Happy 85th Birthday, Sergio Aragones!
By Larry Shell
Happy 85th Birthday to the funniest, fastest and friendliest cartoonist in the business, the great SERGIO ARAGONÉS, born on September 6, 1937 in Sant Mateu, Castellón, Spain!
Best known for his contributions to MAD magazine and creator of the comic book GROO the Wanderer, The Comics Journal has described Aragonés as "one of the most prolific and brilliant cartoonists of his generation.
Aragonés became a contributor to MAD magazine in 1963. His first sale was an assortment of astronaut cartoons which the editors arranged into a themed article. With the publication of the 500th issue in 2009, Aragonés' work had appeared in 424 issues of MAD, second only to Al Jaffee (451 issues). "They told me, 'Make MAD your home,'" said Aragonés, "and I took it literally."
In 1967, he began writing and illustrating full stories for various DC Comics titles. His own creation, GROO, in collaboration with writer Mark Evanier started in 1982 and has been published by a number of publishers, the current being Dark Horse Comics.
Sergio has produced thousands of drawings, pages and other artwork, he is likely the most prolific artist in comics; long may he reign!