Charlie Squirrel

October 1, 2018 7:06 AM

RIP Carlos Ezquerra, comic artist who was the co-creator of Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog for 2000AD

THE LAW MASTERS: John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra. A panel from the 40 Years of Thrill-power Festival, hosted by Kelly Kanayama.

posted by fearfulsymmetry (26 comments total)

Drokk it. Ezquerra was my favourite 2000AD artist, before I even read 2000AD: I first encountered him in Starlord back in the late 1970s, where he drew Strontium Dog, Wulf and the Gronk. Nobody visualised the texture of a post-apocalyptic world better than Ezquerra. He did some brilliant turns on the ABC Warriors in 2000AD, too.
posted by rory at 7:17 AM on October 1, 2018 [2 favorites]

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posted by crocomancer at 7:19 AM on October 1, 2018

A fab self-portrait at the Albion British Comics Database Wiki page on Ezquerra.
posted by rory at 7:25 AM on October 1, 2018

Fuck.

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posted by adamgreenfield at 7:43 AM on October 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

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posted by Wobbuffet at 7:44 AM on October 1, 2018

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posted by Webbster at 7:44 AM on October 1, 2018

Seriously, click through the "RIP" link in the post to see some fine examples of Ezquerra's exuberance, verve and sense of scale in "Apocalypse War." Those are some well-chosen panels, to be sure, but really you could've ducked into his oeuvre almost at random and found their equal.
posted by adamgreenfield at 7:50 AM on October 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

Hard to imagine 2000AD without him.

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posted by daveje at 8:04 AM on October 1, 2018

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posted by biffa at 8:16 AM on October 1, 2018

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posted by ewan at 8:19 AM on October 1, 2018

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Ezquerra was a definitive artist in my childhood - I remember using tracing paper to obsessively copy out some of his larger spreads, just trying so hard to understand how I could be so overwhelmed, so pulled in by the depth and scale of the art. Nobody drew an explosion quite as well as him.
posted by DSime at 8:27 AM on October 1, 2018 [3 favorites]

He also did some great work with Garth Ennis in the later part of his career.

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posted by Halloween Jack at 8:30 AM on October 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

Splundig vur Thrigg

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posted by Damienmce at 8:59 AM on October 1, 2018

A thrill-powerhouse of an artist.

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posted by Doktor Zed at 9:59 AM on October 1, 2018

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posted by mdoar at 10:47 AM on October 1, 2018

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posted by servoret at 12:15 PM on October 1, 2018

Back when I was a kid Carlos was the first comics artist that I really noticed... his style was so out there and unique, zippers and all.

I managed to meet him at a convention once and he was kind enough to do me a sketch of the Stainless Steel Rat when everyone else wanted Dredds or Stromtium Dogs (he had to run off to the 2000AD merch stand to remind himself what he looked like!)

The Rat was always a big thing for me as the first book I read with my adult library ticket was The Stainless Steel Rat Saves The World... I manged to meet Harry Harrison and get a book signed once too. And now they re both gone, seems like the end of an era.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:27 PM on October 1, 2018 [5 favorites]

Almost, one might say, like a...fearful symmetry?
posted by adamgreenfield at 12:57 PM on October 1, 2018

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posted by Hogshead at 1:31 AM on October 2, 2018

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posted by filtergik at 5:58 AM on October 2, 2018

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posted by scruss at 9:02 AM on October 2, 2018

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posted by detachd at 9:26 AM on October 2, 2018

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posted by Grinder at 9:49 AM on October 2, 2018

This is the worst day for giant shoulder pads since January 1st, 1990.

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posted by Sparx at 3:35 PM on October 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

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posted by inpHilltr8r at 6:22 PM on October 2, 2018

Fascist Spain meets British punk: the subversive genius of Judge Dredd
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 5:43 AM on October 5, 2018 [2 favorites]