Filipino Comics Art Fridays | Nardo Cruz
Every Friday, I take a look at the work of one of the almost 200 Filipino artists who illustrated horror, sword-and-sorcery/fantasy, western, sci-fi, and war comics for American publishers during the 1970s and early 1980s. The “Filipino Wave,” as it came to be called, saw the likes of Nestor Redondo, Alfredo Alcala, Alex Niño, Tony DeZuniga, Rudy Nebres, Ernie Chan, and many others pencil and/or ink scores of issues for DC, Marvel, Warren, and other outfits, helping define the look of an era.
This week’s featured artist is Nardo Cruz.
Unlike many of his Filipino Wave peers who were full-spectrum illustrators equally comfortable as pencilers and inkers, Nardo Cruz (sometimes credited as “Nards Cruz”) was more of a penciling specialist. While many of his contemporaries were frequently assigned to ink other artists, Cruz's American comics bibliography consists solely of penciling gigs and jobs where he inked his own pencils.
Cruz got his start in American comics in 1973 working for Pendulum Press, the New England-based publisher where Nestor Redondo served as art director. For Pendulum, Cruz illustrated graphic novel adaptations of Frankenstein and Treasure Island. These may be his most well-known works, as these books have been published in a number of languages, including Portuguese (see image below, right).
His first work for DC Comics was a penciling job in House of Secrets #115 where he was inked by E. R. Cruz (no relation, as far as I know). It would be over four years later that he would get his first pencil-and-ink assignment from the publisher, a short story entitled “Who'd Dare Slaughter My Daughter” (The Witching Hour #83, August 1978).
Tracing Cruz's career path is an instructive exercise in learning just how much different inkers can change the look of a penciler's work. Compare the above pages with the ones below, taken from “City of the Dead,” a story penciled by Cruz but inked by Anton “Tony” Caravana.
During his stint with DC, Cruz worked almost exclusively on the publisher's horror titles, his sole non-horror work being “A Time to Die,” an O.S.S. story that appeared in G.I. Combat #212 (February/March 1979).
Nardo Cruz's American comics bibliography:
- Frankenstein (1973, Pendulum Press): pencils/inks
- Treasure Island (1973, Pendulum Press): pencils/inks
- House of Secrets #115 (January 1974, DC Comics): “Every Man My Killer,” pencils
- Ghosts #63 (April 1978, DC Comics): “Secret of the Phantom Marshal,” pencils
- The Witching Hour #83 (August 1978, DC Comics): “Who'd Dare Slaughter My Daughter,” pencils/inks
- Ghosts #68 (September 1978, DC Comics): “You Will Die Yesterday,” pencils
- The Unexpected #187 (September/October 1978, DC Comics): “Death Argues Loudest,” pencils; “City of the Dead,” pencils
- The Unexpected #189 (January/February 1979, DC Comics): “The Killing Machine,” pencils
- G.I. Combat #212 (February/March 1979, DC Comics): “A Time to Die,” pencils/inks
- Secrets of Haunted House #17 (October 1979, DC Comics): “The Eye of the Leopard,” pencils/inks
- House of Mystery #277 (February 1980, DC Comics): “Measure of Treachery,” pencils
To read all of the Filipino Comics Art Fridays entries posted so far, click here.
