EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 34 by Book Palace Books * 96 PAGES IN FULL EDITION

1 2 24 46 72 88 96 Latin artists from around the world are the focus of attention in this issue. First, we reminiscence about Jesus—no, not that one, the other one, the great Spanish comic strip artist, Jesús Blasco, whose hyper-realistic comic art would provide inspiration to many British artists. As with many Spanish colleagues, he achieved greater recognition outside his own country, becoming a staple in the British comic strips field. Next we head over to Argentina where Francsico Solano López, another mainstay of British comics, drew a multitude of strips encompassing every genre from war, to science fiction, horror and football (or ‘soccer’ as our American readers prefer to call it). For our third feature we talk to Eugenio Sicomoro, an Italian illustrator and comic strip artist. Although his name might be unfamiliar to our English-speaking readers, throughout Europe he is one of the most feted artists among his peers. He is also one of the founders of the first comic strips art schools in Italy. Much like his fellow countryman Blasco, Víctor de la Fuente was never lauded in his own land, but achieved later success in France, where he is still recognised as one of the premier comic strip artists to this day. Lastly, changing pace, we visit the studio of a truly extraordinary painter. Fans of the Star Wars movies might knowArantzazuMartínez as one of the artists picked by George Lucas himself for the book ‘Star Wars Art: Visions’, a collection of paintings and illustrations inspired by these popular science fiction series of movies. We chat withMartínez about her exceptional work. Enjoy! DC illustrators