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

24 Francisco Solano López He wasn’t allowed to sign his work, but few comic strip artists were as recognisable to British readers growing up in the 1960s and early 1970s as Solano López. His distinctive art was everywhere in dozens of series covering every genre. From science fiction, war and adventure, to football and sports, his unmistakeable graphic style made him one of the most recognisable among comic strip artists, even if you didn’t know his name. The incredibly prolific Solano López has been called a “virtual comics factory” for the staggering amount of pages he drew for the British market during the 1960s. In fact, he was running a studio in Spain, where he had various assistants who all drew using his same graphic style, but nevertheless his was the guiding hand. Francisco Solano López was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1928. He began a military career at an early age, and, in fact, was a descendant of his namesake, the 19th century Paraguayan military president and dictator. However, Solano López soon discovered an affinity for drawing, something he found more enjoyable than FACING PAGE AND ABOVE: Kelly’s Eye , brush and ink on board, 1966. Image from the popular series that appeared in Valiant during the 1960s-’70s. Using the ‘Eye of Zoltec’, a gem that gives him superhuman powers so long as he is wearing it around his neck, Tim Kelly becomes a hero, and has many adventures across the world. The series was originally created for Knockout and later appeared in Valiant when the former was cancelled and merged with the latter. Image courtesy of Luc Cornillon © Rebellion