communications from spring 1994 through July 1998 and 2024 to present. Founded and initially edited by George Caragonne ...
''. His style is easily recognisable, especially his lavishly elegant and sensual, pouting females.
He has been mainly involved in the
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
and
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
genre, often with a decidedly erotic slant. His fantasy stories range from
sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of Romance (love), romance, Magic (fantasy), magic, and the supernatural are also ...
to the 1001 Arabian Nights type. He also raises the issue of conflict between peoples, such as in science fiction stories where the inhabitants of soon-to-be colonised planets are massacred so that humans from Earth can move in.
One of his most recurring characters is Lorna, a Barbarella-like space adventurer who travels the galaxy accompanied by two droids, the
R2-D2
R2-D2 () or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical ''Star Wars'' films to date, including every film in the " Skywalker Saga", which inclu ...
-like ADL and the
C-3PO
C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a protocol droid (Star Wars), droid designed to assist in etiquette and translation, and is fluent in over six million forms of communication. The chara ...
-like Arnold.De icono erótico de cómic a heroína de videojuego in elmundo.es Arnold's main function is to satisfy the ever-passionate Lorna whenever there are no human males, females or suitably endowed aliens available. Lorna`s principal enemy, the crime lord Mouse, bears some resemblance to
Jabba the Hutt
Jabba Desilijic Tiure, better known as Jabba the Hutt ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Initially performed by Declan Mulholland as a human in the original ''Star Wars'' film, Jabba first appeared properly in the 198 ...
.
Less adult-oriented, and suitable for younger readers, was ''
Mot
Mot or MOT may refer to:
* Montserrat, UNDP country code
Media
* Ministry of Truth, the propaganda ministry in George Orwell 1949 novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''
* ''mot'' (magazine), former German car magazine
* Mot (Star Trek), a minor charact ...
'', the adventures of a boy called Leo who finds himself plagued by a large, friendly but cumbersome and destructive monster. This was turned into a cartoon series and broadcast on France's Canal Plus.
Azpiri's other productions include '' Chang'', telling the adventures of a
martial artist
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...
and detective.
Both Lorna and Mot were featured in video games, ''Lorna'' by Topo Soft and ''Mot'' by
Opera Soft
Opera Soft was a Spanish computer game developer of the Golden Era of Spanish Software of the 1980s. It released many games for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and similar computers in the mid-1980s, but its games were not as popular on the PC. F ...
.
In 2012 he collaborated with the comic book Hero Seeds, drawing two covers of the comics and several drawings in the same comics.
English bibliography
* ''Black Hawk'' (in ''
Tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...
'', 1979–80)
* ''Reflections'' (1993)
* ''Sensations'' (2000, art book)
* ''Wet Dreams'' (2001)
* ''Wet Dreams II: The Players'' (2006)
Lorna
* ''Lorna and Her Robot'' (1981)
* ''The New Adventures of Lorna and Her Robot'' (1984)
* ''Mouse Club'' (1996)
* ''Leviathan'' (1998)
* ''The Ark'' (1999)
* ''The Eye of Dart an Gor'' (2006)
* ''The Black Castle'' (2008)
Bethlehem Steele (in ''Penthouse Comix'', 1994–1995)
* ''Pirate Hearts'' (by
Garry Leach
Garry Leach (19 September 1954 – 26 March 2022) was a British comics artist and publisher.
Biography
Garry Leach's early work for ''2000 AD'' included mainly one-off stories featuring ''Dan Dare'' and '' M.A.C.H. 1''.Web site