We’re sorry to report the passing of Spanish comic artist Enric Badia Romero, also known as Enrique Badia Romero, best known, perhaps, for his work on the Modesty Blaise and Axa, the latter created by him. He was 94.

The Book Palace was among the first to announce his passing, who continue to sell some of his art. “We had very good connections to this power house of illustration who drew more Modesty Blaise strips than any other artist,” says Geoff West, “and of course he will be remembered as the creator of Axa.”

Like most cartoonists of his time, Enric Badia Romero was completely self-taught. “At 17, I saw my first work published in a Barcelona publication, thus beginning my career as an artist in the world of comics,” he previously recalled, during a promotiin for one of his new art books, Legends of Comic Women and Men of Paper, back in 2018.

For eleven years between 1947-1958, he worked for publishers in his home city, alternating aventure stories with trading cards, figurines, covers, advertising work, and more. He also began running a correspondence class in drawing, which one thousand students signed up for. He set up a magazine, ALEX, managing to get some of the finest artists of the times to contribute.

In 1959, he started to work for publishers outside Spain, his work appearing in a variety of publications in the UK, US, France, Italy and Germany, employed through the Bardon Art Agency by Fleetway, on features such as “Cathy and Wendy” and “Cassius Clay”, and by DC Thomson on “Supercats”, for the girls comic, Spellbound. He also drew for one of the Penelope annuals, work which included at least one “Lady Penelope” strip.

(Emmanuel Andres posted a checklist compiled by David Roach charting Romero’s career in UK comics in more detail here).

Romero eventually landed work on the newspaper strip “Modesty Blaise” in 1970, initially working on it until 1978, when overwork forced him to quit the series.

Among his works for the Spanish market at this time was a series of police stories, Serie Negra, collected by Amaníaco ediciones in Spanish, in 2015.

By then, he was also drawing “Axa“, the story of a future warrior, initially launched in the UK in 1978 in The Sun. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the series emphasised science fiction, action and Romero’s talent for drawing, most especially the eponymous heroine herself, whom he based on Brigitte Bardot. The original comic strip was created in standard black and white newspaper format and ran a total of 2238 daily strips, detailing eighteen separate adventures.

The comic series was revived in the 1990s by US publisher Eclipse and adapted into a mobile video game in 2011 by AXA 2238 LLC. A feature film, AXA: Battle for the Serpent Gate, first announced in 2005, remains in development from Los Angeles-based Saturn Harvest.

The worldwide rights to AXA are owned and controlled by AXA 2238 LLC.

When “Axa” ended in 1986 he returned to “Modesty Blaise”, working on Peter O’Donnell’s world famous strip until it ended in November 2000. (Peter died in 2010).

It was Peter who ended the series, bowing out due to personal reasons, Romero recalls on his web site. “We naturally felt saddened by this decision: after almost 38 years, Modesty had become very dear to us. I am very grateful for the opportunity to have been able to make 49 of her stories come to life.

“Of course life goes on, and my love of the world of drawing has driven me to explore new characters, and I hope to be able to continue to please those who followed my previous work.”

Sadly, those hopes are now part of the Ninth Art’s “What Might Have Been”.

However, Book Palace did publish a wonderful book, The Modesty Blaise Artists (Illustrators Special) in 2022, which includes some of Romero’s work on the character, but they are in limited supply.

In the 2000s and on, Romero worked on “Durham Red”, and other projects for 2000AD and Judge Dredd Magazine, as Enric Romero,  and in 2011 he drew some short stories of Djustine, the horror-western character created by Enrico Teodorani, for the Italian market.

Paying his own personal tribute, Spanish agent Joaquin Garcia, who runs the Radebu: Comic Book Author Agency, told downthetubes he was devastated by Romero’s death, describing him as of one of Spain’s most important comic creators.

“In 2009, I was lucky enough to have offered my services to him for a short period of time, where I took him to publish for the first and last time at Marvel Comics. We met in a bookstore close to our homes, since we were neighbours, (almost 800 meters away) and I offered my representation services. He was happy to accept, because he had been retired for a long time and wanted to go back to work.

“After a little over a month, we were offered the possibility of doing a short story, an impressive eleven pages, and he was delighted to work on a character like Shang Chi. I really enjoyed working side by side with him, seeing how each page was a lesson in storytelling and comic art.

“But after that job, he decided to end our collaboration, since his son decided that it was more important for his father to rest. That happened more than 15 years ago, and I feel proud to have been able to offer Enrique the possibility of working at Marvel Comics.

“I want the lives of all sequential artists to be like Enrique’s, and to fulfil their dreams of living off the work of their hands with a pencil and paper.”

Our sympathies to his family and friends at this time.

Enrique Badía Romero (who signed his work simply Romero; 24th April 1930 – 15th February 2024) 

• Enrique Badia Romero – Official Web Site

• Lambiek: Enric Badia Romero Profile

• Tebeosfera – Enric Badia Romero Profile (in Spanish)

• A checklist of Romero’s career in UK comics in detail, with sample art, compiled by David Roach (in Spanish)

• David Roach also threw a spotlight on the work of Romero for British girls comics in his book, A Very British Affair, published by Rebellion

• A 2011 interview with Romero on Body Pixel

• La Razon: A Teacher who doesn’t retire (2018 interview, in Spanish)“

“Drawing is a thing that I carry deep inside. If I stopped drawing it would be as if I stopped living.” 

• Axa art for sale on The Book Palace web site

Axa Links

• The worldwide rights to AXA are owned and controlled by AXA 2238 LLC – more details here

• AXA: Battle for the Serpent Gate Official Movie Site: www.axathemovie.com 

• Saturn Harvest: www.saturnharvest.com

AXA is Copyright © AXA 2238 LLC, 2023. All Rights Reserved

Modesty Blaise

• Buy The Modesty Blaise Artists (Illustrators Special) here | Read our review

Authors: Diego Cordoba, Norman Boyd
Artists: Jim Holdaway, Enric Romero, John M Burns, Patrick Wright, Neville Colvin
Publisher: Book Palace Books, October 2022
Number of pages: 160
Format: Soft Cover; Full Colour illustrations
Size: 9″ x 11″ (216mm x 280mm)
ISBN: 9781913548308

• Modesty Blaise adventures drawn by Romero feature in various Titan Book collections, including Ripper Jax; The Killing Distance; The Young Mistress; The Million Dollar Game; The Yellowstone Beauty; Death Trap; The Inca Trail; Cry Wolf; The Gallows Bird; and The Puppet Master

His “Modesty Blaise” credits in order are as follows (links are AmazonUK Affiliate Links to the relevant Titan collection)

• The Warlords of Phoenix, (by Jim Holdaway, who died unexpectedly, and Enrique Badia Romero) – 12 Jan 1970 – 30 May 1970
• Willie the Djinn – 1 June 1970 – 17 Oct 1970)

Modesty and Willie Garvin face political intrigue in the Middle East

• The Green Eyed Monster – 19 Oct 1970 – 20 Feb 1971

Modesty must deal with a prissy love rival and ruthless kidnappers

• Death of a Jester – 22 Feb – 10 July 1971

Modesty and Willie get caught up in a bizarre medieval jousting tournament

• The Stone Age Caper – 12 July – 27 Nov 1971)

Modesty and Willie Garvin, face a deadly Outback gang

• The Puppet Master – 29 Nov 1971 – 8 Apr 1972

The Puppet Master has a plan to brainwash Modesty into killing Willie to settle an old score

• With Love from Rufus – 10 Apr – 12 Aug 1972

Humour and action mix when Modesty acquires a young admirer

• The Bluebeard Affair – 14 Aug 1972 – 6 Jan 1973)

Modesty Blaise investigates a murderous family

• The Gallows Bird – 8 Jan 1973 – 12 May 1973

Willie joins Modesty to help the FBI in New Orleans

• The Wicked Gnomes – 14 May – 29 Sep 1973

A dangerous organisation kidnaps an old friend

• The Iron God – 1 Oct 1973 – 9 Feb 1974)

A crash-landing in the jungle spells trouble, as diamond thieves threaten Modesty and Willie

• “Take Me To Your Leader…” – 11 Feb 1974 – 1 July 1974

Modesty Blaise has a close encounter

• Highland Witch – 2 July 1974 – 16 Nov 1974

Modesty and Willie must save a young girl from a deadly plot

• Cry Wolf – 18 Nov 1974 – 23 March 1975

Sir Gerald Tarrant tries to hoodwink the daring duo with a false kidnapping… but all hell breaks loose when a real kidnapper strikes

• The Reluctant Chaperone, artist – 24 March 1975 – 14 Aug 1975

Modesty stumbles from a babysitting job into a mob war

• The Greenwood Maid – 15 Aug 1975 – 28 Dec 1975

Modesty shoots for the heart 

• Those About to Die – 29 Dec 1975 – 31 May 1976

Betrayal puts both Modesty and Willie in the gladiatorial arena 

• The Inca Trail – 1 June 1976 – 20 Oct 1976

Our heroes save two children… and stop a revolution

• The Vanishing Dollybirds – 21 Oct 1976 – 28 Mar 1977

Modesty an Willie investigate human traffickers 

• The Junk Men – 29 Mar 1977 – 21 Aug 1977

Modesty takes aim at vicious drug smugglers

• Death Trap – 22 Aug 1977 – 20 Jan 1978

When Modesty and Willie are lured into an attempted Eastern European coup, could they be walking into a death trap

• Idaho George – 23 Jan 1978 – 16 Jun 1978)

A gang kidnap a con artist, and accidentally kidnap Modesty, too

Romero resumed his role as artist on “Modesty Blaise” in 1986, as follows:

• Butch Cassidy Rides Again – 16 Sept 1986 – 12 Feb 1987
• The Million Dollar Game – 13 Feb 1987 – 8 July 1987
• The Vampire of Malvesco – 9 July 1987 – 3 Dec 1987
• Samantha and the Cherub – 4 Dec 1987 – 6 Jun 1988
• Milord – 9 June 1988 – 27 Sept 1988
• Live Bait – 28 Sept 1988 – 17 Feb 1989
• The Girl from the Future – 20 Feb 1989 – 21 July 1989
• The Big Mole – 24 July 1989 – 11 Dec 1989
• Lady in the Dark • 12 Dec 1989 – 8 Jun 1990)
• Fiona – 9 April 1990 – 9 Oct 1990
• Walkabout – 10 Oct 1990 – 11 Mar 1991
• The Girl in the Iron Mask – 12 Mar 1991 – 2 Aug 1991
• The Young Mistress 5 Aug 1991 – 6 Jan 1992
• Ivory Dancer – 7 Jan 1992 – 5 Jun 1992
• Our Friend Maude – 8 Jun 1992 – 2 Nov 1992
• A Present for the Princess – 3 Nov 1992 – 8 Apr 1993
• Black Queen’s Pawn – 13 Apr 1993 – 10 Sep 1993
• The Grim Joker – 13 Sep 1993 – 9 Feb 1994
• Guido the Jinx – 10 Feb 1994 – 5 Jul 1994
• The Killing Distance – 6 Jul 1994 – 30 Nov 1994
• The Aristo – 1 Dec 1994 – 3 May 1995
• Ripper Jax – 4 May 1995 – 2 Oct 1995
• The Maori Contract – 3 Oct 1995 – 1 Mar 1996
• Honeygun – 4 Mar 1996 – 2 Aug 1996
• Durango – 5 Aug 1996 – 3 Jan 1997
• The Murder Frame – 6 Jan 1997 – 6 Jun 1997
• Fraser’s Story – 9 Jun 1997 – 3 Nov 1997)
• The Tribute to the Pharaoh – 4 Nov 1997 – 3 Apr 1998
• The Special Orders – 6 Apr 1998 – 4 Sep 1998)
• The Hanging Judge – 7 Sep 1998 – 10 Feb 1999
• Children of Lucifer – 11 Feb 1999 – 13 Jul 1999
• Death Symbol – 14 Jul 1999 – 15 Dec 1999)
• The Last Aristocrat – 16 Dec 1999 – 19 May 2000)
• The Killing Game – 22 May 2000 – 17 Oct 2000
• The Zombie – 18 Oct 2000 – 11 Apr 2001

In 2002, Romero was also commissioned to draw a graphic novel adaptation of the Modesty Blaise short story “The Dark Angels”, initially published exclusively in Scandinavia but later reprinted in a special issue of Comics Revue in the United States.

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. 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 “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

Categories: Art and Illustration, Comic Art, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Features, Obituaries, Other Worlds

Tags: Adventure Comics, Axa, Book Palace, downthetubes News, Enric Badia Romero, Enrique Badia Romero, Modesty Blaise, SF Comics, The Sun