José Antonio Villarrubia Jiménez-Momediano (born 17 November 1961) – known professionally as José Villarrubia – is a Spanish-American
artist
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, t ...
and art teacher who has done considerable work in the American
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 panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...
industry, particularly as a
colorist
In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates. Since the late 20th century it i ...
.
Biography
Villarrubia was born in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...
, moved to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1980. His fine art photography has been exhibited in the U.S., Latin America and Europe, in institutions such as the
Baltimore Museum of Art
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of ...
and the
Inter-American Development Bank
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Cari ...
. From 2011 to 2016 he was Chair of the
Illustration
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vide ...
Department of the
Maryland Institute College of Art
The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a Private university, private art school, art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of t ...
, where he is a professor. He is currently the coordinator of the Sequential Art Concentration. Before the
Maryland Institute College of Art
The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a Private university, private art school, art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of t ...
he had taught at
Towson University
Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university ...
, the
Baltimore School for the Arts and the
Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
. He has lectured extensively about art at
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...
, the
College Art Association
The College Art Association of America (CAA) is the principal organization in the United States for professionals in the visual arts, from students to art historians to emeritus faculty. Founded in 1911, it "promotes these arts and their understa ...
,
Dickinson College
, mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning
, established =
, type = Private liberal arts college
, endowment = $645.5 million (2022)
, president = ...
, the
ICA in London, the Williem de Kooning Academy, the Naples Academy of Art, and the
MacWorld
''Macworld'' is a website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG Inc. It started life as a print magazine in 1984 and had the largest audited circulation (both total and newsstand) of Macin ...
UK Convention.
In comics, Villarrubia has done digitally manipulated illustrations for ''Veils'', ''
Promethea'' and ''
The Sentry
Sentry or The Sentry may refer to:
Comics
*Sentry (Kree)
*Sentry (Curtis Elkins)
*Sentry (Robert Reynolds)
*Senator Ward (comics) or Sentry
Vehicles
*Sentry (AUV), an autonomous underwater vehicle used to measure deep-ocean data
*E-3 Sentry AWACS ...
''. As a colorist he is frequent collaborator of
Jae Lee (''Hellshock'', ''
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
1234'', ''
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 appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1 ( cover dated March 1941) from T ...
''),
Bill Sienkiewicz
Boleslav William Felix Robert Sienkiewicz ( ; born May 3, 1958) is an American artist known for his work in comic books—particularly for Marvel Comics' ''New Mutants'', ''Moon Knight,'' and ''Elektra: Assassin''. Sienkiewicz's work in the 1980s ...
(''
Sentry/
Hulk'', ''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to ...
Unlimited''),
J.H. Williams III (''
Promethea'', ''
Desolation Jones''),
Paul Pope
Paul Pope (born September 25, 1970, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American alternative cartoonist. Pope's work combines the precision and romance of European comics artists with the energy and page design of the manga tradition. Pope's ...
(''
Solo
Solo or SOLO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Comics
* ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series
* Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics
Characters
* Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character
* Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ' ...
'', ''Project Superior'', ''
Batman: Year 100'', ''
Wednesday Comics''),
Jeff Lemire
Jeff Lemire (; born March 21, 1976) is a Canadian comic book writer, artist, and television producer. He is the author of critically acclaimed titles including the '' Essex County Trilogy'', '' Sweet Tooth'', and ''The Nobody''. His written work i ...
(''
Sweet Tooth,
Trillium''),
Kaare Andrews
Kaare Andrews is a comic book writer, artist and filmmaker from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His work includes ''Spider-Man'', '' Iron Fist'', ''Renato Jones'', and '' Incredible Hulk''. Andrews has a diverse drawing style, which ranges from hyper ...
(''
Spider-Man/
Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in '' ...
: Year One'', ''
Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a musc ...
'', ''
Spider-Man: Reign''),
Ryan Sook (''
Spider-Man Unlimited'', ''
X-Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' ''
The Return of Bruce Wayne'') and
Richard Corben (''
CAGE'', ''
Ghost Rider'', ''
Conan the Cimmerian'', ''
Starr''). He has won the 2006 Comicdom Award for best colorist for his work on ''
X-Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'',
has been nominated twice for the
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...
for best colorist and has been included in The Society of Illustrators Annual Exhibition.
With writer
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', '' V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell ...
, he has produced two illustrated books, both published by
Top Shelf Productions
Top Shelf Productions is an American publishing company founded in 1997, originally owned and operated by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock and a small staff. Now an imprint of IDW Publishing, Top Shelf is based in Marietta, Georgia.
Top Shelf pu ...
: ''
Voice of the Fire
''Voice of the Fire'' is the first novel from Alan Moore, acclaimed comic book writer. The twelve-chapter book was initially published in the United Kingdom in 1996. The narratives take place around Moore’s hometown of Northampton, England ...
'' and ''
The Mirror of Love
''The Mirror of Love'' is an epic poem by Alan Moore, written in the form of a romantic letter. Sappho, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Oscar Wilde, and many others are woven into this rich, visceral piece, which documents the his ...
''. The latter is a love poem and a detailed history of homosexuality, prominently featuring famous figures in art and literature. It originally began as a part of the ''
AARGH!
''AARGH (Artists Against Rampant Government Homophobia)'' was a 76-page one-off comics anthology published by Mad Love in 1988.
The comic was designed to aid the fight against Clause 28, which was a controversial amendment to the Local Govern ...
'' Anthology in 1988. ''AARGH!''
rtists Against Rampant Government Homophobiawas a comic book protest against Britain's proposed
anti-gay
The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBT topics.
Sexuality
* Human sexuality
** Sexual diversity
** Gendered sexuality
*** Human male sexuality
*** Human female sexuality
*** Transgender sexuality
* Sexual attraction
** And ...
Section 28.
It was translated and published in French as ''Le Miroir de l'amour'' (November 2006), by Carabas Revolution, in Italian as ''Lo Specchio dell'Amore'' (September 2008) by Edizioni BD and in Spanish as ''El Espejo del amor'' (November 2008) by Editorial Kraken. In 2020 Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editori published a new edition with a new Italian translation by Marco Rosary.
In 2006 he worked with
Paul Pope
Paul Pope (born September 25, 1970, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American alternative cartoonist. Pope's work combines the precision and romance of European comics artists with the energy and page design of the manga tradition. Pope's ...
in the series ''
Batman: Year 100'', which won the 2007
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...
for "Best Limited Series".
The longest running project in which Villarrubia has been involved has been the comics series ''Sweet Tooth'', where he colored almost all 40 issues (written and drawn by
Jeff Lemire
Jeff Lemire (; born March 21, 1976) is a Canadian comic book writer, artist, and television producer. He is the author of critically acclaimed titles including the '' Essex County Trilogy'', '' Sweet Tooth'', and ''The Nobody''. His written work i ...
from 2009 to 2013).
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
is producing a live-action series based in the comic. Netflix's ''
Sweet Tooth'' will star
Christian Convery
Christian Convery is a Canadian actor. He plays the role of Gus in the Netflix fantasy series '' Sweet Tooth''.
Life and career
Convery made his film debut in the romantic comedy ''Hearts of Spring'' by Marita Grabiak as Conner, released in Apri ...
and
Nonso Anozie. The show itself will be managed by co-showrunners
Jim Mickle and
Beth Schwartz. In 2020 Lemire and Villarrubia returned to the character in a new series published under DC Comics' Black Label Imprint. The series is titled ''Sweet Tooth: The Return''.
In 2010, he worked in the story featured in
''Unknown Soldier'' issues #13-14, with
Joshua Dysart
Joshua Dysart (born June 21, 1971) is an American comic book writer. He has done work for DC Comics, Vertigo Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, Valiant Entertainment, IDW Publishing, Penny-Farthing Press, Virgin Comics and Random House Boo ...
and Pat Masioni. The story won the prestigious
Glyph Comics Award
The Glyph Comics Awards is for the best comics made by people of color from the last calendar year. The goal is to award the People of Color for their awesome work in the comics industry and also to inspire young writers from diverse backgrounds t ...
for Story of the Year. The Glyph Comics Awards recognize the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color.
Villarrubia won the 2011
Harvey Award
The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that we ...
for Best Colorist for his work on ''
Cuba: My Revolution''.
From 2012 to 2018, Villarrubia colored the three graphic novels by
Anthony Bourdain: ''Get Jiro!'', ''Get Jiro: Blood and Sushi'' and ''Hungry Ghosts''
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...
is currently developing ''Hungry Ghosts'' as an animated series.
In 2013 he worked with
Reginald Hudlin and artist
Denys Cowan
Denys B. Cowan (born January 30, 1961) is an American comics artist, television producer, media executive and one of the co-founders of Milestone Media.
Early life
Denys Cowan was first inspired by superheroes as a child from reruns of the 1950s ...
on the graphic novel adaptation of ''
Django Unchained''. It was nominated that year for the Eisner Award.
In 2015, among other artists, José Villarrubia brought inner illustrations to the core rulebook of a
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
, ''
Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of'', first published in 2016 by
Modiphius Entertainment.
The art team of Tomás Giorello and Villarrubia won the 2016 Rankin Award from the Robert E. Howard Foundation for their work on ''
King Conan
''King Conan'' is a collection of five fantasy short stories by American writer Robert E. Howard featuring his sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It is also the name of two separate comic book series featuring the character.
The book ...
: Wolves Beyond the Border''.
He won the 2017 Carlos Giménez Award for Best Colorist.
He colored the first five issues of ''America'', the first LatinX LGBT+ Marvel superhero. It was written and drawn by an entire Hispanic team that included two members of the LGBT+ community, the writer
Gabby Rivera and Villarrubia. It was nominated for a 2017
GLAAD Award.
Also, in 2017 he worked with writer
Sarah Vaughn
Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer.
Nicknamed "Sassy" and "The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine Grammy Award ...
and Filipino artist
Lan Medina in ''Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love''. It featured the first non-binary African-American character in a DC Comics publication. It was also nominated for a
GLAAD Award.
In 2018 he edited and colored the comic series ''Infidel'', published by
Image Comics
Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-o ...
.
Michael Sugar and
TriStar optioned the rights to turn it into a film.
Hany Abu-Assad signed on to direct the film adaptation.
In 2019
Casterman
Casterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All tex ...
published the first French language graphic novel completely colored by Villarrubia. A new chapter of the series ''
Le Transperceneige
''Snowpiercer'' (French: ''Le Transperceneige'', ) is a post-apocalyptic, climate fiction graphic novel first published in French by Casterman and created by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette. The graphic novel was first published in 1982 under ...
'' (''Snowpiercer: Extinctions''), the comic was written and illustrated by series co-creator
Jean-Marc Rochette. The publishing of this new volume was timed originally to coincide with the release of the new
''Snowpiercer'' TV series that adapts this comic. The series was produced by
TNT and premiered on May 17, 2020.
DC Comics' prestige imprint
Black Label published two series colored by Villarrubia launched in November 2020, ''Sweet Tooth: The Return'', where he reunited with collaborator Jeff Lemire and the long delayed ''The Other History of the DC Universe'', written by
John Ridley
John Ridley IV (born 1965) is an American screenwriter, television director, novelist, and showrunner, known for ''12 Years a Slave'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is also the creator and showrunner of the an ...
.
In 2021 he edited ''Hércules 1417'', published in Spanish by Nuevo Nueve, written Pedro Víllora and illustrated by Das Pastoras. It's a book based on the writings of
Enrique de Villena describing the
Labors of Hercules.
Interviews
The DVD of the documentary feature film ''
The Mindscape of Alan Moore'' contains an interview with Villarubia about his collaboration with Alan Moore.
References
External links
*
*
The Gay Men Project, November 21012Clyde Fitch Report, September 2012GayCities, November 2008Slush Factory, March 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villarrubia, Jose
1961 births
Living people
Artists from Madrid
Comics colorists
Harvey Award winners for Best Colorist
Gay artists
LGBT comics creators
Spanish LGBT artists
Maryland Institute College of Art alumni
Maryland Institute College of Art faculty
Spanish comics artists
Spanish illustrators
Spanish photographers
Towson University faculty