Jorge Zaffino (right) remains perhaps an acquired taste for some. However, once you do acquire it, his work continues to reward with every reading. Breathtaking was his command of light and shadow and the fearlessness of his slashing inks and blotted blacks, which was all underpinned by his superb draftsmanship and keenly researched detail. Though Zaffino's total comics output was not very prolific, his influence from that output is absolutely palpable even to the present.
Born in Argentina in 1959, Zaffino entered comics at the age of 17 with a series called 'Nippur'(right) by Argentine creators The Villagran Brothers. In the early 1980s, the Villagran Brothers began making inroads to American comics and represented Zaffino as part of their studio. Zaffino soon garnered with writer Chuck Dixon on a mini-series called Winter World from Eclipse Comics. From there, Zaffino soon broke into Marvel Comics to work on the character he became best associated with: The Punisher.
Zaffino's first job with the Punisher was the Marvel Graphic Novel 'Assassin's Guild' (above) with writer Jo Duffy in 1987. Upon its release, it was revered throughout the industry and made notice of Zaffino as a rising star. The clean, yet gritty draftsmanship and taut storytelling of Assassin's Guild is undeniable. For most fans, this is perhaps the most cited gateway to Zaffino's work and remains a favorite of many comic artists to this day.Zaffino continued work for Marvel with art for Savage Sword of Conan (first picture below), the 'St. George' series for the Shadowline Saga and Hellraiser under the Epic imprint of Marvel. He teamed once again with writer Chuck Dixon for two graphic novels: Seven Block and Punisher: Kingdom Gone both in 1990. It is during this period that Zaffino began to evolve his approach. His inking became much bolder and looser and a startling command of light and shadow permeated his finishes.
Of this approach, Zaffino had stated [1]"What I do is not pure comic, but illustration... Actually, I do not consider myself a comic artist, because the comic is not only drawing well, but also telling something. My stuff is more a matter of creating an atmosphere, than telling a story."
Zaffino continued sporadic comics work through the mid 1990's with 'Terror, Inc.' for Marvel and a 'Batman: Black and White' story for DC Comics. In the last years of his life, Zaffino left comics altogether to devote his total focus to painting (below). It was said that he was dedicated to the study of the works of Rembrandt in his quest for [2]"total synthesis and absolute control over the use of light and shadow."
Jorge Zaffino passed away in Buenos Aires, Argentina on July 15, 2002 at the age of forty three, the victim of a heart attack.
Official website: www.jorgezaffino.com
RECOMMENDED READING:
WinterWorld hardcover (IDW, 2010)
Punisher: Assassins' Guild graphic novel (Marvel Comics, 1987)
Punisher: Kingdom Gone hardcover (Marvel Comics, 1990)
Seven Block graphic novel (Epic, 1990 [reprinted by IDW, 2004])
Savage Sword of Conan magazine #162 (Marvel Comics, 1989)
Jorge Zaffino Sketchbook (Ancares Editora, 2003]
[1] - From an interview by German Caceres, published in his book 'El Dibujo de Aventuras, 1996, Editorial Almagesto.
[2] - From the Jorge Zaffino Sketchbook, 2003, Ancares Editora.
Text article ©2010 Adrian Johnson
All images ©2010 of the respective holders.
2 comments:
Thank you for this entry. I've dedicated one post to Zaffino on my blog too. He was an absolute master. And incredibly humble, considering that he did not see himself as a storyteller (I believe he had much more ability to lock a scene on page than many artists around).
Zaffino's work is just so powerful! I'm so happy that idw has reprinted a few of his graphic novels in B&W.
I check out comicartfans everyday to see the beautiful bw original zaffino art the collectors post, he was too good.
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