top of page

Juanjo Guarnido

Spanish icon of the comics realm, Juanjo Guarnido quickly became a major illustrator. His success has been spread into the whole world thanks to his comics Blacksad.

Pohot de Juanjo Guarnido souriant, son visage est presque de profil, il regarde l'objectif de l'appareil photo. Il porte une chemise noire à petits points blanc.
© Rita Scaglia/Dargaud

Biography

Juan José Guarnido is a spanish comics illustrator whose works are today translated into approximately 15 languages. Born in Granada in 1967, illustration peaks Guarnido's interest early - he wins his first drawing contest at the age of 4 and then goes studying at the Grenade Academy of Fine Arts. After he graduated, he made illustrations for Marvel Comics' Spanish label : Còmics Forum. The success of comics in Spain as well as his unique art style bring him an audience. Guarnido tries multiple mediums like animation with the collaboration of the Làpiz Azul y Milimetros studio from Madrid, with which he will work on several tv shows. He met Juan Diaz Canales there, a decisive encounter as they created Blacksad together. After three years at Làpis Azul, Juanjo starts working at the Walt Disney Studio in Montreuil where he will participate in the creation of movies like The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1996), Hercule (1997) or Treasure Planet (2002).

The first issue of Blacksad is published by Dargaud in 2000 and is an immediate success, which will allow five more volumes to be published. Blacksad wins the award of best illustrations at the prestigious Festival d'Angoulême, then obtains the Virgin and Harvey award of best comics books in 2005. He also wins the Eisner award of best painter or multimedia artist in in 2011, the Peng! award of best European comics, the Great Prize of Ajaccio in 2015 and many others.

Guarnido reinvents his works constantly, exploring the Heroic Fantasy genre in Sorcelleries with Teresa Valero as writer as well as the picaresque genre with Les Indes Fourbes (2019) by Alain Ayrolles' side.

- Blacksad with Diaz Canalez (scenarist), 2000 - 2021, Dargaud

- Les Indes fourbes, with Alain Ayroles (scenarist), 2019, Delcourt

His works

Illustration de BlackSad, visage de chat sérieux et qui fume une cigarette dont la fumée monte au ciel.
illustration d'un nombre espagnol, souriant, tenant une épée dans sa main gauche, portant un costume de cour de de la Renaissance. La collerette en dentelle est blanche, la veste en violet foncé et en or, et la ceinture de tissus est noué à sa taille et rouge.

© Juanjo Guarnido

9th Art project references with the artist

  • Exhibition « Blacksad — I Colori Del Noir », 2022, PAFF!, Pordenone (Italy) 

  • Loans of works for the exhibition « Juanjo Guarnido, les secrets d'un maestro », in 2020 at the Belgium Center of Comics.

Are you interested in an exhibition about Juanjo Guarnido and his artworks? Contact us

Art prints 

9e Art Références offers to sell four exceptional  signed and numbered prints of illustrations from the series Blacksad by Juanjo Guarnido: 

- "Ten faces in the wind" (60x42 cm)

- "April in Paris" (70x50 cm)

- "April in Paris" (100x70 cm)

- "Minute Waltz" (50x70 cm)

You can consult them on the "Art prints" tab of our wesite. 

bottom of page