Whilce Portacio
Encyclopedia
William "Whilce" Portacio (born July 8, 1963) 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.
, Philippines
. He grew up in places such as Midway Island and New Mexico
before his family settled in San Diego, California
. He began reading comic books at the age of ten, when his neighbor decided to get rid of her husband's collection, and through this, he discovered the work of creators such as Jack Kirby
and Neal Adams
, who were the two most important influences on Portacio's art. Though Portacio dreamed of becoming an astronaut
, his height and eyesight did not meet the necessary requirements, which determined that art would be his vocation. In high school, he continued to create his own comic books with his longtime friend, Scott Williams, who would one day be a prolific comic book inker in the industry.
editor Carl Potts
, after seeing Portacio's portfolio, offered him the job inking over Frank Cirocco and Chris Warner's pencils on the 1984 series Alien Legion
. The following year, he inked over Art Adams
' pencils on the 1985 miniseries Longshot
.
Later he was given assignments as a penciller
as well. Portacio became noted for his work on such titles as The Punisher
, X-Factor
, and The Uncanny X-Men, for which he co-created the character Bishop
with John Byrne and Jim Lee
.
In 1992, Portacio left Marvel to co-found Image Comics
with six other high-profile artists. He quickly withdrew from Image due to his sister's illness. He eventually published his title Wetworks
through Jim Lee
's Wildstorm
imprint in 1994. Other notable series that Portacio worked on include Stone and Marvel's controversial Heroes Reborn
storyline within Iron Man
.
In August 2000, Portacio fell into a diabetic coma
as a result of a failing pancreas
. He woke up a week later, thirty pounds lighter, and unable to walk, stand or even draw. Only six months later was he able to pick up a pencil and draw. According to his blog, "My mind could see what I wanted to draw but my hand couldn't accomplish it."
In 2006, Portacio returned to his artistic duties at Wildstorm on Wetworks vol. 2, which was being written by Mike Carey. Unfortunately, Portacio's reputation for being unable to maintain a steady work schedule caught up with him again as Wetworks vol. 2 suffered from numerous delays and Portacio ended up leaving the book with issue #6, but he continues to illustrate cover art monthly since leaving as the book's interior artist. The new Wetworks series was short-lived though, lasting only 15 issues. He also began art duties on the new monthly DC Comics
series Batman Confidential
.
On June 9, 2008, it was announced that Portacio would be the new artist on Spawn
starting in October 2008 with issue #185, providing pencils with Spawn creator Todd McFarlane
returning as co-writer with Brian Holguin
as the new creative team.
Following his run on Spawn he has done more work with Marvel. He contributed pencils to Hulk #18 in 2008, and will be contributing pencils to an upcoming issue of The Uncanny X-Men.
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
, X-Factor
X-Factor (comics)
X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently as X-Factor Investigations.X-Factor launched in...
, and the Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men, first published as The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise. It is the mainstream continuity featuring the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes...
. Portacio was also one of the seven co-founders of 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...
, though he did not become a partner in the company.
Early life
Portacio was born in Sangley Point, Cavite CityCavite City
The City of Cavite is a fourth class city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. The city occupies a hook shaped peninsula jutting out into Manila Bay. Cavite City used to be the capital of the province...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. He grew up in places such as Midway Island and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
before his family settled in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. He began reading comic books at the age of ten, when his neighbor decided to get rid of her husband's collection, and through this, he discovered the work of creators such as Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
and 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...
, who were the two most important influences on Portacio's art. Though Portacio dreamed of becoming an astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
, his height and eyesight did not meet the necessary requirements, which determined that art would be his vocation. In high school, he continued to create his own comic books with his longtime friend, Scott Williams, who would one day be a prolific comic book inker in the industry.
Career
Portacio attended his first comic book convention in San Diego, where 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...
editor Carl Potts
Carl Potts
Carl Potts is an American comic-book writer, artist, and editor best known for creating the series Alien Legion for the Marvel Comics imprint Epic Comics.-Early life:...
, after seeing Portacio's portfolio, offered him the job inking over Frank Cirocco and Chris Warner's pencils on the 1984 series Alien Legion
Alien Legion
Alien Legion is a science-fiction comic-book series and associated titles created by Carl Potts, Alan Zelenetz, and Frank Cirocco for Marvel Comics; Epic Comics imprint in 1983...
. The following year, he inked over Art Adams
Art Adams
Arthur "Art" Adams is an American comic book artist and writer. He first broke into the American comic book industry with the 1985 Marvel Comics miniseries Longshot...
' pencils on the 1985 miniseries Longshot
Longshot
Longshot is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero best known as a member of the X-Men. He was created by writer Ann Nocenti and artist Art Adams.-Publication history:...
.
Later he was given assignments as a penciller
Penciller
A penciller is an artist who works in the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms.The penciller is the first step in rendering the story in visual form and may require several steps of feedback with the writer. These artists are concerned with layout to showcase...
as well. Portacio became noted for his work on such titles as The Punisher
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
, X-Factor
X-Factor (comics)
X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently as X-Factor Investigations.X-Factor launched in...
, and The Uncanny X-Men, for which he co-created the character Bishop
Bishop (comics)
Bishop is a fictional comic book superhero, appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular the X-Men family of books...
with John Byrne and Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...
.
In 1992, Portacio left Marvel to co-found 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...
with six other high-profile artists. He quickly withdrew from Image due to his sister's illness. He eventually published his title Wetworks
Wetworks
Wetworks is an American comic book series created by comic book artist Whilce Portacio and writer Brandon Choi. It ran for four years before ending in 1998...
through Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...
's Wildstorm
Wildstorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
imprint in 1994. Other notable series that Portacio worked on include Stone and Marvel's controversial Heroes Reborn
Heroes Reborn
"Heroes Reborn" was a 1996-1997 crossover story arc among comic-book series published by the American company Marvel Comics. During this one-year, multi-title story arc, Marvel temporarily outsourced the production of several of its most famous comic books to the studios of its popular former...
storyline within Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
.
In August 2000, Portacio fell into a diabetic coma
Diabetic coma
Diabetic coma is a reversible form of coma found in people with diabetes mellitus. It is a medical emergency.Three different types of diabetic coma are identified:#Severe diabetic hypoglycemia...
as a result of a failing pancreas
Pancreas
The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as a digestive organ, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that assist...
. He woke up a week later, thirty pounds lighter, and unable to walk, stand or even draw. Only six months later was he able to pick up a pencil and draw. According to his blog, "My mind could see what I wanted to draw but my hand couldn't accomplish it."
In 2006, Portacio returned to his artistic duties at Wildstorm on Wetworks vol. 2, which was being written by Mike Carey. Unfortunately, Portacio's reputation for being unable to maintain a steady work schedule caught up with him again as Wetworks vol. 2 suffered from numerous delays and Portacio ended up leaving the book with issue #6, but he continues to illustrate cover art monthly since leaving as the book's interior artist. The new Wetworks series was short-lived though, lasting only 15 issues. He also began art duties on the new monthly 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...
series Batman Confidential
Batman Confidential
Batman Confidential was an American monthly comic book series from DC Comics which debuted on December 6, 2006 and concluded on March 2, 2011....
.
On June 9, 2008, it was announced that Portacio would be the new artist on Spawn
Spawn (comics)
Spawn is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in a monthly comic book of the same name published by Image Comics. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1...
starting in October 2008 with issue #185, providing pencils with Spawn creator Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane is a Canadian cartoonist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books, such as the fantasy series Spawn....
returning as co-writer with Brian Holguin
Brian Holguin
Brian Holguin is an American writer who works in the comics industry. He is known for his work on Aria and Todd McFarlane's Spawn.He also wrote Spawn: Godslayer, a dark fantasy re-imagining of Spawn.-Aria :...
as the new creative team.
Following his run on Spawn he has done more work with Marvel. He contributed pencils to Hulk #18 in 2008, and will be contributing pencils to an upcoming issue of The Uncanny X-Men.
DC
- Authority, vol. 2, #14 (2004)
- Authority, vol. 3, #6 (2005)
- Batman ConfidentialBatman ConfidentialBatman Confidential was an American monthly comic book series from DC Comics which debuted on December 6, 2006 and concluded on March 2, 2011....
#1-6 (2007) - Batman: Gotham KnightsBatman: Gotham KnightsBatman: Gotham Knights was a monthly, fictional comic book series published by DC Comics. The original intent of this book was to feature the exploits of Batman and his extended family - Alfred Pennyworth, Batgirl, Nightwing, Robin, Oracle, Catwoman, etc...
(Batman Black and White) #47 (2004) - Coup D'Etat: The Authoritiy (2004)
- Eye of the Storm Annual #1 (2003)
- Stormwatch: Team AchillesStormwatch: Team AchillesStormwatch: Team Achilles is an American super-hero series, the third incarnation/revision of the Image comics Stormwatch.This version was penned by Micah Ian Wright and drawn variously by Whilce Portacio, C. P. Smith, Mark Texeira, Tomm Coker, Carlos D'Anda, and Clement Sauve. The longest run for...
#1-10 (2002–03) - Superman/BatmanSuperman/BatmanSuperman/Batman was a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular characters: Batman and Superman...
#57-59 (2009) - WetworksWetworksWetworks is an American comic book series created by comic book artist Whilce Portacio and writer Brandon Choi. It ran for four years before ending in 1998...
#1-3 (2006–07)
Image
- Artifacts, limited series, #5-8 (2011)
- DarknessThe Darkness (comics)The Darkness is a series of ongoing American comic books created by Marc Silvestri, Garth Ennis, and David Wohl and produced by Top Cow Productions. The comic first appeared in 1996 and enjoyed an initial period of relative success during the Top Cow/Image Comics boom of the late 1990s. However,...
#84 (2010) - DeathmateDeathmateDeathmate was a six-part comic book crossover between Valiant Comics and Image Comics published in 1993 and 1994. Designated by color rather than issue numbers plus two book-end issues, Deathmate Prologue and Deathmate Epilogue,as well as Preview issues collected with comic products, the four main...
#Black (among other artists) (1993) - SpawnSpawn (comics)Spawn is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in a monthly comic book of the same name published by Image Comics. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1...
#185-192, 194-195 - Tales of the Darkness #1-2 (1998)
- WetworksWetworksWetworks is an American comic book series created by comic book artist Whilce Portacio and writer Brandon Choi. It ran for four years before ending in 1998...
#1-4, 8, 11-12, 14 (1994–96)
Marvel
- DaredevilDaredevil (Marvel Comics)Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
Annual #5 (1989) - HulkHulk (comics)The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
, vol. 3, #18 (2009) - Incredible Hulk, vol. 3, #2 (along with Marc SilvestriMarc SilvestriMarc Silvestri is an American comic book artist, creator and publisher. He currently acts as the CEO for Top Cow Productions.-Early life:Marc Silvestri was born in Palm Beach, Florida.-Career:...
and Billy TanBilly TanBilly Tan Mung Khoy, commonly known as Billy Tan, is a Malaysian comic book artist.-Early ife:Billy Tan grew up in Malaysia and moved to the United States in 1989 to study business at the University of Kentucky. He began working as a penciler for Image Comics in the 1990s.-Career:Tan became the...
) (2011) - Iron ManIron ManIron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
, vol. 2, #1-3, 7-8, 11 (1996–97) - Journey Into MysteryJourney into MysteryJourney into Mystery was an American comic book series published by Atlas Comics, and later its successor Marvel Comics. It featured horror, monster, and science fiction stories...
#628 (2011) - Legion of NightLegion of NightThe Legion of Night is a fictional organization in the Marvel Comics universe. They were dedicated to opposing occult threats. The group was composed of Ariann Wight, Dr. Chan Liuchow, Dr. Katherine Reynolds, Martin Gold, Jennifer Kale, and Omen/Charles Blackwater...
#1-2 (1991) - New Avengers, vol. 2, #18 (2011)
- Prelude to Deadpool Corps, miniseries, #2 (2010)
- Power PackPower PackPower Pack is a fictional team of comic book superheroes consisting of four young siblings who appear in books published by Marvel Comics. They were created by writer Louise Simonson and artist June Brigman and first appeared in their own series in 1984. The series lasted 62 issues...
#46 (1989) - Punisher #8-18 (1988–89)
- Strange TalesStrange TalesStrange Tales is the name of several comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It introduced the features "Doctor Strange" and "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the...
(Cloak & Dagger) #12 (1988) - Strikeforce: MorituriStrikeforce: MorituriStrikeforce: Morituri is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics from 1986 to 1989. The series was created by writer Peter B. Gillis and artist Brent Anderson....
#1, 10, 16 (1986–88) - Stryfe's Strike File, one-shot (among other artists) (1993)
- Uncanny X-MenUncanny X-MenUncanny X-Men, first published as The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise. It is the mainstream continuity featuring the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes...
(full art): #267, 281-286, 289-290, 522, 526 (1990–92, 2010); (along with Leonard KirkLeonard KirkLeonard Kirk is an American-born comic book artist living in Canada. He has worked on such properties as Supergirl, JSA, Star Trek, Batman, and Witchblade...
): #527 (2010) - X-FactorX-Factor (comics)X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently as X-Factor Investigations.X-Factor launched in...
#63-69 (1991) - X ForceX ForceX Force was the name given to the portion of the National Revolutionary Army Chinese Expeditionary Force that retreated from Burma into India in 1942. Chiang Kai-shek sent troops into Burma from Yunnan in 1942 to assist the British in holding back the Japanese. These Chinese forces became broken...
(full art): #102-105; (along with Paco Medina): #106, 108 (2000)