introduction
Pablo Marcos Ortega, known professionally as Pablo Marcos (born March 31, 1937), is a comic book artist and commercial illustrator best known as one of the leading cartoonists in his native Peru, and for his work on such popular American comic book characters as Batman and Conan the Barbarian, particularly during the 1970s. His most iconic character was Marvel Comics’ Zombie, for which Marcos drew all but one story in the black-and-white horror comic magazine Tales of the Zombie (1973–1975).
Autobiography
I am Pablo Marcos. Summoning Ideas and expressing narratives or plots through imagery has always come naturally to me but I must confess, lectures or writing has never been a strong suit. I am going to share with you my life as told by me at age eighty-four. I’ll do this by using scraps of memories and expanding on what others have gathered or written about me.
I was born in LARAN, a farm located in Chincha Alta, Ica, Peru on March 31st 1937. My father was Pablo Marcos Castilla and my mother, Maria Ortega Guzman. First we were four siblings: Gloria, Berta, Manuel and I. Years later, my two brothers Alfredo and Oswaldo were born. My father was a tractor driver who soon realized he wanted to provide a good education for his children so that we may have a chance at a better future. With these wishes in mind, he relocated our family to the city of Lima, where he looked for work and found a job as a truck driver, transporting oil. It was in that company’s garage that my family settled and made a home for about a year. We later moved to a part of Lima known as Magdalena Nueva, where my siblings and I entered school.
Growing up as a kid I would paint signage for the local market, always practicing my hand. At the school, Bartolome Herrera, I was mentored by novelist and artist Juan Rivera Saavedra, where he introduced me to comics and familiarized me with the works of Alberto Breccia, Mario Uggeri, Arturo del Castillo and Burne Hogart. Unbeknownst to me, this exposure was a foreshadowing of my future. Later, I was accepted into the University of San Marcos to study Economic Sciences. It was a major I pursued to appease my father who was concerned I would not make a living as an artist. I have nothing but gratitude for the individuals that I met during this time, who recognized my talent and encouraged me to continue in the realm of comics.
I began studying anatomy and practicing realism by drawing. I left the University of San Marcos when my work as an artist began to take off. My work took off before I had finished my studies. I never had the privilege to study art in the academy, I was largely self-taught. I began making a living at age thirteen and it was through work I enjoyed. In the late 1950’s, I began working on caricatures and illustrations of social and political content for newspapers and magazines in Lima. During this time, I worked with Rochabus, Zamba Canuta, El Diario de La Prensa, amongst others. My first publications were in the newspaper Expreso, at the time known as “Sala de Redacción.” I would work on the evening edition Extra and the Sunday magazine, Estampa. They specifically published two daily strips of Benito Puma and the adaptation of the film to the comic strip: James Bond, Agent 007. I worked on those strips for a few years while at the same time illustrated for a weekly page based on the secret agent.
When Brodsky, who had been production manager at Marvel Comics, left Skywald to return to Marvel, he took Marcos with him as an artist and, later, as his assistant for about two months. Marcos began drawing covers for Marvel UK titles featuring characters and elements such as Captain Britain, Planet of the Apes, and Dracula. Marcos’s naturalistic, illustrative style, similar to that of Neal Adams, became a hallmark of Marvel’s black-and-white horror comics, such as Dracula Lives!, Monsters Unleashed, Tales of the Zombie, Vampire Tales, and others. The visibility afforded by Marvel, the industry leader, made Marcos a popular artist in the 1970s.
His first work in color comics in the US was the cover of Marvel’s Giant-Size Dracula #2 (September 1974). Marcos’ debut in interior comic book art came at Martin Goodman’s short-lived Atlas/Seaboard Comics, illustrating the sword and sorcery title Iron Jaw #3 (May 1975). He went on to draw the following issue, as well as the Iron Jaw story in Barbarians #1 and the cover of The Brute #3 (both July 1975) before the company folded.
My career took a definitive turn when I decided to expand my horizons beyond Peru. In the 1960s, I moved to Mexico, where I worked for Editorial Novaro, further refining my style and gaining the experience necessary to make the leap to the United States. By the early 1970s, I arrived in New York, a move that would solidify my place in the history of the “Ninth Art.”
In the American market, I had the honor of working for the industry’s giants, Marvel and DC Comics. It was during this golden era that my ink and pencils breathed life into some of the most iconic characters in popular culture. My focus on anatomy and realism—skills I had honed as a self-taught artist since my youth—allowed me to stand out as both a penciler and one of the most respected inkers in the business.
Throughout these decades, I have seen the industry evolve, but my passion for visual storytelling remains as strong as it was when I was a child painting signs in the local market. My life has been a journey of self-discovery through the line and the brush, a testament to the fact that art is not just a profession, but a way of seeing the world.
Most Notable Works
Before diving deeper into the details of my eighty-four years of history, here are some of the milestones that defined my professional legacy:
The Savage Sword of Conan (Marvel): Renowned for my extensive work as an inker and penciler, helping define the visual grit of the Hyborian Age.
Tales of the Zombie (Marvel): I was the primary artist for the co-creation and development of Simon Garth, one of the most sophisticated horror characters of the 70s.
Batman & Justice League of America (DC Comics): Contributing to the legacy of the World’s Greatest Detective and the premier superhero team.
Red Sonja: Bringing my signature style to the “She-Devil with a Sword” across various publications.
Creepy & Eerie (Warren Publishing): Crafting atmospheric horror stories that pushed the boundaries of the medium.