'Freda' and 'Dámsmitt'.
Kike Benlloch is a Spanish comic book writer, and the author of several graphic novels and short stories for anthologies and small press comic books. After his critically acclaimed debut graphic novel about migrant workers, 'Freda' with artist Alberto Vázquez Rico, he scripted additional graphic novels ranging from steampunk to biographical. One of the driving forces of the Galician small press scene, he was co-founder of the Polaqia collective and editor for several of their releases.
Life and career
He was born in 1974 as José Enrique Benlloch Castiñeira in A Coruña, a city in the autonomous region of Galicia. Since 1999, he has been a prominent member of the Spanish/Galician small press and indie comics scene, having written over 1,200 comic pages and having collaborated with about 40 artists. His stories frequently convey fantasy and either a moral or social imprint, as well as occasional incursions in humor, science fiction or adventure. However, his body of work does not adhere to a single style or genre, and his stories have been published in his mother tongue, Galician, in Portuguese or in Spanish.
Small press
Benlloch's first professional work was 'Nieve Negra' (La Factoría de Ideas, 1999), a two-issue comic book mini-series co-created and co-written with Adrián López and drawn by Jano Viñuela. Shortly afterwards, he co-founded the Polaqia collective (2001-2011), presiding over this twelve-creator group until 2006 and remaining a member until 2009, two years before the group's disband. He personally financed the printing of both the imprint's first release 'Mmmh!!' (2001) and the first issue of Barsowia (2003), a magazine he directed as well until the eighth issue in 2006. Benlloch also coordinated 'H2Oil' (Chapapote, 2003), a 70 creator-anthology about the 2002 oil spill from the Prestige oil tanker near the Galician coast. Benlloch was also the driving force behind 'Capital' (Edicions De Ponent, 2006), an album about the population of a major city, drawn by seven different artists. Between 2002 and 2003, he was present in the Galician comic magazine Golfiño with the comic feature 'Xen', drawn by Víctor Rivas.
Since 2014, Benlloch has contributed to all the annual issues of the horror and science-fiction anthology series 'Altar Mutante'. While this has been most regular creative vehicle for Benlloch's writing during the 2010s and 2020s, he has also worked for small press labels like Wak!, Altar Mutante Comix and his own imprint, creating comic books like 'Cuimhne: La Deuda' (2015), 'Legado' (2018) and two issues of the heroic fantasy comic book 'Amair' (2018) together with longtime collaborators like Diego Blanco, Pedro Villarejo and Hugo Covelo.
'Pinche Mundo' and 'Uxío Novoneyra: A Voz Herdada'.
Graphic novels
Between 2002 and 2010, Benlloch created his first set of six graphic novels. His debut graphic novel 'Freda' (Edicions De Ponent, 2002) was created with the illustrator Alberto Vázquez Rico and dealt with the fate of migrant workers. The story describes the scars that such events can leave and the conflict between the children who long for integration and the adults who often fail to gain a foothold. Receiving favorable reviews from critics, 'Freda' was selected by the Internationale Jugendbibliothek München (IJB) in Munich for the prestigious catalogue and travelling exhibition White Ravens (2004), which annually chooses the 250 best books in the world. The book was also the subject of academic analysis by investigators such as Kirsty Hooper ('Writing Galicia Into the World: New Cartographies, New Poetics', Liverpool University Press, 2011) and José María Conget ('El Cómic de la Democracia Española, 1975-2005/6', Instituto Cervantes, 2007).
Benlloch also scripted 'Dámsmitt' (Dibbuks, 2006) a soft-steampunk social mystery, drawn by Manel Cráneo. His following books were 'Pinche Mundo' (Polaqia, 2007) with art by Diego Blanco, 'Rara Avis' (Polaqia, 2008) with Iván Suárez, 'Cuimhne: El Fuego Distante' (Dolmen Editorial, 2008) with José Domingo and the Galician language book 'A Voz Herdada' (Xunta de Galicia, 2010) with artist David Rubín, in which he explores the life and work of one of Galicia's national poets, Uxío Novoneyra.
Other activities
While in his twenties, Benlloch was chairman of a comic readers' association in his hometown. In later years, he has participated in numerous publications, either as comic creator or writer about the medium, including Dos Veces Breve, Buen Provecho, BD Banda, Golfiño, O Fanzine das Xornadas, Código Cero, El Pequeño Nemo, Nosotros Somos Los Frikis, Volumen, Guía del Cómic, Artículo 20, Marzo and Amaníaco. In the field of graphic humor, he briefly scripted cartoons for El Jueves and Enchufados. He was also the curator and editor for two exhibitions during the Viñetas desde o Atlántico comics festival in A Coruña. Since 2008, he also maintains a personal blog about comics.
Recognition
Kike Benlloch has been called the most prolific writer of Galician comics and received praise from renowned authors such as the American graphic novelist Jason Lutes (who wrote the foreword to 'Dámsmitt') and the Spanish writer Felipe Hernández Cava, who was the main Spanish veteran author to vocally support Benlloch's writing.
Kike Benlloch.