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Alfredo P. Alcala (August 23, 1925 – April 8, 2000) was a Filipino
comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the literar ...
, born in
Talisay, Negros Occidental Talisay, officially the City of Talisay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...
, in the Philippines. Alcala was an established illustrator whose works appeared in the ''Alcala Komix Magazine''. His 1963 creation '' Voltar'' introduced him to an international audience, particularly in the United States. Alcala garnered awards in science fiction during the early part of the 1970s.


Biography

Alfredo Alcala's lifelong interest in
comic books 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 ...
began in childhood. He dropped out of school in his early teens to pursue a career in art, initially as a sign painter and commercial artist. Subsequently he took employment in an ironworker's shop, designing lamps and household furniture, as well as a church pulpit. During the
Japanese occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Hapones sa Pilipinas''; ) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan, Japanese Empire occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during Wo ...
in World War II he drew revealing pictures of their gear and position for the American forces. Inspired by the work of Lou Fine and other cartoonists, Alcala commenced his comic book career in October 1948, beginning with an illustration in ''Bituin Komiks'' (''Star Comics''). By the end of the year he was drawing for Ace Publications, the Philippines' largest publishing company. Ace was the publisher of four titles (''Filipino Komiks, Tagalog Klassiks, Espesial Komiks'', and ''Hiwaga Komiks''), each featuring his work. ''
Ukala ''Ukala (Ang Walang Suko)'', meaning "Ukala (The Unrelenting)" .e. the one who doesn't give upwas a comic strip title in Philippine comics. The main character in the comic book story is Ukala. Ukala was created in the 1950s by distinguished Fili ...
'' (1950) was one of his first major comics. Though his career rapidly expanded, Alcala never used assistants to complete his work. He said, "I somehow felt that the minute you let someone else have a hand in your work no matter what, it's not you anymore. It's like riding a bicycle built for two." He eventually became a star of the Filipino comics scene, so famed that a periodical bore his name, the ''Alcala Komiks Magasin''. In 1963 he created the comic book ''Voltar'' whose titular character predated
Frazetta Frank Frazetta (born Frank Frazzetta ; February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010) was an American artist known for themes of Fantasy art, fantasy and science fiction, noted for comic books, mass market paperback, paperback book covers, paintings, p ...
's interpretation of
Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...
which bore a more than passing resemblance. ''Voltar'' became an award-winning success at home and abroad. Alcala's mature artistic style reflected his interest in the woodcuts and etchings of Renaissance master
Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...
and the drawings of Australian illustrator Walter Jardine and U.S. illustrator
Franklin Booth Franklin Booth (July 18, 1874 – August 25, 1948) was an American artist known for his detailed pen-and-ink illustrations. He had a unique illustration style based upon his early recreation of wood engraving illustrations with pen and ink. His sk ...
which bore the look of engravings. He has also cited the work of British artist Frank Brangwyn as a major influence. Fellow cartoonist Tony DeZuniga was the first Filipino artist to relocate to the United States to work for
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
in 1970, followed by Nestor Redondo and Gerry Talaoc. In 1971 Alcala began a decade of work for both DC and
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
on horror and fantasy titles, eventually moving to New York City in 1976. He was one of the artists on the licensed movie tie-in series ''
Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...
'' and also helped recruit up-and-coming Filipino artists such as
Alex Niño Alex Niño (born May 1, 1940) is a Filipinos, Filipino comics artist best known for his work for the American publishers DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing, and in ''Heavy Metal (magazine), Heavy Metal'' magazine. Biography Early l ...
to U.S. publishers. In 1975, Alcala and writer Jack Oleck created '' Kong the Untamed'' for DC Comics. Later that year, Alcala drew '' Marvel Treasury of Oz'', a comics adaptation of ''
The Marvelous Land of Oz ''The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman'', commonly shortened to ''The Land of Oz'', published in July 1904, is the second book in L. Frank Baum's Oz series, and the sequel to ...
''. Alcala joined
Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren (publisher), James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include ''After Hours (magazin ...
in 1977 and drew 39 stories for that publisher from 1977 to 1981. His series ''Voltar'' was reprinted in issues #2–9 of '' The Rook''. Alcala executed 12 five panel comic strips for the men's magazine ''Adam''. The strip, ''Terra O'Hara'', was written by Donald (Don) F. Glut and it appeared in 12 successive issues of ''Adam'' from December 1979, through November 1980. In the early 1980s he penciled the ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' newspaper strip. In 1983 he teamed with the penciller
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
on '' Destroyer Duck'' from
Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book store, comic book specialty stor ...
. and around that same time he also inked comic books such as ''
Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...
'' over
John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...
's pencils and inked
Don Newton Don Newton (November 12, 1934 – August 19, 1984) was an American comics artist. During his career, he worked for a number of comic book publishers including Charlton Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on The Pha ...
's pencil artwork in ''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
''. With the failure of DC's and Warren's horror titles in the 1980s, many of the Filipino contributors turned to the field of
animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...
in California, and in the 1990s Alcala followed suit. He also illustrated the novel '' Daddy Cool'' written by Donald Goines. His last work in comics was for
Paradox Press Paradox Press was a division of DC Comics formed in 1993 after editor Mark Nevelow departed from Piranha Press. Under the initial editorship of Andy Helfer, Andrew Helfer and Bronwyn Carlton, the imprint was renamed. Paradox was best known for pu ...
' '' The Big Book of Thugs'' in 1996. On April 8, 2000, Alcala died from cancer in Southern California. He is survived by his wife Lita and two sons, Christian Voltar and Alfred Jr.


Awards

Alcala received an
Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at Comic-Con Internati ...
in 1977. In 2021, he was awarded the Inkwell Awards Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award (SASRA) (2021).


Selected bibliography

Comics work (interior pencil art, except where noted) includes:


DC Comics

*''
All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League, Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its s ...
'' (inks over other artists pencils) #52, 54, 57 (1985–86) *'' America vs. the Justice Society'' (inks) #1–4 (1985) *'' Arak, Son of Thunder'' (full art): #13–15; (inks): #10–12, 16–25, ''Annual'' #1 (1981–84) *''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'' (inks) #349, 354–355, 357, 362–381, 383, 385, ''Annual'' #10 (1982–1986) *''
DC Comics Presents ''DC Comics Presents'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 which ran for 97 issues and four ''Annual''s. It featured team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters in the DC Universe. A recurring bac ...
'' (inks) #48 (1982) *''
Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...
'' (inks) #520, 526, 531, 534, 543–544, 576–577 (1982–87) *'' Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion'' #10–11, 13 (1973) *''
Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...
'' #9, 15, 17–19, 21, 24–25, 28, 33–34, 52 (1972–77) *''
Hellblazer ''John Constantine, Hellblazer'' is an American contemporary Horror fiction, horror comic-book series published by DC Comics since January 1988, and subsequently by its Vertigo Comics, Vertigo imprint since March 1993, when the imprint was introd ...
'' (inks) #8–9, 18–22 (1988–89) *''
House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror comics, horror, fantasy comics, fantasy, and mystery fiction, mystery comics anthology, comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets (DC Comi ...
'' #209, 217, 219–220, 222, 224–228, 251–252, 254, 256 (1972–78) *'' House of Secrets'' #100, 104–107, 109, 115, 117, 119–120, 122, 125 (1972–74) *''
Infinity, Inc. Infinity, Inc. is a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first incarnation is mostly composed of the children and heirs of the Justice Society of America (JSA), making them the Society's analogue to t ...
'' (inks) #10, 43, ''Annual'' #1 (1985–87) *'' Kamandi'' (inks) #47, 49–50 (1976–77) *'' Kong the Untamed'' #1–3 (1975) *''
Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince A ...
'' (inks) #1–2 (1982–83) *'' Our Army at War'' #251 (1972) *'' Plop!'' #1–3 (1973–74) *''
Secrets of Sinister House ''Secrets of Sinister House'' was a horror-suspense anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1972-1974, a companion to '' Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion''. Both series were originally inspired by the successful ABC soap opera ''D ...
'' #6, 10, 12–14 (1972–73) *''
The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...
Annual'' (inks) #1 (inks) (1987) *''Shadow War of
Hawkman Hawkman is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1, published by All-American ...
'' (inks) #1–4 (miniseries, 1985) *''
Swamp Thing Swamp Thing is a superhero and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several different incarnations throughout his publication. The ch ...
'' vol. 2 (inks) #30, 41, 45, 49, 51–52, 54–59, 61–85, 90–93, 95–101 (1984–90) *'' The Unexpected'' #138, 140, 144, 150, 151–153, 156–157, 168–169, 177, 191 (1972–79) *''
Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...
'' (inks) #24–25 (1985–86) *'' Weird Mystery Tales'' #5, 10, 13–14 (1973–74) *'' Weird War Tales'' #9, 11, 15–16, 20, 23, 25–29, 35, 42–44, 72, 74 (1972–79) *'' Weird Western Tales'' ( El Diablo) #16–17 (1973) *''
Witching Hour In folklore, the witching hour or devil's hour is a time of night that is associated with supernatural events, whereby witches, demons and ghosts are thought to appear and be at their most powerful. Definitions vary, and include the hour immed ...
'' #24, 27, 33, 41, 43 (1972–74) *''World of
Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...
'' (inks) #1–4 (miniseries, 1988) *''
World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...
'' (inks) #309, 312–314, 318–321, 323 (1984–86) *''
Young All-Stars The Young All-Stars are a team of fictional DC Comics superheroes. They were created by Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas, and Michael Bair, and introduced in ''Young All-Stars'' #1, dated June 1987. The team members Tsunami, Neptune Perkins, and Dan th ...
'' (inks) #5 (1987)


Eclipse Comics

* '' Destroyer Duck'' (inks) #1–7 (1982–1984)


Marvel Comics

*''
Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...
'' (full art): #137, 225; (inks over other artists pencils): #209–219, 223 (1982–89) *'' Captain Marvel'' #35 (1974) *''
Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...
'' vol. 2 #19 (1976) *''
Dracula Lives ''Dracula Lives!'' was an American black-and-white horror comics magazine published by Magazine Management, a corporate sibling of Marvel Comics. The series ran 13 issues and one '' Super Annual'' from 1973 to 1975, and starred the Marvel version ...
'' (inks) #9 (1974) *''
Freddy Krueger Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the antagonist of the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' horror film franchise. Created by Wes Craven, he made his debut in Craven's '' A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as the malevolent spirit of a ...
's
A Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American Supernatural horror film, supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise), ''A ...
'' (inks) #1–2 (1989) *''Giant-Size Chillers'' #1 (1975) *''
Howard the Duck Howard the Duck is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber, based very loosely on his college friend Howard Tockman, and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck firs ...
'' vol. 2 (inks) #7 (1980) *'' The Incredible Hulk Annual'' (inks) #8 (1979); vol.1 #221, 222 (1978 ) *''
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
'' (inks) #112 (1978) *'' Ka-Zar'' (inks) #6, 8 (1974–75) *'' Kull the Destroyer'' #17 (1976) *''
Man-Thing The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ' ...
'' #14, ''Giant-Size'' #3 (1975) *''
Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' is an American comic book anthology title that was published in three series by Marvel Comics: from 1988 to 1995; 2007 to 2008; and in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume was released on a bi-weekly basis and lasted for ...
'' (inks) #16, 53 (1989–90) *''
Marvel Comics Super Special ''Marvel Comics Super Special'' was a 41-issue series of one-shot comic-magazines published by American company Marvel Comics from 1977 to 1986. They were cover-priced $1.50 to $2.50, while regular color comics were priced 30 cents to 60 cents, Be ...
'' (inks) #2 (1977) *'' Marvel Preview'' #14 (1978) *''
Marvel Two-in-One ''Marvel Two-in-One'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring Fantastic Four member the Thing in a different team-up each issue. Publication history Original series The concept of teaming the Thing with a differen ...
'' (inks) #42 (1978) *''
Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...
'' #7–11, 17–21, 24 (1975–76) *'' The Rampaging Hulk'' (then ''The Hulk!'') (inks) #1–3, 5, 8, 15, 17–20, 22–26 (1977–81) *'' Dazzler'' (inks) #1 (1981) *'' Savage Sword of Conan'' (full art): #55, 75, 80, 83, 89, 216, 223; (inks over
John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...
pencils): #2, 4, 7, 12, 15–20, 23–24, 28, 67, 76; (inks over other artists pencils): #34, 59, 69, 180, 184, 189 (1974–94) *''
Tales of the Zombie ''Tales of the Zombie'' was an American black-and-white horror comics magazine published by List of comics magazines published by Magazine Management in the 1970s, Magazine Management, a corporate sibling of Marvel Comics. The series ran 10 issues ...
'' #7–9 (1974–75) *''
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...
'' (inks) #9–10 (1977–78) *'' Vampire Tales'' (full art): #6, 8; (inks): #9–10 (1974–75)


Warren Publishing

*''
Creepy Creepiness is the state of being creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease to someone and/or something. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others; interest in horror or the macabre might come across as 'c ...
'' #94, 99, 101–102, 104, 108, 125, 130 (1978–81) *''
Eerie Eerie may refer to: * Feeling of creepiness * Eerie (magazine), ''Eerie'' (magazine), an American horror comic first published in 1966 * Eerie (Avon), ''Eerie'' (Avon), a 1947 horror comic * Eerie (film), ''Eerie'' (film), a 2018 Filipino horror fi ...
'' #96, 99–101, 104–105, 113 (1978–80) *'' Rook Magazine'' (full art): #2–9; (inks): #1 (1979–81) *''
Vampirella Vampirella () is a vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and comic book artist Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of '' Creepy'' and ''E ...
'' #90 (1980)


References


Further reading

* McDonald, Heidi and Philip Yeh. ''Secret Teachings of a Comic Book Master: The Art of Alfredo Alcala'' (IHAC, 1994; reissued by
Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, book ...
, 2015)


External links

*
Alfredo Alcala
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
Alfredo Alcala
at Wizards Keep Ltd. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alcala, Alfredo 1925 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Filipino illustrators Filipino magazine illustrators Filipino advertising artists and illustrators Filipino fantasy artists Filipino horror artists Filipino science fiction artists Artists from Negros Occidental Comics inkers DC Comics people Deaths from cancer in California Filipino animators Filipino comics artists Filipino emigrants to the United States Filipino illustrators Golden Age comics creators Inkpot Award winners Marvel Comics people Silver Age comics creators