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Goodbye Carlos

Started by JayzusB.Christ, 01 October, 2018, 03:57:12 PM

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broodblik

When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

rogue69

I'm sad to say the cash in has started, there is a sketch of Johnny Alpha & Wulf up on eBay for £250 which they say they got from him at the 2016 LFCC so they would have got it for free

Richard


PsychoGoatee

One of the all time greats, such an incredible visual storyteller, and a great guy. He'll be missed, gotta love Carlos.

Dudley

OBITUARY - The Times

Carlos Ezquerra obituary

Comic-book artist who left Franco's Spain and was inspired by the British punk scene to create the brutal enforcer Judge Dredd

November 6 2018, 12:01am,
The Times


If most of the best-known characters in the universe of comic-book superheroes were American inventions, Batman, Superman and their ilk met their match when Carlos Ezquerra created Judge Dredd, the crime-busting character whose exploits have entertained readers of the leading British comic 2000AD for more than 40 years.

The brutal law enforcer in the post-apocalyptic future urban dystopia of Mega-City One was first drawn by the Spanish-born cartoonist when the weekly comic launched in 1977. Ezquerra's character pursued dastardly villains without the sanctimonious, goody two-shoes style of Clark Kent and the Caped Crusader. When Dredd caught criminals, he did not hand them to due process, but dealt out a violent justice as judge, jury and executioner.

Ezquerra's design for the unsmiling character was partly based on illustrations of soldiers in ancient Greece, but the edgy zips and chains that adorned his black body armour were inspired by the mid-1970s punk scene in suburban Croydon, where the cartoonist was living. Dredd's costume was completed by oversized knee pads, a huge eagle on the epaulette on his right shoulder and a distinctive helmet, which meant his full face was never seen.

"You can recognise Superman by the shield on his chest, Batman by his hood and Dredd by the helmet," Ezquerra said. "He's a bastard, but the kind of bastard we'd all like to have near us when we're in trouble."

It took him just a couple of days to come up with his original drawing for Dredd, chain-smoking his way through tins of Spanish cigarillos as he did so. "When I create a character, I do it quickly, because the longer you stay working on an idea, the more chances you have to spoil it," he said. His creation is still appearing in 2000AD as the comic's longest-running character and has its own spin-off title, Judge Dredd Megazine.

Ezquerra's character has spawned two feature films, in which Dredd was portrayed by Sylvester Stallone and Karl Urban, several video games, a series of novels, audiobooks, a board game and even a pinball machine. Dredd has also been celebrated in pop songs by the Human League, Madness, Anthrax and the Manic Street Preachers, among others, and was one of ten British comic characters commemorated in a series of stamps issued by the Royal Mail in 2012.

When Stallone portrayed the character in the 1995 film Judge Dredd, it was widely reported that he would be sure to get the role because Ezquerra had based his original drawings on the actor's impressive physique in Rocky two decades previously. Sadly the story turned out to be untrue.

"The idea came from a joke I made when I was in London for the film premiere," the cartoonist said. "I suppose my English is not good enough to make jokes."

Working with the writer John Wagner, Ezquerra created a pantheon of other memorable comic-book heroes, including Johnny Alpha, a mutant bounty hunter in the Strontium Dog comic, and the Stainless Steel Rat, one of just two characters he drew that were inspired by a flesh-and-blood role model. The other was Major Easy, and both were based on the actor James Coburn. "Mostly I visualise the characters in my mind, but I loved his look in The Magnificent Seven," Ezquerra explained.

While many of 2000AD's most successful artists used the comic as a launch pad to work in the bigger and more lucrative US market dominated by Marvel and DC Comics, Ezquerra remained loyal to the publication that gave him his break. Even after he had returned to continental Europe to live in Andorra with his wife, Concepción, he continued to work for 2000AD. He is survived by his wife and two sons, one of whom, Hector, has often inked his father's drawings.

Born in the tiny town of Ibdes in Spain in 1947, Carlos Sanchez Ezquerra was enthralled by comic books from an early age and began drawing for Spanish publishers when in his teens, working mainly on war stories and westerns.

By 1972 Ezquerra had a British agent, who found him work in the UK market illustrating soft-focus, romantic stories aimed at young girls for the magazines Valentine and Mirabelle. He also undertook work drawing a variety of adventure strips for The Wizard, which offered an outlet for the dark humour and abrasiveness that were to become Ezquerra's hallmark.

His dislike of Franco's fascist regime at home and a growing number of British commissions led him to move to London in 1973. He was soon drawing the comic strip Rat Pack, inspired by the film The Dirty Dozen, and Major Easy for the newly launched war comic Battle Picture Weekly. When the magazine's editor Pat Mills and chief writer John Wagner launched 2000AD, they turned to Ezquerra to visualise Judge Dredd.

When another artist was employed to work on the strip there were ructions that resulted in Ezquerra walking out, but he was soon back. He not only drew Dredd through what fans of comics regard as the character's quintessential era in long-running storylines with titles such as The Apocalypse War, Necropolis and Judgement Day, but by 1980 had added Strontium Dog, Tharg The Mighty, ABC Warriors and The Stainless Steel Rat to his portfolio.

A lifelong cigar smoker, he had a lung removed after contracting cancer in 2010. After the operation, Ezquerra shrugged, picked up his pens again and asked his readers: "Who the hell needs two for drawing?"
Carlos Ezquerra, cartoon illustrator, was born on November 12, 1947. He died of lung cancer on October 1, 2018, aged 70.

TordelBack

Thanks for that Dudley, a good read. How upset I was by the end of it is another story.

Richard


Frank


Thanks, Dudley - especially if you took the time to type all that yourself.

The Facebook group that organised the fundraiser for the Ezquerra family just reported the cash has been transferred to John Wagner. Over £4,000 - well done to everyone who kicked-in.



Geoff

That's great, with over 200 people chipping in!

I bought the Times today to read the obit in the paper. 

Overall it's a good piece BUT there's a glaring error!

Under his picture there's a caption stating that he was loyal to DC Comics throughout his career!!

The caption must have been written by someone else, as the piece makes it clear that he worked for 2000ad and wasn't lured by the almighty dollar to Marvel or DC...

Frank

QuoteWhen Stallone portrayed the character in the 1995 film Judge Dredd, it was widely reported that he would be sure to get the role because Ezquerra had based his original drawings on the actor's impressive physique in Rocky two decades previously. Sadly the story turned out to be untrue.

"The idea came from a joke I made when I was in London for the film premiere," the cartoonist said. "I suppose my English is not good enough to make jokes.

This is a deep cut, both the original comment and (especially) the correction. Impressively well researched, considering the usual coverage of comics in the straight press.

Is there a credit on the obituary, Dudley? I'd like to get in touch and say thanks.



Richard

What an utterly fucking ridiculous caption. The rest of the obituary is pure gold.

No credit given.

Albion

Quote from: Frank on 06 November, 2018, 05:51:01 PM
The Facebook group that organised the fundraiser for the Ezquerra family just reported the cash has been transferred to John Wagner. Over £4,000 - well done to everyone who kicked-in.

Yes, well done and well done Dale for organising it.
I hope all those who were criticising him and doubting the money would be handed over are enjoying their large slices of humble pie.
Dumb all over, a little ugly on the side.

Frank


Probably not the place, mate.



Albion

Possibly. Its not my intention to ruin the thread on the sad passing of the King but credit where credit is due.
Dumb all over, a little ugly on the side.

Frank


You didn't; no worries.

Everyone loved Carlos. If you think it's impossible for you to love him any more than you already do, listen to his fantastic Scottish accent here - 'HE LOOKS LIKE A FUCKING SPANISH PIRATE!' (3m 45s)