Romero – RIP

Comic strip artist Enrique Badia Romero has passed away.

Spanish comic artist Romero, who gained fame with British comic strips, has died.

From John Freeman:

We’re sorry to report the passing of Spanish comic artist Enric Badia Romero, also known as Enrique Badia Romero, best known, perhaps, for his work on the Modesty Blaise and Axa, the latter created by him. He was 94.

The Book Palace was among the first to announce his passing, who continue to sell some of his art. “We had very good connections to this power house of illustration who drew more Modesty Blaise strips than any other artist,” says Geoff West, “and of course he will be remembered as the creator of Axa.”

Downthetubes gives a nice review of Romero’s career and Emmanuel Andres has an outline of Romero’s contributions to the United Kingdom comics scene showing him there long before his Modesty Blaise runs.

But we turn to Enrique himself for a brief autobiography (with the help of Google Translate):

My training, like that of most cartoonists of that time, was completely self-taught. At the age of 17, I saw my first work published in a Barcelona Publishing House and I began my artistic career in the world of COMIC. For 11 years (1947 – 1958) I collaborated fully for Editors in my city, alternating adventure stories with CHRISTMAS, FIGURINES, COVERS, ADVERTISING, etc.

I created some correspondence drawing studios, in which more than 1,000 students signed up. I set up a magazine (ALEX) in which I got the collaboration of the best artists of those times. In 1959, I began my contacts with the foreign market. After many collaborations, England, the USA, France, Italy, Germany, published my works in various publications.

In 1970 I had the fortune of being introduced to the character of MODESTY BLAISE, which I carried out for the first time until 1978. Due to overwork, I had to leave the series since I had created another AXA character, also destined for an English newspaper. Due to problems with the editors of THE SUN, AXA ended and in 1986 I returned with MODESTY. After its well-deserved success, Peter O’Donnell decided to end the series on 11/27/2000, for justifiably personal reasons. Naturally we both regretted this decision, since after almost 38 years of existence, Modesty had made a deep impression on us.

As Romero says he drew the Modesty Blaise comic strip from 1970 to 1978 and from 1986 to 2001.

Romero in America

Modesty Blaise came to the United States with a short newspaper run of the imported comic strip in 1966 and 1967 with art by original artist Jim Holdaway. Comic strip fans could also read her adventures in The Menomonee Falls Gazette beginning in 1971. That fanzine of comic strips would begin carrying the Romero Modesty in 1973 with #100.

Romero made a few attempts around 1973/4 to get the attention of American comic book publishers.

It was a short-lived effort as his time was being filled with the daily Modesty Blaise and other offers.

Modesty Blaise and Romero came to America at large on June 21, 1976 when a second attempt at syndicating the comic strip to U.S. newspapers began. More successful than the first this time the strip would continue until September 4, 1981 (or July 9, 1981 depending on the newspaper). These were reruns of Romero drawn stories from earlier in the 1970s. Example – the U.S. 1976 run began with a story originally from 1970.

above: June 21, 1976 (Detroit Free Press); below: September 4, 1981 (Democrat & Chronicle)

But the end of the broad syndication of the strip in the United States didn’t end Modesty’s newspaper strip here. Apparently a Detroit Free Press editor was so enamored with the strip that he contacted the strip’s owners and continued running the strip in his newspaper.

After the original syndicated run (which ended in The Free Press on September 19, 1981) Detroit readers continued to enjoy O’Connell and Romero’s comic. The newspaper jumped ahead five years from the syndicated reruns and ran a 1976 Romero story (“The Vanishing Dollybirds”) and then jumped ahead four more years to the Neville Colvin years. In 1987 The Free Press reached the 1986 Romero years (it always ran a year of so behind the original U.K. publication dates). From that point on the Modesty Blaise comic strip, and by extension Romero, appeared in an American newspaper until the last strip – originally in Great Britain on April 11, 2001 – ran in The Detroit Free Press on May 4, 2002.

further reading:

Naturally the world famous comic artist has a Wikipedia page and a Lambiek page.

The entirety of the Modesty Blaise comic strip has been collected in book form.

Romero’s Axa never had a chance of appearing in America’s Puritanical newspapers but it has been made available in various books, including a series from U.S. publisher Eclipse.

The ever reliable artists’ showcase gallery Comic Art Fans has a few dozen Romero art samples.

And. of course, Romero’s home site has a gallery page and much more about the artist.