DC Thomson’s 1970’s Starblazer – “Science Fiction Adventure in Pictures” – is remembered by Enrique “Quique” Alcatena in a new Spanish-language documentary titled, simply, Alacatena, directed by Diego Arandojo.
Enrique “Quique” Alcatena is regarded as one of Argentina’s most prestigious cartoonists who also drew several strips for the British market. His powerful and distinctive work has been published not only in Argentina, but in different parts of America, including the United States. Alcatena and writer Eduardo Mazzitelli have also worked for more than 20 years in publishing magazines Skorpio and Lanciostory in Italy.
A page from “Los Trashumantes” (“The Rovers”). Written by Eduardo Mazzitelli
Born in Buenos Aires, Alcatena started working for publisher Record in 1975, illustrating stories and series like “La Fortaleza Móvil”, “El Mago” and “Acero Líquido”, but is perhaps best known to British and US comic fans for his work for US publishers, such as Predator for Dark Horse, written by Chuck Dixon, Hawkworld and Batman for DC and Fantastic Four at Marvel.
He’s also the creator of Les Carnets Secrets de Marco Polo, the fictional story about of Marco Polo’s magical experiences and strange supernatural encounters.
A panel from “The Torturer of Triton II”, published in Starblazer 54. Image © DC Thomson
He worked on British comics in the 1980s and 90s, drawing over 50 stories for Starblazer and titles such as The Crunch, where he drew “Arena”, collected last year by Bear Alley Books; and drew the strip “Makabre” for the 1990s version of TOXIC co-created by Pat Mills, Kevin O’Neill, Mike McMahon, John Wagner and Alan Grant.
• For more about the Alcatena documentary visit: www.alcatena.com.ar
• Visit his blog at http://quiquealcatena.blogspot.co.uk | Facebook Page
• For more about Starblazer, we have several features on downthetubes, including “Blazing Through The Secrecy” by Jeremy Briggs and a full checklist to the title, starting here
John Freeman
The founder of downthetubes, John works as a comics editor, writer, as Creative Consultant on the Dan Dare audio adventures for B7 Media, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. Working in British comics publishing for over 30 years, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Star Trek Magazine and Babylon 5 Magazine. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War and “Dan Dare”. He’s the writer of “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz, published on Tapastic; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood for digital comic 100% Biodegradable.
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