David Aja (born April 16, 1977) is a Spanish

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

artist, best known for his work on ''

The Immortal Iron Fist ''The Immortal Iron Fist'' was a comic book series published by Marvel Comics and starring the superhero Iron Fist. Publication history The series was written jointly by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction from issues #1-14 with artists Travel Forem ...

'' and '' Hawkeye''.

Career

Aja obtained a degree in Fine Arts at the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is t ...

and served as a member of the faculty of fine arts from 1995 to 2000. He began working as a professional illustrator in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in 2000. He has conducted public lectures on illustration as Faculty of Fine Arts at both Universidad de Salamanca and

Universidad Complutense de Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university lo ...

(UCM). His work includes CD covers, as well as

computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...

with collaborator Marcel·lí Antúnez Roca. In November 2006, Aja and writers

Ed Brubaker Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...

and

Matt Fraction Matt Fritchman (born December 1, 1975), better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an Eisner Award-winning American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of '' The Invincible Iron Man'', '' The Immortal Iron Fist'', ''Uncanny X ...

started the series ''

''. In 2011 Aja provided art for

David Lapham David Lapham is an American comic book writer, artist, and cartoonist, best known for his work on the independent comic book '' Stray Bullets''. Career David Lapham started his career in 1990 as a penciller at Valiant Comics. He went on to wo ...

's '' Wolverine: Debt of Death'' one-shot. In August 2012 he started a new '' Hawkeye'' series with writer Matt Fraction, as part of

Marvel NOW! Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including '' U ...

. The series was released to positive reviews, with critics praising the storyline and art styles. As artist on ''Hawkeye'', Aja won the 2013 Eisner Award for Best Penciler/Inker (tying

Chris Samnee Chris Samnee is an American comic book artist. He received the 2011 Harvey Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his work on the '' Thor: The Mighty Avenger'', and won a 2013 Eisner Award for Best Penciller/Inker for his work on '' The Rocketeer: ...

) and won the 2013

Eisner Award for Best Cover Artist The Eisner Award for Best Cover Artist is an award for creative achievement in American comic books, given to an artist of comics cover art. Winners and nominees Multiple awards and nominations The following individuals have won Best Cov ...

. ''Hawkeye'' won the 2014

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are List of Eisner Award winners, prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Acad ...

for Best Single Issue (Or One Shot) and Aja again won the Eisner Award for Best Cover Artist for his work on the series. In September 2020,

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

announced that Aja would be among the creators of a revived ''

Batman Black and White ''Batman Black and White'' refers to the comic book limited series published by DC Comics featuring 8-page black and white Batman stories. Volumes 1, 4 and 5 of the series feature all-new stories (published in 1996, 2013–14, and 2020–21, res ...

'' anthology series to debut on December 8, 2020. This would also be his first work for DC.

Personal life

He and his wife, Pilar, live in

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

, Spain.

Bibliography

Interior comic work includes: *''

X-Men Unlimited ''X-Men Unlimited'' was the title of three comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The purpose of this title was to run stories that fit between the main X-Men comics. The stories included all characters (heroes and villains) from the X-t ...

'' vol. 2 (

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically cate ...

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

): ** "So This Guy Walks Up to a Fruit Whipz Counter..." (with David Hahn, in #11, 2005) ** "Colossus: Dying Inside" (with C. B. Cebulski, in #14, 2006) *'' Civil War: Front Line'' #3: "Futility" (with Paul Jenkins, co-feature, Marvel, 2006) *'' Giant-Size Wolverine'': "House of Blood and Sorrow" (with

, Marvel, 2006) *''

Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superhero ...

'' (Marvel): ** "The Secret Life of Foggy Nelson" (with

, in vol. 2 #88, 2006) ** "On the Costa da Morte" (with Ed Brubaker, in vol. 2 #116, 2009) ** "3 Jacks" (with Ann Nocenti, co-feature in vol. 1 #500, 2009) ** "Game Room" (with Ann Nocenti, in ''Black & White'' anthology

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

, 2010) *''

'' (with Ed Brubaker and

, Marvel): ** "The Immortal Iron Fist" (in '' Civil War: Choosing Sides'' anthology one-shot, 2006) ** "The Last Iron Fist Story" (with

Travel Foreman Travel Foreman is an American comic book artist. Biography Travel Foreman gained attention with his work on Com.x’s ''Cla$$war'', where he replaced original series artist Trevor Hairsine.John Severin John Powers Severin (; December 26, 1921 – February 12, 2012) was an American comics artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics ''Two-Fisted Tales'' and ''Frontline Combat''; for Marvel Comics, ...

, Russ Heath Jr. and

Sal Buscema Sal Buscema (; ; born Silvio Buscema, January 26, 1936) is an American comics artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he enjoyed a ten-year run as artist of '' The Incredible Hulk'' and an eight-year run as artist of ''The Spectacular Spider-M ...

, in #1-6, 2007) ** "The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven" (with Roy Martinez,

Scott Koblish Scott Koblish ( ) was born on May 28, 1970, in upstate New York, and has hundreds of comics credits at both Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Education Scott Koblish attended The Kubert School of Cartooning and Graphic Art when he was nine years old. ...

, Kano,

Tonči Zonjić Tonči Zonjić is a Croatian comic book artist. Career Zonjić started out as an illustrator at the age of 15 and got into comics by creating a fanzine called ''Pipci!'' (''Tentacles!'') in 2004.

and

Javier Pulido Javier Pulido is a Spanish comic book artist working primarily for the American market. His notable works include ''Human Target'', '' Robin: Year One'', '' She-Hulk'' and '' The Amazing Spider-Man''. Early life Born in Las Palmas de Gran Canari ...

, in #8-13, 2007) ** "Happy Birthday Danny" (in #16, 2008) *'' The New Avengers'' #50 (with

Brian Michael Bendis Brian Michael Bendis (; born August 18, 1967) is an American comic book writer and artist. He has won five Eisner Awards for both his creator-owned work and his work on various Marvel Comics books.Bendis, Brian Michael and Oeming, Michael Avon, ...

, among other artists, Marvel, 2009) *''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'' #600: "One Year After" (with Ed Brubaker, among other artists, Marvel, 2009) *''

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, ...

'' #600: "To Asgard! Forever!" (with

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

, co-feature, Marvel, 2009) *''

Secret Avengers ''Secret Avengers'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring a fictional black ops superhero team of the same name. The series started with Ed Brubaker on writing duties, depicting a black-ops sect of Marvel's premie ...

'' (Marvel): ** "The Secret Life of Max Fury" (with Ed Brubaker and

Michael Lark Michael Lark (born 1966) is an American comics artist and colorist. Lark has provided pencils for DC Comics' ''Batman'', '' Terminal City'', '' Gotham Central'' and '' Legend of the Hawkman''. His work for Marvel Comics includes '' The Pulse'' a ...

, in #5, 2010) ** "No Zone" (with

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ( ...

and

Raúl Allén Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

, in #18, 2011) *'' Wolverine: Debt of Death'' (with David Lapham, one-shot, Marvel, 2011) *'' Hawkeye'' vol. 4 #1-3, 6, 8-9, 11, 13, 15, 19, 21-22 (with Matt Fraction, Marvel, 2012–2015) *''

The Seeds The Seeds were an American psychedelic garage rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965, best known for their highest charting single " Pushin' Too Hard". The band's classic line-up featured frontman Sky Saxon, guitarist Jan Savage ...

'' #1-4 (with Ann Nocenti,

Berger Books Karen Berger (; born February 26, 1958) is an American comic book editor. She is best known for her role in helping create DC Comics' Vertigo imprint in 1993 and serving as the line's Executive Editor until 2013. She currently oversees Berger Bo ...

, 2018–...) ** The series was postponed indefinitely after issue 2. *''

'' #2: "The Devil is in the Details" (

, 2021)

Covers only

*''

Four 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest ...

'' #28 (

, 2006) *'' Invincible Iron Man'' #6, 8 (Marvel, 2008–2009) *''

Immortal Weapons The Immortal Weapons are fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are each a champion of one of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven in the . The Immortal Weapons first appear in ''The Immortal Iron Fis ...

'' #1-5 (Marvel, 2009–2010) *'' 5 Ronin'' #1-5 (Marvel, 2011) *'' Black Panther: The Man without Fear'' #516 (Marvel, 2011) *''

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in '' More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His real name is Oliver Jonas Quee ...

'' vol. 4 #12 (

, 2011) *''

Red Skull The Red Skull is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and its predecessor Timely Comics. The first version, George Maxon, appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 and #4. The main ...

'' #1-5 (Marvel, 2011–2012) *''

X-O Manowar X-O Manowar (Aric of Dacia) is a fictional superhero co-created by writers Jim Shooter and Steve Englehart, and artists Bob Layton and Barry Windsor-Smith. The eponymous comic book series published by Valiant Comics has sold more than 8 million ...

'' vol. 3 #1, 6 ( Valiant, 2012) *'' Bloodshot'' vol. 3 #1, 4 (Valiant, 2012) *''

Archer and Armstrong ''Archer & Armstrong'' is a superhero duo in the Valiant Comics universe. The two were originally created by writer and artist Barry Windsor-Smith and introduced in their own self-titled comic book series in 1992. After Acclaim Entertainment boug ...

'' vol. 2 #1, 3 (Valiant, 2012) *'' Hawkeye'' vol. 4 #4-5, 7, 14, 16-18, 20 (Marvel, 2012–2014) *''

Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter, with ...

: Hail Hydra'' #3 (Marvel, 2015) *'' Ivar, Timewalker'' #1 (Valiant, 2015) *''

Spider-Gwen ''Spider-Gwen'' (also titled ''Ghost-Spider'') is an ongoing comic book series published by Marvel Comics that began February 2015. The series revolves around Gwen Stacy of Earth-65, an alternate universe version of Gwen Stacy that debuted in ...

'' #5 (Marvel, 2015) *''

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (, which was originally derived from ar, خورنق ''Khurnaq'' "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Constru ...

'' #1-6 (Marvel, 2015–2017) *''

Howard the Duck Howard the Duck is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck first appeared in ''Adventure into F ...

'' vol. 6 #1 (Marvel, 2016) *''

Scarlet Witch Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in ''The X-Men'' #4 (March 19 ...

'' vol. 2 #1-15 (Marvel, 2016–2017) *''

The Wicked + The Divine ''The Wicked + The Divine'' is a contemporary fantasy comic book series created by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, and published by Image Comics. The series is largely influenced by pop music and various mythological deities, and includes the t ...

'' #21 (

Image An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensio ...

, 2016) *'' Star Wars: Han Solo'' #1 (Marvel, 2016) *'' Star Wars: Poe Dameron'' #4 (Marvel, 2016) *''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'' vol. 4 #21 (Marvel, 2016) *'' The Punisher'' vol. 11 #5 (Marvel, 2016) *''

Jessica Jones Jessica Campbell Jones Cage is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos and first appeared in ''Alias'' #1 (November 2001), a ...

'' #1 (Marvel, 2016) *'' 2000 AD 40th Anniversary Special'' #1 (

Rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

, 2017) *'' All-New Iron Man and Avengers'' #9 ( Marvel France, 2017) *'' Hawkeye'' vol. 5 #1 (Marvel, 2017) *'' Godshaper'' #1 (

Boom! Studios Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Origins In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in ...

, 2017) *'' Star Wars: Darth Maul'' #2 (Marvel, 2017) *''

Doctor Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

'' vol. 5 #4 (Marvel, 2018) *''

'' #600 (Marvel, 2018)

Other work

Aja did work for various Spanish publishers, such as: *European Press, Publishers, and Magazines, which include ''El País'', ''Men's Health'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''Cinemanía'', ''Espasa'', and ''Santillana'' *''

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

'' newspaper *Progresa (Promotora General de Revistas S.A.): ''Cinemania'', ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', ''Revista 40'' and ''Blue Joven'' *Hachette Filipacchi: ''Emprendedores'' and ''Ragazza'' *Muy Extra and Reporter Corporate Publishing Company *Covers illustrations: ''Espasa'', ''Planeta'', ''Oxford'', ''Alfaguara'', ''Aguilar'', ''Ediciones B'', ''Plaza & Janes'', ''Punto de Lecture'' and ''Circulo de Lectores'' *Illustrated books: ''Gaviota'', ''Santillana'', ''Anaya'', ''Circulo de Lectores'' and ''Cruilla''

Awards

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

: Won the "Favourite Newcomer Artist" Eagle Award *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

: Won the categories "Best Penciller/Inker," along with artist Chris Samnee, and "Best Cover Artist"

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

: Won "Best Cover Artist." Hawkeye #11, by Matt Fraction and Aja, won " Best Single Issue (Or One Shot)"

References

External links

* *
Meet & Greet: David Aja

Newsarama Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website GamesRadar+, also owned by FutureUS. History ...

, August 8, 2006
Iron Drawing Hand: Aja talks "The Immortal Iron Fist"

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

, November 16, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Aja, David 1977 births Eisner Award winners for Best Cover Artist Eisner Award winners for Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team Living people Spanish comics artists University of Salamanca alumni University of Salamanca faculty 20th-century Spanish male artists 21st-century Spanish male artists