Vicente Alcazar
Encyclopedia
Vicente Alcazar a.k.a. Vicente Alcazar-Serrano (born 1944) is a Spanish
comics
artist best known for his work for the American
comic-book publishers DC Comics
and Marvel Comics
, including a 1970s run on the DC Western
character Jonah Hex
.
His name is sometimes mis-credited as "Vincente" Alcazar.
for the magazine Chío (1967) and for UK publications and companies, including War Picture Library. The team additionally drew stories based on the U.S. television series Star Trek
for issues #74-105 of Polystyle Publications
' 1969-1971 weekly British magazine TV21.
At the recommendation of artist Gray Morrow
, then editing then Archie Comics
' imprint Red Circle Comics
, American publishers began using Alcazar's work in the mid-1970s. Alcazar's first credited U.S. work appears in four publications cover-dated December 1973: penciling and inking
the six-page stories "Suicide ...Maybe" and "A Thousand Pounds of Clay" in the Archie/Red Circle comic book Chilling Adventures in Sorcery #4; penciling the two-page story "The Old School" in Warren Publishing
's black-and-white horror-comics
magazine Creepy
#58; and inking penciler Rich Buckler
's cover of Marvel Comics
' black-and-white horror-comics magazine Vault of Evil #8. He had been recommended to Marvel by artist Neal Adams
.
Alcazar quickly became a regular freelancer for Archie, Marvel, Warren, and soon DC Comics
and Charlton Comics
, primarily drawing horror stories but also sword-and-sorcery (drawing the cover and inking penciler Val Mayerik
's "Thongor! Warrior of Lost Lemuria" feature in Marvel's Creatures on the Loose #27, Jan. 1974); war comics
(DC's Star-Spangled War Stories
#178 (Feb. 1974); and science fiction
(the Larry Niven
short story
adaptation "...Not Long Before The End" in Marvel's black-and-white comics magazine Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction
#3, May 1975; and stories in Charlton's similar Space: 1999
#6-8, Aug.-Oct. 1976).
Writer Shaqui Le Vesconte said of Alcazar's Space: 1999
, "His style was very Gothic and experimental, using a variety of techniques that could be described as 'monochrome psychedelic', and matching the nightmarish feel of episodes like 'Missing Link', 'End Of Eternity' and 'Dragon's Domain'".
After inking penciler Ernie Chan
on DC's Jonah Hex
#8 (Jan. 1978), he became that Western
series' regular penciler and inker beginning with #12 (May 1978), working with writer Michael Fleisher
. He continued through #22 (March 1979) and additionally drew #27 (Aug. 1979).
vol. 5, #4 (July 1981), and penciled the Marvel superhero comic Moon Knight
#21 (July 1982), his last known comics work until 1993, when he penciled an issue each of Continuity Comics
' Megalith
#2 (June 1993) and Earth 4 #3 (Aug. 1993).
As of mid-2007, he is married to documentary filmmaker Amanda Lucena.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
artist 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...
comic-book 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...
and 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...
, including a 1970s run on the DC Western
Western comics
Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier and typically set during the late nineteenth century...
character Jonah Hex
Jonah Hex
Jonah Woodson Hex is a Western comic book antihero created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga and published by DC Comics. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is horribly scarred on the right side. Despite his poor reputation and personality, Hex is bound by a personal...
.
His name is sometimes mis-credited as "Vincente" Alcazar.
Early career
Born in Madrid, Spain, Vicente Alcazar began his career in the 1960s. He collaborated with fellow artist Carlos Pino under the dual pseudonym CARVIC, drawing war storiesWar comics
War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II.-American war comics:Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began including stories of wartime adventures in the multi-genre...
for the magazine Chío (1967) and for UK publications and companies, including War Picture Library. The team additionally drew stories based on the U.S. television series Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
for issues #74-105 of Polystyle Publications
Polystyle Publications
Polystyle Publications were a British publisher of children's comics and books.Among the titles they published were:* BEEB * Buttons * Countdown/TV Action * I-Spy* Pippin * Playland * Read To Me...
' 1969-1971 weekly British magazine TV21.
At the recommendation of artist Gray Morrow
Gray Morrow
Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow was an American illustrator of paperback books and comics.-Biography:Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Morrow is best known as art director of Spider-Man between 1967 and 1970 and as illustrator of the syndicated Tarzan, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and Prince Valiant comic...
, then editing then 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...
' imprint Red Circle Comics
Red Circle Comics
Red Circle Comics was an imprint used by Archie Comics Publications, Inc. to publish non-Archie characters, especially their superheroes, in the 1970s and '80s.-Phase 1: 1970s:...
, American publishers began using Alcazar's work in the mid-1970s. Alcazar's first credited U.S. work appears in four publications cover-dated December 1973: 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 six-page stories "Suicide ...Maybe" and "A Thousand Pounds of Clay" in the Archie/Red Circle comic book Chilling Adventures in Sorcery #4; penciling the two-page story "The Old School" in 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 horror-comics
Horror 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...
magazine 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...
#58; and inking penciler Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four in the mid-1970s and, with writer Doug Moench, co-creating the character Deathlok in Astonishing Tales #25...
's cover of 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...
' black-and-white horror-comics magazine Vault of Evil #8. He had been recommended to Marvel by artist Neal Adams
Neal Adams
Neal Adams is an American comic book and commercial artist known for helping to create some of the definitive modern imagery of the DC Comics characters Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow; as the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates; and as a creators-rights advocate who...
.
Alcazar quickly became a regular freelancer for Archie, Marvel, Warren, and soon 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...
and Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
, primarily drawing horror stories but also sword-and-sorcery (drawing the cover and inking penciler Val Mayerik
Val Mayerik
Val Mayerik is an American comic-book and commercial artist, best known as co-creator of Marvel Comics' satiric character Howard the Duck.-Early life and career:...
's "Thongor! Warrior of Lost Lemuria" feature in Marvel's Creatures on the Loose #27, Jan. 1974); war comics
War comics
War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II.-American war comics:Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began including stories of wartime adventures in the multi-genre...
(DC's Star-Spangled War Stories
Star-Spangled War Stories
Star-Spangled War Stories was the title of a DC Comics comic book series that featured war-themed characters and stories. Among the features published in this series were writer-editor Robert Kanigher and artist Jerry Grandenetti's "Mlle. Marie," about a World War II French Resistance fighter,...
#178 (Feb. 1974); and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
(the Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
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...
adaptation "...Not Long Before The End" in Marvel's black-and-white comics magazine 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; and stories in Charlton's similar Space: 1999
Space: 1999
Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...
#6-8, Aug.-Oct. 1976).
Writer Shaqui Le Vesconte said of Alcazar's Space: 1999
Space: 1999
Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...
, "His style was very Gothic and experimental, using a variety of techniques that could be described as 'monochrome psychedelic', and matching the nightmarish feel of episodes like 'Missing Link', 'End Of Eternity' and 'Dragon's Domain'".
After inking penciler Ernie Chan
Ernie Chan
Ernesto "Ernie" Chan is a Filipino-born American comic book artist.-Biography:Chan migrated to the United States in 1970, and became a citizen in 1976. For a number of years, he was obliged to work under the name "Ernie Chua" as that name had been wrongfully entered on his U.S...
on DC's Jonah Hex
Jonah Hex
Jonah Woodson Hex is a Western comic book antihero created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga and published by DC Comics. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is horribly scarred on the right side. Despite his poor reputation and personality, Hex is bound by a personal...
#8 (Jan. 1978), he became that Western
Western comics
Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier and typically set during the late nineteenth century...
series' regular penciler and inker beginning with #12 (May 1978), working with writer Michael Fleisher
Michael Fleisher
Michael L. "Mike" Fleisher is an American writer known for his DC Comics of the 1970s and 1980s, particularly for the characters the Spectre and Jonah Hex.-Early life and career:...
. He continued through #22 (March 1979) and additionally drew #27 (Aug. 1979).
Later career
Alcazar's comics work tapered off in the early 1980s. He wrote and drew the eight-page story "Paradise" in the comics-anthology magazine Heavy MetalHeavy 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...
vol. 5, #4 (July 1981), and penciled the Marvel superhero comic Moon Knight
Moon Knight
Moon Knight is a fictional character, a mercenary-turned-superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character exists in the Marvel Universe and was created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin...
#21 (July 1982), his last known comics work until 1993, when he penciled an issue each of 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....
' Megalith
Megalith (comics)
Megalith is a fictional superhero, as well as the title of a comic book starring the hero published by Continuity Comics. Megalith first appeared in The Revengers #1 in 1985, which had him team up with Armour and Silver Streak. Later, Megalith starred in his own series.-External links:**...
#2 (June 1993) and Earth 4 #3 (Aug. 1993).
As of mid-2007, he is married to documentary filmmaker Amanda Lucena.