Josep Maria Beà i Font (Barcelona, Spain, 11 March 1942) is a cartoonist, Illustrator and writer, formed in the Agency Selections illustrated and noted for its horror comic for Warren publishing in the 1970s and science fiction and fantasy of surrealist raigrambre [ 1 ] in early 80’s era in which participated in the renewal of the Spanish adult comic, next to other authors of his generation, such as Luis García (1946), Felipe Hernández Cava (1953), Carlos Giménez (1941), Fernando Fernández (1940), enric sió (1942) and Adolfo usero (1941).[ 2 ] It has signed with variations of their name, such as José beá, José mª beá, and pseudonyms such as Norton or Sánchez Zamora, [ 3 ] which has dealt with the erotic comic serial or black.

Biography

Children

Hijo de un comerciante de aceites y jabones,[4] Beá no vincula su deseo de dedicarse al dibujo a factores genéticos o vocacionales, sino puramente topográficos: A treinta metros del portal de su casa había un quiosco, que constituiría para él una auténtica tabla de salvación de la gris realidad de posguerra, al permitirle conocer las aventuras del Capitán Marvel de C. C. Beck y El Inspector Dan de la Patrulla Volante de Eugenio Giner, los dos personajes favoritos de su niñez,[5] aunque también era muy aficionado a Ambrós, Bermejo, Boixcar o Iranzo,[6] así como a las historietas cómicas de las revistas Billiken, DDT, Pulgarcito, Jaimito, Pocholo y TBO.[ 1 ]

So much was his fondness for these comics at the age of eight reached suffer acute intoxication by licking his covers, ink which demanded his income for a week in the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona.[ 7 ] [ 8 ] Contact medicine would not finish there, since Uncle would take him visit hospitals and would let you books of Anatomy, as Andreas Vesalius.[ 9 ] It was also very fond of science fiction, both film (Frankenstein, the thing from another world, The Day the Earth Stood Still, the war of the worlds and the quatermass experiment) as literary (jules verne and H. g. Wells).[ 1 ]

For a more formal education, he studied high school with the Marist brothers and drawing and modeled in the school of Arts and artistic trades of Barcelona, at the same time begins to make the evenings first comics professionally:

Early work (1957-1969)

On his father, began to attend the Selection illustrated agency directed by Josep toutain, summers where after spending one of hazing that were so frequent that study (is made him believe that he would have let a Boxer give him a beating), [ 10 ] Rafael López intractable tunet Vila and [ 7 ] [ 11 ] tutelarían it. For a few days you responsible for copy and copy drawings of authors like Dan barry, stan drake, harold foster, Alex Raymond, or Frank robbins to mature style, [ 10 ] until begin experiencing work aimed at little demanding French market at the time, [ 7 ] and daily National solidarity (1958-59), as a “life of Carlos gardel”.[ 5 ] They are countless romantic stories for the British Fleetway alternating with false scientific curiosities illustrations [ 8 ] until get Toutain permission to create a science fiction series scripted Blay Navarro: “Johnny Galaxy” (1959-61), later renamed “space Ace”, which, in the words of the author, is “a transcript of Flash Gordon Barry but in casposo”, [ 7 ] but you would sell to many countries.

From 17 to 20 years, also played guitar on The Dalmatians, whose singer was Pepe Gonzalez, touring the Costa Brava, [ 12 ] and made his debut in a small animation for advertising agency [ 4 ] but it was still economically dependent work as a cartoonist and Illustrator. I always worried, meet Norman mclaren at film week in Color.

Indeed the commercial style that was imposed did not satisfy him, [ 1 ] and after making the mili came to mount an excavator machinery company.[ 4 ] It was gradually coming into contact with a group of painters of the city, such as Francesc Artigau, marching in 1965 to Paris to extend their pictorial knowledge at the académie julian and the Ecole Supérieur des Beaux Arts, because, in his own words, “each cartoonist create host inside a Goya in lethargic state.”[ 5 ] There he discovered the work of francis Bacon [ 13 ] and sobe around Max ernst, whose technique incorporated into engravings according your drawings would take to their subsequent comics.[ 9 ] He also participated in the inaugural Sitges Film Festival (1967).

American Adventure (1969-76)

After 3 years then reinstall in Barcelona, engaged without much success in the business of the toy imports, [ 4 ] for what is forced to return to romance cartoons for the British CPI and illustrations for enyd blyton books. Fortunately, Science magazine fiction New dimension, the first, and Dracula, then give you total creative freedom, can establish contact with other authors as enric sió and Esteban Maroto. So start experimenting with collage, coated, frottage or spray on template, leaving influence by illustrators us like Mark english, Richard sparks or Leo and diane dillon, among others.[ 1 ] In this authentic creative euphoria State, [ 15 ] delivers abstract comics as Emotivaciones 68 and which considers his first comic book author: Sir Leo.[ 7 ] Also launches “beings, gods and spaces, a Lovecraft bestiary of texts of Josep Lórman for new english library, which would only be light survives finding editor.

Continue to shaped the horror genre in the five years working uninterruptedly for American editorial Warren publishing, since “The silver thief and the pharoah’s daugter”, scripted by Dean Latimer for Vampirella # 13 (1971). Match it with some of his idols, as Alex toth [ 10 ] and introduces pictorial references in his work. Of “the picture of death”, a tribute to The Bosco, number 45 of Creepy (1972), becomes the first Spanish in order to develop your own scripts. A year later, will receive even Warren award for the best script of the year for “The Accursed Flowers”, which is based on a traditional legend of the municipality Tarraconensis Altafulla, [ 16 ] [ 17 ] and it will start its own Eerie Tales Of Peter hypnos series in 1976. “American Publisher James Warren first frustrated me and then I awarded” claimed the Catalan author, [ 5 ] is this stage that greatest satisfaction should provide “professional” in 1979.[ 7 ] For example, he won so much money that you can buy a triumph spitfire MK3 Roadster and a flat in the neighbourhood of Sants you moved with his wife Marian [ 10 ] and a name “fuz” Persian Cat.[

The boom of adult comic books in Spain (1975-86)

Already in full editorial and artistic effervescence in Spain (which is called the “boom” of the comic that Beà was featured), is a study with manel Ferrer [ 9 ] and with the pseudonym of Norton performs erotic comics – comic short between 1975 and 1977 for the magazines El papus and Eh!, Mata Ratos and many thanks Editorial Garbo at a rate of 10 weekly pages.[ 19 ] For a couple of these, he was sentenced in 1980 to six years of ineligibility for a crime of public scandal seeing the need to distort the dates of his works to be able to publish once you pardon in 1983.[ 20 ] If outside, Garbo Publisher leaves the medium in 1978, forcing the two cartoonists to find a new job decorating mussels for a company of souvenirs.[ 21 ]

You are required to work on The Viper, abandoned in the second issue due to generational differences in 1979 [ 15 ] Comix international and 1984 by the own Josep toutain now looking for what he called “Beà point”, that touch of eccentricity that quickly away.[ 1 ] In this journal publishes stories Galactic Tavern, a limited series of science fiction that definitely only you and in a place of mind (1981-82).

1982 Founded Luis García, Alfonso font, Carlos Giménez and Adolfo Usero, the Rambla which is co-director, magazine in 1983 to constitute Enterprise García Beà editors. Rambla serializes the cubic area and already in 1983, the fantastic La Muralla and the autobiographical seven lives, apart from other works under heterónimos as the perches, Sánchez Zamora (Joey State, 1984), Pere Calsina, site or j. M. (Gustoso Accedo Jr.), all with a different style to cover absences that were taking place.[ 1 ] Apart from this, he made Androstar script for Marco and sections as a laboratory, where had outdated inventions.[ 20 ] In the words of the author: “it has been part of my life I worked more and less money I have won”.[ 15 ] At this time also enrolment at the Faculty of psychology, abandoned in the second year.[ 19 ]

Fed up with Rambla, constitutes in 1985 the label Intermagen, that will edit The technique of the comic, a manual published in the form of collectible for kiosks, play him and Pascual Ferry; several albums compilations of his previous work and adult cannibalism and Gatopato and Chucho lanky and monsters & Co. children’s magazines/ Bugs (1986), where collaborate Curro astorza, Francis Bellido, Jesus Cos, Alberto Calvo, Clos, Jaime Martin or Michael, among others.

New interests (1987)

At the end of the 1980s, Beà moved to an apartment in Castelldefels, always with his wife and her cats, [ 1 ] already carrying out only some comic short to zone 84 in 1987, Makoki in 1989, and from that year until 1992, other purely food magazines [ 22 ] porn Publisher IRU (The Crow, green beans, The Pasha), using the last two occasions already known Sánchez Zamora and Valls, pseudonyms [ 23 ] respectively. The reasons for his definitive abandonment of comic books are not entirely clear, since the author has mentioned several, from inability to living well with him, given the crisis in the market, [ 7 ] to the lack of motivation to meet such hard work, by playing the roof of its potential, leading to inevitable decay, either developed interest in other disciplines [ 15 ] [ 10 ] [ 24 ] such as literature, digital design, music, sculpture with acetylene.

Thus, advised by andreu Martín [ 1 ] starts a series of novel youth s fantastic theme composed “Walk among the stars” (1994), “If you could remember (1995), beyond” the light”(1996) and” fugitive of reason (1997), all published by Anaya, and finally “A place in my dreams” (1998), it was by SM. “”

In 1989 she starred in the series TV Doctor steam, master Inventor, composed of 26 chapters 3-minute.[ 1 ] This was “a kind of inventions of the TBO that strange gadgets designed” [ 24 ] and was exclusively broadcast on TV3 Plàstic program. Other projects such as the adaptation of their stories Galactic Tavern would not come to fruition.

It has also created the Digital art company dedicated to the artwork with his former pupil Jaime Martin, hypermedia, the realization of advertising and storyboards, [ 22 ] as the “City of the prodigies” (1999) film.

At the dawn of the new century, we witnessing also recovery of his historietística with the reissue of some of his best-known works from Editions Glénat, starting with a place of mind in 2001 and stories Galactic Tavern in 2002 and with the granting of Grand Prix at Barcelona comic book show in the edition of 2003, a prize which rewards for his career. In recent years shown, however, more interested in electronic music [ 1 ] and from there to the reissue of his 2008 “Cube field” has incorporated these music composed by the author and Sergi doors. Gates is also responsible for an anthology entitled “Poetry for bacteria” (sane tie, 2008), in which is some other example of little known poetic’s Beà. Finally, our author has tackled the realization of what is called “absolute uselessness electroacoustic devices”.

Legacy and influence

Usually are you ascribed to certain tendency surrealist of the so-called Spain adult comic boom, [ 26 ] [ 1 ] which manifests itself in “a sense of humour witty, sarcastic, close to mock and grace” and “exploration of the unconscious, perhaps the focus of his own poetic”.[ 2 ] Interested in psychology, put into practice from hypnosis [ 14 ] autogenic training developed by the Berlin neurologist Johannes heinrich schultz, [ 15 ] [ 21 ] to achieve a greater wealth of images.

And Beà always been shown as a tireless experimenter, frequently changing style [ 14 ] and interested in “the search, not the result of the same”.[ 1 ] In works such as stories of Galactic Tavern or Peter Hypnos, it was not fully aware of how usher graphics, experiments discover at the end.

Giving more than the drawing feature screenplay, the author defined himself as “correct teller of stories”, in such a way you lose interest if it is to translate other scripts.

List of works

Comics

* 1958: Biographical stories (S.I. for Noticiero Universal).

* 1959: William tell (Illustrated selections).

* 1959: space Ace (illustrated selections).

* 1960: Johnny Galaxy (illustrated selections).

* 1970: L ‘hereu d’ Massagran (about Ramon Folch scripts.) Magazine “patufet”. (H. Baguñá)

* 1965 – Sir Leo (some with a story by Luis Vigil, appeared in the journal of “Drácula”.) (Burulan)

* 1971-1976: Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella horror stories. (Warren Publishing Co.)

* 1972: Beings, gods and spaces (Josep Lórman scripts.) New English Library)

* 1976: Peter Hypnos tales (Warren Publishing Co.)

* 1979: Letters from the asylum (Editions La Cúpula).

* 1981: Stories of Galactic Tavern (toutain Editor, S.A.)

* 1982: Eleven names (Editorial Intermágen.) (S.A.)

* 1983: In a place of mind 1 (G & B S.A.)

* 1983: In a place of mind 2 (G & B S.A.)

* 1983: Seven lives (Editorial Intermágen S.A.)

* 1984: Joey State (Publisher Intermágen.) (S.A.)

* 1984: The cubic area (G & B S.A.)

* 1985: Norton (Editorial Intermágen.) (S.A.)

* 1985: Mediterranean (Editorial Intermágen.) (S.A.)

* 1986: Comic art (Editorial Intermágen.) (S.A.)

* 1987: The wall (Toutain Editor.S.A.)

* 1987: By the sea (Youth Editorial.) (S.A.)

* 1987: Paper ABC (Youth Editorial.) (S.A.)

* 1988: Afternoon excursion (Youth Editorial.) (S.A.)

* 2001: In a place of mind (Glénat)

* 2002: Stories of Galactic Tavern (Glénat)

* 2008: The cubic area (Glénat)

Literature

* 1994 – Walk among the stars (Anaya)

* 1995: If I could remember (Anaya)

* 1996: Apart from the light (Anaya)

* 1997: Why fugitives (Anaya)

* 1998: A place in my dreams (SM)

Music

* 2008: The cubic area (soundtrack), in collaboration with Sergi doors (Glenat)

Video

* 1989: Doctor steam (23 chapters.) Mad TV, on Thursday and TV3)