The Phantom - 'Nuclear Terror' (Fantomen #17, 2016).
Rafael Ruiz Gillet - also referred to as Rafa Ruiz or Ralph Key - is a Spanish illustrator, comic artist and concept visualizer, affiliated with Studio Comicup in Barcelona. Since 1997, he has produced artwork for Lego, the Walt Disney Company and Angry Birds. He has drawn several comic features for the Dutch girls' magazine Tina, and is a regular artist of 'The Phantom' comic books for Egmont in Sweden.
Early life and career
Rafael Ruiz Gillet was born in Palma de Mallorca, capital of the Balearic Islands. Inspired by his father, the local movie poster painter Rafael Ruiz Fiol (b. 1938), Rafa developed an interest in comics and movies from an early age. During the 1980s and 1990s, father and son Ruiz collaborated as painters for the Metropolitan Palace cinema in Plama de Mallorca, making handmade signs and movie announcement posters. By the time the digital era took over from the traditional sign painters, there was little work to do in their field. On the front of the now-abandoned building, their five billboard paintings presenting highlights from movie history were for many years reminders of times gone by.
Between 1996 and 1997, Rafa Ruiz attended the University of the Balearic Islands, studying 2D digital animation. Although he ranks his father as his main influence, he has also expressed his admiration for John Buscema, Frank Frazetta, Bruce Timm, Simon Bisley, Richard Corben, Ron Garney, John Romita, Geof Darrow and Frank Miller. He also takes much inspiration from sci-fi and adventure films, as well as video games. After a couple of years in Barcelona, Rafa Ruiz has resided, since 2009, in the Asturian village of Villaviciosa.
Nick en Simon - 'De Treinreis' (Tina #3, 2013).
Comic artist
For several years after his graduation, Rafa Ruiz combined doing odd jobs with finding work as a cartoonist. His first comics appeared in a local newspaper, while he also made cover illustrations for magazines and musicians. Later on, he made his first short stories for erotic magazines like Kiss Comix by La Cúpula and Eros by Dolmen Editorial. By the end of the 2000s, Ruiz was associated with Studio Comicup in Barcelona, through which he has done many commercial art and comic assignments. Between 2009 and 2012, he did the coloring of Silvio Camboni's artwork for the children's adventure comic 'Gargouilles', published in France by Les Humanoïdes Associés. He has done artwork for Disney properties like 'Planes' and 'Minnie & Daisy', and drew comic-style panels that appeared during the storytelling intervals of the video game 'Angry Birds: Star Wars Rebels' (2013).
'Emme's Dierenwereld' (Tina #13, 2016).
Between 2010 and 2016, Ruiz worked regularly for the Dutch girls' magazine Tina, first as one of the artists for the celebrity comic feature about Dutch singers 'Nick & Simon' (2010-2013), then as artist for 'Emme's Dierenwereld' (2014-2016), a series written by Lucienne van Ek about the daughter of a veterinarian. The other Comicup artists working on both series were Sergio Garrido and Carmen Pérez. Ruiz has additionally produced artwork for Pixar-related projects and comics based on the Dreamworks film 'Spirit Untamed' (2021).
Cover art for Fantomen, where Ruiz could reuse his experiences as a movie poster artist.
The Phantom
Since 2015, Rafael Ruiz has been a cover painter and story artist for Fantomen, the Swedish comic book publisher Egmont with locally produced episodes of Lee Falk's 'The Phantom'. His first story was 'The Mark of Cain', published in issue #25/26 of 2015. Working from scripts by Philip Madden, Claes Reimerthi or Diane Karlstrom, Ruiz's stories have also been distributed to 'Phantom' comic books in Australia, Brazil and Norway. His regular inker on his 'Phantom' stories has been Coral Martinez.
Story interval art for 'Angry Birds' game.
Storyboard artist
As a storyboard artist and art director, Rafa Ruiz has notably worked with the Mallorca director Toni Bestard on the animated short 'Intercambio' (2010) and the documentary film 'I Am Your Father' (2015), about the actor who portrayed Darth Vader in the 'Star Wars' films. In 2020, Ruiz and Bestard teamed up again for the comic 'Talia: Último Combate', a sequel to Bestard's earlier 'Talia' short film (2017). Ruiz has additionally done storyboards for advertisements, video games and other audiovisual projects, working for companies like Strange Friends, Leitmotiv, Nova Televisió, Singular Audiovisual, Palma Pictures, Pyro Studios, Canal 4 and Looping Audiovisual.
'Talia. Último Combate'.