[Header image from “Avengers” (2018) #3]
Mexican comic book inker Juan Vlasco has died, according to his friend Jorge Break on Facebook. Break shared that Vlasco died in Mexico City on April 24, 2020, following complications from appendicitis surgery. Vlasco — full name Juan Francisco Velasco Hernandez — worked for both Marvel and DC, and is survived by his wife Jackeline Orozco de Velasco.
Vlasco was born July 7, 1968. His career began in the late 1990s with Marvel titles like “Marvel: Shadows & Light,” “Spider-Boy Team-Up,” “Uncanny X-Men” and “Cable,” becoming the regular inker for penciler José Ladrönn’s artwork. In 2000, he also started working for DC Comics on various Superman titles, as well as “Sins of Youth: JLA Jr.,” “Young Justice,” and “Impulse.”
A year later he inked Paco Medina’s art on Dark Horse’s “Planet of the Apes: The Human War,” as well as the subsequent (simply titled) “Planet of the Apes” series. He also worked on WildStorm’s “Cybernary 2.0” and “Robotech Sourcebook,” and Anarchy Studios’ “Vampi.” He returned to Marvel in 2003, inking Paco Medina’s work on books like “The Mighty Thor.” A full list of Vlasco’s work for Marvel over the years can be read here: his more recent credits included “Avengers: No Road Home” (which reunited him with Medina), and “Magnificent Ms. Marvel” (including the historic first appearance of Amulet).
On Twitter, artists Gab Contreras and Carlos Fabian Villa both characterized Vlasco as a kind person, while colorist Brian Reber said Vlasco and “Paco Medina are one of my favorite art teams I’ve had the pleasure of coloring in my career. My heart goes out to Paco and Juan’s family. RIP Juan.” Jorge Break concluded his notice saying, “I’m going to miss our phone calls of more than 3 hours, carnal [best friend].”
You can view some of Vlasco’s inkwork at his Facebook page and DeviantArt.
