Groo - 'The Hogs of Horder' #1 (2009).
Sergio Aragonés Domenech was born in San Mateo, Spain, but moved to France and eventually Mexico, because of the Civil War. One of his main graphic influences was Guillermo Mordillo.
He grew up in Mexico City, producing streams of cartoons for his friends. In 1953, one of these friends sent some to the Mexican humor magazine Ja Ja, which printed them. He also began a collaboration with the magazine Mañana.
'The Smokehouse Five'.
Aragonés studied architecture for a while, and worked as a clown and pantomime artist, which he learned under the guidance of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Aragonés headed for the USA in 1962, where he began his longtime collaboration with Mad Magazine. Aragonés became known for his section 'A Mad Look At....' and his many pantomime comic strips, called marginals, which were inserted into the margins and between panels of the magazine. Aragonés has contributed to nearly every issue of Mad since 1963.
'Louder Than Words'.
In the late 1960s, Aragonés began a collaboration with DC Comics, drawing for titles like 'Angel and the Ape', 'Inferior Five', 'Young Romance' and 'Jerry Lewis', as well as some horror anthologies. He also served as a plotter for other artists and co-created serials like the western 'Bat Lash' and the humor title 'Plop!' (1973-1976).
'Buzz and Bell'.
Aragonés started his classic fantasy parody 'Groo the Wanderer' with scripts by Marc Evanier in the alternative comic book Destroyer Duck in 1982. As a creator-owned book, 'Groo' has since been published by a number of publishers, including Pacific Comics, Eclipse Comics, Marvel Comics (under the Epic Comics imprint), Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics. Other serials by Aragonés at the time were 'The Smokehouse Five' and 'Buzz and Bell', which were distributed in Europe to publishers like Dupuis (Belgium) and Carlsen (Germany) through the Strip Art Features syndicate.
'Maggie's Crib' (2010).
Aragonés and Evanier continued their collaboration throughout the 1990s with series like 'Fanboy', 'Boogeyman', 'Magnor', 'Blair Witch?' and a series in which they trash famous characters: 'Sergio Aragonés Massacres Marvel', 'Sergio Aragonés Destroys DC', and 'Sergio Aragonés Stomps Star Wars'. His artwork has appeared on hundreds of advertisements and editorial features, and his animation has been featured on numerous TV shows. In recent years, he has a regular feature in the 'Bart Simpson' comic book, called 'Maggie's Crib'.
Together with artist Giorgio Cavazzano, Aragonés collaborated on the gag comic 'Oran et Outang/C'est La Jungle' in the magazine Spirou. In 2007 Aragonés scripted an issue of 'The Spirit', drawn by Jason Armstrong.
In 1990 ,Aragonés paid graphic tribute to François Walthéry in the collective homage book 'Natacha. Special 20 Ans' (Marsu Productions, 1990), which celebrated the 20th anniversary of Walthéry's series 'Natacha'. On 16 June 2012, he was one of several cartoonists paying tribute to Matt Groening's 'Life in Hell', after its final episode appeared in print. Aragonés also paid homage to Antonio Prohias' 'Spy vs. Spy' in the collective tribute album 'Spy vs. Spy:An Explosive Celebration' (2015). In 2009, he was also commissioned to create a T-shirt for Free Comic Book Day.
Aragonés once guest starred in an episode of Bob Newhart's sitcom 'Bob' on CBS. He also animated the opening credits of 'Bloopers and Practical Jokes' on NBC. He was also special guest voice in the 'Futurama' episode 'Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences'.
Aragonés won two Shazam Awards for 'Best Inker (Humor)' (1972), for his work in Mad, and 'Best Humor Story' (1972) for 'The Poster Plague' (House of Mystery, issue 202, made with Steve Skeates). The National Cartoonists Scoiety bestowed him with the Humor Comic Book Award (1973) (1974) (1976), the Special Features Award (1977), the Gag Cartoon Award (1983), the Magazine and Book Illustration Award (1989) and the Reuben Award (1996). He was honored with an Inkpot Award (1976), Adamson Award for 'Best International Comic Strip' (1985) and an Eisner Award (1992) for his work on 'Groo the Wanderer'. His trophy case was additionally expanded with nine Harvey Awards for 'Humor' (1990) (1991) (1992) (1993) (1995) (1997) (1998) (1999) and (2001). On 18 October 2024, he was also inducted in the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame. Aragonés also received the Master Cartoonist Award (2017) during the Comics Crossroads Columbus Festival.
Between 7 August and 4 October 2009, Aragonés' work was exhibited in the Ojai Valley Museum in Ojai, California.
It's only fitting that Aragonés also had an award named after him, 'The Sergio', handed out by the Comic Art Professional Society.
Drawing on a napkin for Lambiek (1982).
In the United States, Sergio Aragonés was a strong graphic influence on Carlos Castellanos, Gary Larson, Dave Manak and Bill Morrison. In Mexico, he inspired Juanele Tamal, while in Canada he counts Robin Bougie, Dave Cooper and Graeme MacKay among his admirers. In Europe, he has disciples in Belgium (Luc Cromheecke), France (Vox) and The Netherlands (Larie Cook). In Japan, he influenced Monkey Punch.
Sergio Aragonès in Leipzig (Photo: Henrik Bernd).