Jose Sanchis Grau

José (or Josep) Sanchis Grau (Valencia, June 19, 1932 - id., August 2, 2011) He was a Spanish cartoonist, one of the great figures of the Valencian School of comics, although he also worked for Editorial Bruguera, and children's comics in general. He is the creator of series such as Pumby (1954) or Robin Robot (1972).

Biography

Childhood and youth

José Sanchis Grau was born in Valencia on June 19, 1932. During a childhood marked by the Spanish Civil War, he read comics by Pilar Blasco, Cabrero Arnal, Alex Raymond, Harold Foster and Walt Disney. Later he began his studies in Fine Arts at the San Carlos Academy, which he combined with working as an apprentice in a jewelry store. He began his career as a cartoonist at the age of sixteen, in 1948, publishing his first jokes in the Taco Myrga calendar, and shortly after He began working for the magazine Jaimito, from Editorial Valenciana, where he developed from 1954 El soldadito Pepe, his first regular character.

Despite being accidentally wounded by a firearm in 1950, he continued drawing for the publishing house, for the magazine "Cubilete" and for the Valencian press, giving life to series of lesser importance, such as El Machote, El Recruta Policarpo, Pandolfito Cebollínez, Gaspar etc.

Maturity

In 1954, in number 260 of Jaimito magazine, his most outstanding creation appeared, Pumby the cat, in whose series the author gave free rein to his fantasy, soon managing to connect with the Children public. So much so that a few months later, on April 23, 1955, a new magazine was launched with the character's name, Pumby, which would exceed one thousand issues, and in December 1959 Super Pumby, in whose pages the feline transforms into an unusual superhero whose powers come from ingesting orange juice.

Meanwhile, he was developing new humorous series for the weekly Mariló aimed at women, such as Marilín y la moda (1955) and for "Jaimito" such as Captain Mostachete (1958), Sandokancio, Miguelín and the little train or Don Esperpento.

At the end of the 70s, he also drew a comic starring the robot Mazinger Z for Editorial Valenciana, but not versions of the original manga by Gō Nagai, but continuations of the 1978 Taiwanese film with live actors "The Iron Superman", released in Spain as "Mazinger Z, the robot of the stars". The magazine had the same title as the film, and was the subject of a continuation, with unpublished stories, with the title New adventures of Mazinger-Z, the star robot.

Sanchis collaborated intensely in all the publications of Editorial Valenciana until its disappearance in 1984, but this did not prevent him from publishing works in the press or in humorous magazines from other publishers. The characters of Benjamin and his gang (1955) for the children's weekly magazine Trampolín or Robin Robot (1972), for the magazine are noteworthy. Zipi y Zape by Editorial Bruguera.

During this time, some people who called themselves collectors took his originals and left him the reissues.

Later work

After the children's comic crisis caused by the closure of Editorial Valenciana and Editorial Bruguera, Sanchis stopped working on comics for a few years, but returned in 1991 with the series Miss i Fuss, els Fills de Pumbi (Miss and Fuss, the children of Pumby), published in the Valencian-language magazine Camacuc. In 1993 he published a comic book story of the Valencian Community starring Pumby, and in 1994 he illustrated the Illustrated Dictionary of the Valencian Language.

In 1996 he was awarded the Grand Prix of the Salón del Cómic de Barcelona for his long career in the world of comics. That same year he created a new title, once again based on his most famous character, Kuasar Pumby.

After several trials, two judgments were published (the one of April 13, 1999, issued by the Court of First Instance 16 of Valencia, in the Small Claims Trial No. 242/98, and the one of 31 of July 1999, issued by the Court of First Instance 11 of Valencia, in the Small Claims Trial No. 430/98), through which Sanchis finally obtained the rights to his character, which were retained by the heirs of Editorial Valenciana, also achieving "compensation for moral damages as a result of the illegal appropriation of his work by a third party, to use it for purposes he did not consent to".

Given the treatment the comic's authors have received from institutions, the theorist Jesús Cuadrado sarcastically suggested that, when he died, his house be demolished. It should be noted that it could serve as a museum, since:

[...] every wall, collects, wall and Titanlux, all the tribe: Blanquita, Robin Robot, The Sunny Pepe, Gaspar, Pumby, Captain Mostachete.

José Sanchis died in his hometown on August 2, 2011, and his burial was officiated the following day in the municipal cemetery of that town.

Assessment

In 1996, he received the Grand Prix of the Salón del Cómic de Barcelona for all the work he had done as a cartoonist, which has been subsequently studied by other young people whom he has influenced. Javier Mariscal affirmed before his death that Pumby was one of the best works of Spanish comics.

Work