'Mickey Mouse' (D2003-168). French-language version. © Disney
Xavier Vives Mateu is a Catalan artist, who has worked under the pen names Xavi and MAT. He began his career in the Spanish underground comix scene of the 1970s, and became especially known for his erotic comics. Since the 1980s, he is mainly known as a productive artist of Disney comics.
Comic from Balalaika #1 (1982).
Early life and career
Xavier Vives Mateu was born in 1951 in Barcelona, where he grew up reading TBO magazine, Disney comic books and the publications of Editorial Bruguera. He later settled in the Barcelona suburb Granollers. After the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, the long-lasting press censorship was lifted in his home country. In this climate, a sheer explosion of free-spirited media came about. Xavi made his debut during this period.
Cover illustrations for Comic Erotico.
He published his first works in El Papus, a satirical monthly edited by Ramón Tosas Fuentes. Xavi illustrated stories by Ramoncín and Albert Turró, and made cartoons based on TV shows. He quickly found his way to the other magazines of El Papu publisher Editorial Amaika, such as El Cuervo, Hara-Kiri, El Puro, Balalaika, Kung Fu and El Papus Deportivo.
'El Caso Bugatti'.
Xavi's work also appeared in Rock Comix (published by Gaspar Fraga) and Hermano Lobo (by Ediciones Pleyades). He made erotic comics for magazines like Lib, Papillón, Emmanuelle and Party. His sensual women were inspired by the ones found in the work of Milo Manara, Richard Corben and Alex Raymond, while the Spanish cartoonist Manuel Vazquez was also a major influence. In 1984, Ediciones Amaika published the comic book 'El Caso Bugatti', a collection of Xavi's stories for Hara-Kiri (not to be confused with the French magazine of the same name). In the late 1980s, he contributed to El Cómic Erótico of Editorial Iru, signing his work with the pseudonym MAT.
'Beagle Boys' (D 9120). © Disney
Disney comics
By the mid-1980s, Xavi left the declining Spanish comic book market and focused on drawing Disney comics through studios like Tello Art and then Comicup in Barcelona. During this time, he became friends with fellow Disney artists José Maria Millet Lopez and Ignasi Calvet Esteban, with whom he often collaborated and worked together in studios. Xavi eventually started to work directly for Egmont, the Danish licensee of Disney comics. Until 2000, Xavi initially mainly drew covers and stories starring the 'Beagle Boys'. From the late 1980s on, he also worked on stories with characters from the Disney features 'The Great Mouse Detective', 'The Little Mermaid' and TV series like 'Duck Tales'.
'Duck Tales' (D89149). Dutch-language version. © Disney
Since the 1980s, Xavi has also produced material for the Danish pocket book publications, for which adopted a more expressive drawing style in the Italian Disney tradition. His pocket book work has included stories with 'Donald Duck', 'Superdonald', 'Mickey Mouse' and the 'Beagle Boys'. He was the artist of the official movie adaptations of the Disney films 'Oliver & Co', 'The Little Mermaid' and 'Aladdin', and also illustrated stories in the series 'Mickey Mystery' and 'Totally Minnie'. Since 2000, Xavi has illustrated several longer adventure stories with 'Mickey Mouse'. Between 2016 and 2020, he also drew Disney comics for Sanoma in the Netherlands.
Cartoon by Xavi from 7 November 2013.
Non-Disney work
Apart from his work for Disney comics, Xavier Vives has worked on advertising assignments, for the press and for Mad Magazine. In his home country, he has made political and historical cartoons for newspapers, and in later years he has been for hire as an artist/designer of caricatures, portraits, logos and vectorial maps.
'The Little Mermaid'. Dutch-language version. © Disney