Update 30: 18/09/2017 Tribute to Moebius new adds:
Chema García:
Following Moebius' footsteps.
Fortunately I
feel quite fulfilled. I know that "my great personal work" is
about to arrive so I keep on working patiently while I look
for it, sometimes with more illusion than ever.
I can tell you that possibly my three favorite "gurus" are Vazquez, Buñuel and Moebius and I have been able to work on "official" movies about the lives of the first two so it is easy to guess that being able to try somehow Moebius would be a dream for me, making a history of his world or something similar, but it is something quite difficult, it would be a dream...
Chema during the filming of "El gran Vázquez". Picture by Andreu Catalá.
Following Moebius' footsteps.
This week we introduce the great Chema García, who pays tribute to Jean Giraud "Moebius"
with this fabulous collaboration, which exudes originality, a fresh,
different nuance ... and a lot of magic. The two great pillars of the master, Arzach and Blueberry, in such a special snapshot.
But this is not the first time that Chema draws following the inspiration of Moebius. You
will have the great pleasure of admiring
some of these creations that under its seal evoke the essence that only a master like Moebius treasured:
'Arzach' by Chema García
Chema has been
receptive from the very beginning, willing to take part of this tribute, for what I am very grateful, aware of what it takes to devote free time
and effort to such a symbolic cause.
Born and raised
in Granada (Spain), he left his studies in the School of Arts of his
beloved city to settle in Madrid as a cartoonist, focusing his
professional beginnings in the world of advertising (graphic designer
and storyboard artist).
As an illustrator he has made several books for the publishing house SM, didactic and juvenile literature within the collection El barco de Vapor, as well as for other publishers of humor and mystery. He was also an illustrator during the first three years of the musical publication Rolling Stone in its Spanish version.
He was nominated
as revelation author at the Barcelona Comic Con in 2000 and has
collaborated with a multitude of publications and editorials like Monográfico, La Comictiva, Flor de un Día collection(Under Cómic), Rara Avis collection (Subterfuge), Piscolabis collection (La Factoría de Ideas), Cretino, El Manglar (Dibbuks), MisterK (El Jueves), Dos Veces Breve (Ariadna Editions), Interzona, Amaníaco, La resistencia...
Aside of his own stories, since 1998 he collaborates with the writer and artist Borja Crespo illustrating the adventures of Diox the Exterminator (Subterfuge 2009 and El Manglar 2008) and Cortocuentos (Astiberri 2009), with Alejandro Romero in Cthulhu, Dos Veces Breve ) and Enrique Bonet, for the University of Granada (2010 and 2011) and El Torres (Cthulhu).
He has also worked in cinema with Óscar Aibar, (El Gran Vázquez) and in "Buñuel y el laberinto de las Tortugas" in the Department of Art directed by Jose Luis Ágreda. He has recently developed the posters of the Salón del Comic de Granada and the Iznájar Film Festival in 2017.
Cortocuentos by Chema García and Borja Crespo
As an illustrator he has made several books for the publishing house SM, didactic and juvenile literature within the collection El barco de Vapor, as well as for other publishers of humor and mystery. He was also an illustrator during the first three years of the musical publication Rolling Stone in its Spanish version.
Moebius' study by Chema García
Cover page of "la resistencia" by Chema García
Aside of his own stories, since 1998 he collaborates with the writer and artist Borja Crespo illustrating the adventures of Diox the Exterminator (Subterfuge 2009 and El Manglar 2008) and Cortocuentos (Astiberri 2009), with Alejandro Romero in Cthulhu, Dos Veces Breve ) and Enrique Bonet, for the University of Granada (2010 and 2011) and El Torres (Cthulhu).
He has also worked in cinema with Óscar Aibar, (El Gran Vázquez) and in "Buñuel y el laberinto de las Tortugas" in the Department of Art directed by Jose Luis Ágreda. He has recently developed the posters of the Salón del Comic de Granada and the Iznájar Film Festival in 2017.
Cortocuentos by Chema García and Borja Crespo
This is the interview that Chema García has answered for us:
- TBE: What has been your biggest artistic influence and how has your drawing style evolved?
Literature,
painting, cinema, comics, magazines, music, art in general, since I was a child,
as happens to so many other artists, I have devoured all kinds of culture that has
created in me the need to continue, as a guiding light, what I have seen in the authors that I liked, keep on transmitting what others showed me, my way, of course.
As for drawing strictly, and since we speak of Giraud-Moebius, it was he who motivated me the most as a teenager.
As for drawing strictly, and since we speak of Giraud-Moebius, it was he who motivated me the most as a teenager.
- TBE: What are the current graphic artists that you like the most?
There are so many that it is impossible to give a first name.
- TBE: After a long career, do
you have any "thorn in the flesh", like working with a specific artist,
or working for any new editorial, or in any professional field that you
haven't explored yet?
I can tell you that possibly my three favorite "gurus" are Vazquez, Buñuel and Moebius and I have been able to work on "official" movies about the lives of the first two so it is easy to guess that being able to try somehow Moebius would be a dream for me, making a history of his world or something similar, but it is something quite difficult, it would be a dream...
Chema during the filming of "El gran Vázquez". Picture by Andreu Catalá.
- TBE: What is your favorite technique for drawing and coloring?
Since many years ago I work in digital and that's where I am, previously what I normally used was watercolor.
- TBE: In what point in your career did you feel more comfortable working and with more creative freedom?
These are different issues, because comfort was the word in my last work for films, seven months with "office hours" without privacy and yet delighted to coexist with the team, respect and illusion, for a person who is used to working alone sharing the enthusiasm of an entire team for a project is something truly enriching and motivating.
As for creative freedom you can only find it in your space, is in your own intimacy when you can express much deeper feelings.
Since many years ago I work in digital and that's where I am, previously what I normally used was watercolor.
- TBE: In what point in your career did you feel more comfortable working and with more creative freedom?
These are different issues, because comfort was the word in my last work for films, seven months with "office hours" without privacy and yet delighted to coexist with the team, respect and illusion, for a person who is used to working alone sharing the enthusiasm of an entire team for a project is something truly enriching and motivating.
As for creative freedom you can only find it in your space, is in your own intimacy when you can express much deeper feelings.
- TBE: What can you tell us about Cortocuentos, where did the idea come from and if it will continue some day...
Cortocuentos was a work, in
two books so far, that came out in a very natural way, and comes from
what I said above, a very personal initiative, in this case from two people,.Borja Crespo and I put our worlds together and I think they teamed up very well. On
continuity, you never know, it is clear that the door isn't closed, we
are just doing other things, but someday we may come back to it.
- TBE: What do you think of digital comic books ... is the comic industry in danger / crisis with the menace of pirate downloads? How can this affect the work of artists?
I don't have
much idea because, among other things, I do not read works in digital
format. I have read questions about the subject of people who are up to
date on this but at the moment it escapes me, however I am receptive to
what the times have for us , it can not be other way..
- TBE: What can you tell us about your current job?
I write this just coming back from my holidays vacation...fortunately, a lot of work on the board until the next year, several books and a peculiar project that I still can't talk about, I hope this rhythm continues for many years.
- TBE: What about your upcoming projects?
I write this just coming back from my holidays vacation...fortunately, a lot of work on the board until the next year, several books and a peculiar project that I still can't talk about, I hope this rhythm continues for many years.
- TBE: What about your upcoming projects?
Lots of things to come, everything is moving on after so many working years...we shall see...
Tributo to Moebius by Chema García
- TBE: What memory / relationship / influence do you have with Jean Giraud and his work?
As I said, it is Jean Giraud-Moebius the author who has influenced me the most by now. For me, his drawing, his style, was absolutely magical and it still remains, of course.
It transmits a purity in its absolutely motivating stroke, more for a lad who, apparently, would end up devoting himself to drawing.
It has been a real pleasure to be able to count on you in this tribute Chema, we hope to be able to present some of your future works soon. Thank you very much for your great collaboration.
