Nestor Redondo

Nestor Redondo was born in Candon, Ilocos Sur, in the Philippines in 1928. From a very early age he drew comics, influenced by American comics such as 'Tarzan', 'Flash Gordon', 'Buck Rogers' and 'Superman'. Because his elder brother, Virgilio, was already a comic book artist, his parents felt that he should take up architecture instead. After trying it for a year, Nestor Redondo turned to drawing comics anyway. His first professional job was with Bulaklak Komiks. It soon became apparent that Nestor was a better draftsman than his brother, and Virgilio turned his talent to writing comics instead. The two of them teamed up and produced some of the best series ever published in the Philippines. Nestor's popularity really skyrocketed when he was commissioned to illustrate the blockbuster series 'Darna' in the early 1950s.

By the late 1950s, Nestor Redondo was illustrating for several comic books at the same time, 'Pilipino Komiks', 'Tagalog Klasiks', 'Hiwaga Komiks' and 'Espesial Komiks'. Each of these series came out bi-weekly, and Nestor would have two or more series going at the same time on any of these four titles. Nestor Redondo did all the penciling and inking himself. Besides doing dozens of pages every week, he also made a lot of book covers.

By the early 1960s, Ace Publications, the biggest comic book publisher in the country, started having financial problems. Eventually they closed their doors, and Nestor and other artists started their own comic books, but that too faltered after a few years. Fortunately, the talents of Nestor Redondo were noticed by American editors from D.C. and Marvel Comics. He was asked to take over 'Swamp Thing' from Berni Wrightson, and over the years worked on just about all D.C. titles, especially 'Rima'. In 1979 he received the prestigious Ink Pot Award at the San Diego Convention. In 1985, Nestor Redondo started working for Marvel Comics, illustrating 'Conan' and painting covers. He also did animation work for the Marvel Animation Studios in Los Angeles.

Nestor Redondo was a gentle man who was always approachable for aspiring young artists who wanted advice or encouragement. In spite of all the awards and accolades he received (which always made him uncomfortable), he remained one of the humblest people. When he sadly passed away in 1995, a void was felt throughout the comic book industry.