Alex Niño
Encyclopedia
Alex Niño is a Filipino
comic book
artist
best known for his work for the American
publishers DC Comics
, Marvel Comics
, and Warren Publishing
, and in Heavy Metal
magazine
.
on the island Luzon
, The Philippines, the son of a professional photographer, Alex Niño studied medicine briefly at the University of Manila
before leaving in 1959 to pursue his childhood goal of becoming a comics artist. In 1965, after studying under artist Jess Jodloman, Niño collaborated with Clodualdo del Mundo to create the feature "Kilabot Ng Persia" ("The Terror of Persia") for Pilipino Komiks. Niño and Marcelo B. Isidro later created the feature "Dinoceras" for Redondo Komiks. Other Valry Philippine work includes the series Gruaga - The Fifth Corner of the World for Pioneer Komiks; the feature "Mga Matang Nagliliyab" ("The Eyes that Glow in the Dark") with Isidro for Alcala Komiks; and for PSG Publications, stories of Bruhilda Witch, which were adapted into movies.
, Nestor Redondo
, and Gerry Talaoc
— recruited for American comic book
s by DC Comics
editor Joe Orlando
and publisher Carmine Infantino
in 1971, following the success of the pioneering Tony DeZuniga
. Niño's earliest U.S. comics credit is penciling and inking
the nine-page story "To Die for Magda" in DC Comics
' House of Mystery
#204 (July 1972) written by Carl Wessler
. Niño was soon contributing regularly to such other DC supernatural
anthologies as companion title House of Secrets and Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion
, Secrets of Sinister House
, Weird War Tales
, Weird Mystery Tales
, and The Witching Hour
. He also drew the jungle
-adventure feature "Korak
" in some issues of DC's Tarzan
. Except for one story for Gold Key Comics
' Mystery Comics Digest
#17 (May 1974), Niño, who moved to the U.S. in 1974, drew comics exclusively for DC through the beginning of 1975.
With writer-editor Robert Kanigher
, Niño created DC's 19th-century Caribbean
-pirate protagonist
Captain Fear
in Adventure Comics
#425 (Dec. 1972). Niño and writer Jack Oleck
created the science-fiction feature "Space Voyagers" in Rima, the Jungle Girl
#1 (May 1974).
/Curtis Magazines
' black-and-white comics magazines, Niño teamed with writer-editor Roy Thomas
on a 17-page adaptation of the Harlan Ellison
short story
"'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" in the black-and-white Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction
#3 (May 1975). This led to a high-profile, 30-page Conan the Barbarian
tale, "People of the Dark" in The Savage Sword of Conan
#6 (June 1975), also with Thomas, and a 23-page adaptation of the Michael Moorcock
novel
Behold the Man, with writer Doug Moench
in Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #6 (Nov. 1975).
Niño signed a contract with Ralph Bakshi
to work on the film Wizards
, and was granted a work visa
, but was unable to gain permission from the Philippine government in order to leave for the United States until two months afterward, and later found that by the time he had arrived in the U.S., not only had the film's animation had been completed, but Niño's visa did not allow him to submit freelance work on any other projects.
Niño made his color-comics debut with the company with Marvel Classics Comics #2 (1976), adapting with writer Otto Binder
the H. G. Wells
novel The Time Machine
. Niño would draw adaptations of Moby-Dick
and The Three Musketeers
as well, but did little else for Marvel's color comics, inking
two issues of the Luke Cage
series Power Man and a "Weirdworld
" story in Marvel Premiere
#38 (Sept. 1977).
and science-fiction/fantasy
fare of Warren Publishing
's black-and-white comics magazines Creepy
, Eerie
and Vampirella
, and HM Communications' pioneering Heavy Metal
, a color comics magazine that blended imported Europe
an art-comics with new American
work. From 1977 through 1984, Niño drew numerous stories, covers, and incidental art for those publishers, mixed with very occasional stories for DC Comics
' supernatural
-anthology
titles, and some minor work for the short-lived Archie Comics
superhero
titles The Comet and Shield - Steel Sterling.
Later 1980s work includes issues of DC's Thriller and The Omega Men
, New Comics Group's Asylum, World of Young Master Special, and Demon Blade, and Fantagor Press' Den
. Niño both wrote and drew a single-issue occult adventure, Alex Niño Nightmare #1 (Dec. 1989), for Innovation Comics.
He also provided artwork for the 1987 animated television series Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light
.
' Dark Horse Presents
, Continuity Comics
' Shaman and Big Entertainment's John Jakes
' Mullkon Empire #4, and to re-team with writer Roy Thomas
for the 37-page Conan the Barbarian
story "Lions of Corinthia" in The Savage Sword of Conan #228 (Dec. 1994). Leaving comics again the following year, Niño returned in 1999 to write and draw a story each in Quantum Cat Entertainment's Frank Frazetta
Fantasy Illustrated #7-8 (July & Sept. 1999).
After another hiatus from comics, during which time he worked on designs for the Walt Disney Pictures
animated feature Atlantis: The Lost Empire
(2001), Niño returned to draw Bliss on Tap Publishing's single-issue God the Dyslexic Dog #1 (July 2004). Image Comics
announced in 2008 that Niño would draw the three-issue miniseries Dead Ahead, by writers Mel Smith and Clark Castillo.
: "I was exposed to Alex Niño's super-stylized artwork and that had a major influence on me. The design sense and the limitless imagination of Alex Niño really got me inspired to let my creative side imagine new worlds and characters.
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
best known for his work for the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publishers DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, and Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades...
, and in Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal (magazine)
Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
.
Early life and career
Alex Niño was born May 1, 1940 in TarlacTarlac
Tarlac is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Luzon Island. Its capital is Tarlac City. Tarlac borders Pampanga to the south, Nueva Ecija to the east, Pangasinan to the north, and Zambales to the west...
on the island Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, The Philippines, the son of a professional photographer, Alex Niño studied medicine briefly at the University of Manila
University of Manila
The University of Manila is a university located in the heart of Sampaloc in Manila, Philippines, more commonly known as the University Belt area. It was founded in 1913 by five young college students, the three de Los santos siblings and two of their friends.-External links:*...
before leaving in 1959 to pursue his childhood goal of becoming a comics artist. In 1965, after studying under artist Jess Jodloman, Niño collaborated with Clodualdo del Mundo to create the feature "Kilabot Ng Persia" ("The Terror of Persia") for Pilipino Komiks. Niño and Marcelo B. Isidro later created the feature "Dinoceras" for Redondo Komiks. Other Valry Philippine work includes the series Gruaga - The Fifth Corner of the World for Pioneer Komiks; the feature "Mga Matang Nagliliyab" ("The Eyes that Glow in the Dark") with Isidro for Alcala Komiks; and for PSG Publications, stories of Bruhilda Witch, which were adapted into movies.
American career
Niño was among the vanguard of Philippine comics artists — including Alfredo AlcalaAlfredo Alcala
Alfredo P. Alcala was a Filipino comic book artist, born in Talisay, Negros Occidental 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...
, Nestor Redondo
Nestor Redondo
Nestor Redondo was a comic-book artist best known for his work for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and other American publishers in the 1970s and early 1980s.-Early life and career:...
, and Gerry Talaoc
Gerry Talaoc
Gerry Talaoc is a Filipino comic-book artist best known for his 1970s work for DC Comics' war and horror anthology titles. Talaoc was among the vanguard of Filipino comics artists — including Alfredo Alcala, Nestor Redondo, and Alex Niño — recruited in 1971 for American comic books by...
— recruited for American comic book
American comic book
An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...
s by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
editor Joe Orlando
Joe Orlando
Joseph Orlando was a prolific illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades...
and publisher Carmine Infantino
Carmine Infantino
Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (born May 24, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York is an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books...
in 1971, following the success of the pioneering Tony DeZuniga
Tony DeZuniga
Tony DeZuniga is a Filipino comic-book artist best known for his work for DC Comics, where he co-created the characters Jonah Hex and Black Orchid.-Early life and career:...
. Niño's earliest U.S. comics credit is penciling and inking
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
the nine-page story "To Die for Magda" in DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' House of Mystery
House of Mystery
The House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series. It had a companion series, House of Secrets.-Genesis:...
#204 (July 1972) written by Carl Wessler
Carl Wessler
Carroll O. "Carl" Wessler was an American animator of the 1930s and a comic book writer from the 1940s though the 1970s for such companies as DC Comics, EC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing....
. Niño was soon contributing regularly to such other DC supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
anthologies as companion title House of Secrets and Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion
Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion
Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion was a horror-suspense-romance anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1971–1974, a companion to Secrets of Sinister House.-Publication history:...
, Secrets of Sinister House
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.-Publication history:...
, Weird War Tales
Weird War Tales
Weird War Tales was a war comic book title with supernatural overtones published by DC Comics which ran from September 1971 to June 1983.-Background:...
, Weird Mystery Tales
Weird Mystery Tales
Weird Mystery Tales was a mystery anthology from DC Comics, which ran from July/Aug. 1972-November 1975. Like its sister books House of Mystery and The Witching Hour, it was known for its "monstrous stories" with shock endings....
, and The Witching Hour
The Witching Hour (DC Comics)
The Witching Hour was a DC comic book horror anthology that ran from 1969 to 1978. Its tagline was "It's 12 o'clock... The Witching Hour!"...
. He also drew the jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
-adventure feature "Korak
Korak
Korak [long "O"] is the ape name of John 'Jack' Clayton, the son of Tarzan and Jane.-History:Jack first appeared in the original Tarzan novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. He was introduced as an infant in the non-Tarzan novel The Eternal Lover , in which the Ape Man and his family played supporting...
" in some issues of DC's Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
. Except for one story for Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984.-History:...
' Mystery Comics Digest
Mystery Comics Digest
Mystery Comics Digest was one of three digest size comics published by Gold Key Comics in the early 1970s. The other two were Golden Comics Digest and Walt Disney Comics Digest....
#17 (May 1974), Niño, who moved to the U.S. in 1974, drew comics exclusively for DC through the beginning of 1975.
With writer-editor Robert Kanigher
Robert Kanigher
Robert Kanigher was a prolific comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for over twenty years, taking over the scripting from creator William Moulton Marston. In addition, Kanigher spent many years in charge of DC Comics' war...
, Niño created DC's 19th-century Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
-pirate protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
Captain Fear
Captain Fear
Captain Fear, a Caribbean pirate captain, is the official mascot of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He has blue eyes, black hair, thick eyebrows and a full beard. He has been the mascot of the Buccaneers since June 2000.-Personal:...
in Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics was a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 and then revamped from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues , making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman...
#425 (Dec. 1972). Niño and writer Jack Oleck
Jack Oleck
Jack Oleck was an American novelist and comic book writer particularly known for his work in the horror genre.The brother-in-law of comics pioneer Joe Simon, Oleck's comic book career was basically in two parts. During the Golden Age of comics Oleck wrote for EC Comics and the Simon-Jack Kirby...
created the science-fiction feature "Space Voyagers" in Rima, the Jungle Girl
Rima
Rima, also known as Rima the Jungle Girl, is the fictional heroine of W. H. Hudson's 1904 novel Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest. In 1974, she was adapted into a comic book character and featured in the short-lived monthly series Rima the Jungle Girl, published by DC Comics...
#1 (May 1974).
Marvel Comics
After drawing some house ads and a frontispiece for two of Marvel ComicsMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
/Curtis Magazines
Curtis Magazines
Curtis Magazines was an imprint of Marvel Comics that existed from 1971 to 1980. The imprint published black-and-white magazines that did not carry the Comics Code Authority seal. Initially, page counts varied between 68,76, and 84 pages....
' black-and-white comics magazines, Niño teamed with writer-editor Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
on a 17-page adaptation of the Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
"'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" in the black-and-white Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction
Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction
Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction was a 1970s black-and-white, science fiction comics magazine published by Marvel Comics' parent company, Magazine Management, under the imprint Curtis Magazines....
#3 (May 1975). This led to a high-profile, 30-page Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
tale, "People of the Dark" in The Savage Sword of Conan
Savage Sword of Conan
The Savage Sword of Conan was a black-and-white magazine-format comic book series published beginning in 1974 by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of Marvel Comics, and then later by Marvel itself. Savage Sword of Conan starred Robert E...
#6 (June 1975), also with Thomas, and a 23-page adaptation of the Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Behold the Man, with writer Doug Moench
Doug Moench
Douglas Moench , better known as Doug Moench, is an American comic book writer notable for his Batman work and as the creator of Black Mask, Moon Knight and Deathlok.-Biography:...
in Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #6 (Nov. 1975).
Niño signed a contract with Ralph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi is an Israeli-American director of animated and live-action films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, five of which he wrote...
to work on the film Wizards
Wizards (film)
Wizards is a 1977 American animated post-apocalyptic science fantasy film about the battle between two wizards, one representing the forces of magic and one representing the forces of industrial technology. It was written, produced, and directed by Ralph Bakshi...
, and was granted a work visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
, but was unable to gain permission from the Philippine government in order to leave for the United States until two months afterward, and later found that by the time he had arrived in the U.S., not only had the film's animation had been completed, but Niño's visa did not allow him to submit freelance work on any other projects.
Niño made his color-comics debut with the company with Marvel Classics Comics #2 (1976), adapting with writer Otto Binder
Otto Binder
Otto Oscar Binder was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books...
the H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
novel The Time Machine
The Time Machine
The Time Machine is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895 for the first time and later adapted into at least two feature films of the same name, as well as two television versions, and a large number of comic book adaptations. It indirectly inspired many more works of fiction...
. Niño would draw adaptations of Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
and The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard...
as well, but did little else for Marvel's color comics, inking
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
two issues of the Luke Cage
Luke Cage
Luke Cage is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1...
series Power Man and a "Weirdworld
Weirdworld
"Weirdworld" was a fantasy series created by Doug Moench and Mike Ploog for Marvel Comics, set in a dimension of magic.-Publication history:...
" story in Marvel Premiere
Marvel Premiere
Marvel Premiere is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It ran for 61 issues from April 1972 to August 1981....
#38 (Sept. 1977).
Warren and Heavy Metal
Niño instead found his niche in the mature-audience horrorHorror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
and science-fiction/fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
fare of Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades...
's black-and-white comics magazines Creepy
Creepy
Creepy was an American horror-comics magazine launched by Warren Publishing in 1964. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. The anthology magazine was initially published quarterly but...
, Eerie
Eerie
Eerie was an American magazine of horror comics introduced in 1966 by Warren Publishing. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. Each issue's stories were introduced by the host...
and Vampirella
Vampirella
Vampirella is a fictional character, a comic book vampire heroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and costume designer Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine Vampirella #1 . Writer-editor Archie Goodwin later developed the character from horror-story hostess, in...
, and HM Communications' pioneering Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal (magazine)
Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
, a color comics magazine that blended imported Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an art-comics with new American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
work. From 1977 through 1984, Niño drew numerous stories, covers, and incidental art for those publishers, mixed with very occasional stories for DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
-anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
titles, and some minor work for the short-lived Archie Comics
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
titles The Comet and Shield - Steel Sterling.
Later 1980s work includes issues of DC's Thriller and The Omega Men
Omega Men
The Omega Men are a fictional team of extraterrestrial superheroes who have appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Green Lantern #141 , and were created by Marv Wolfman and Joe Staton....
, New Comics Group's Asylum, World of Young Master Special, and Demon Blade, and Fantagor Press' Den
Den (comics)
Den is the name of two identical planetary romance fictional characters created by Richard Corben. The first appeared in the 1968 animated short film Neverwhere. The second has been appearing in the medium of comics since 1973, and in short stories that have been collected for the most part in...
. Niño both wrote and drew a single-issue occult adventure, Alex Niño Nightmare #1 (Dec. 1989), for Innovation Comics.
He also provided artwork for the 1987 animated television series Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light
Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light
Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light was originally a range of action figures from Hasbro, released in 1987. This action figure range was promoted by two different media, telling the stories of the characters...
.
Later life and career
Essentially leaving comics for four years, Niño returned to do minor work for Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
' Dark Horse Presents
Dark Horse Presents
Dark Horse Presents was the first comic book published by Dark Horse Comics in 1986 and was their flagship title until its September 2000 cancellation. The second incarnation was published on MySpace, running from July 2007 until August 2010...
, Continuity Comics
Continuity Comics
Continuity Publishing, also known as Continuity Comics, was an American independent comic book company formed by Neal Adams in 1984, publishing comics until 1994....
' Shaman and Big Entertainment's John Jakes
John Jakes
John William Jakes is an American writer, best known for American historical fiction.-Early life and education:...
' Mullkon Empire #4, and to re-team with writer Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
for the 37-page Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
story "Lions of Corinthia" in The Savage Sword of Conan #228 (Dec. 1994). Leaving comics again the following year, Niño returned in 1999 to write and draw a story each in Quantum Cat Entertainment's Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for work in comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers and other media...
Fantasy Illustrated #7-8 (July & Sept. 1999).
After another hiatus from comics, during which time he worked on designs for the Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
animated feature Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a 2001 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Written by Tab Murphy, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and produced by Don Hahn, it is the first science fiction film in the Disney animated features canon and the 41st overall. The film...
(2001), Niño returned to draw Bliss on Tap Publishing's single-issue God the Dyslexic Dog #1 (July 2004). Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
announced in 2008 that Niño would draw the three-issue miniseries Dead Ahead, by writers Mel Smith and Clark Castillo.
Quotes
Artist Whilce PortacioWhilce Portacio
William "Whilce" Portacio is a Filipino-American comic book writer and artist. Noted for his work on such titles as The Punisher, X-Factor, and the Uncanny X-Men. Portacio was also one of the seven co-founders of Image Comics, though he did not become a partner in the company.-Early life:Portacio...
: "I was exposed to Alex Niño's super-stylized artwork and that had a major influence on me. The design sense and the limitless imagination of Alex Niño really got me inspired to let my creative side imagine new worlds and characters.
External links
- Weems, Erik. "Alex Nino 1973: House of Mystery #212", Art & Artifice (fan site), January 25, 2006. WebCitation archive.
- Tan, Budjette. "Komikeros: The Filipino Contribution to the Comic Book Medium, Part 1: 1970s-1980s:, Comic Book ResourcesComic Book ResourcesComic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
#26, October 30, 2003. WebCitation archive.