'Alfil Beltza'.
The son of prestigious artist Agustín Ibarrola, José Ibarrola is also a painter, illustrator, sculptor and set designer. In addition he was an occasional comic artist. In 1979, he was present at Euskadi Sioux. Then he was a contributor to Habeko Mik. Written in Basque, this magazine was launched in 1982 and it ran for nearly a decade. In 1987 its publisher compiled 'Alfil Beltza', a work by Ibarrola previously serialized in the magazine.
'Ejecutivas' (Cimoc Especial #10, 1990).
In 1985, Glenat published his work 'Orphee' ('Orfeo, Compañía Monteverdi') in France and the newspaper supplement El País Semanal serialized 'La Piedra Dormida' in Spain. Both works got a Spanish edition in book format by Ttarttalo in the next two years. 'Cuando Canta la Serpiente' (1989) was published by Ikusager, written by Ion Juaristi and Mario Onaindia.
In 1986, the daily El Correo started to publish a strip by Ibarrola called 'Tiempo de Papel'. After that came 'Moby Dick', featuring a thoughtful fish in its fish bowl. In the early 1990s, Ibarolla published three short stories in two special issues of Cimoc and in magazine Pamiela.
'Moby-Dick' (El Correo, 16 September 1990). Translation: "Danger. A slumbering threat, the shadow of death looms relentlessly. But when the tragedy is chewed, Moby Dick, the white whale, triumphs again over barbaric predators."