| Sandu Florea | |
|---|---|
 Florea at the 2011New York Comic Con. | |
| Born | (1946-06-28)28 June 1946 (age 79) |
| Nationality | Romanian,American |
| Area(s) | inker,writer |
Notable works | Batman R.I.P.,Batman: Battle for the Cowl,Buffy the Vampire Slayer,The Executioner,X-Men: The End |
| Awards | Eurocon (1980) |
Sandu Florea (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈsanduˈflore̯a]; born 28 June 1946) is aRomanian-Americancomic book andcomic stripcreator, also known as aninker andbook illustrator. A trained architect and a presence on thescience fiction scene during the 1970s, he became a professional in thecomics genre with albums such asGalbar, and was allegedly the only artist to have obtained a steady income in this way during thecommunist period. A prolific contributor to Romanian children's magazines, Florea had his activity curbed bycommunist censorship when he first publicized his intention of emigrating to the United States. He eventually left the country shortly after the1989 Revolution, and soon after began collaborating withMarvel,DC Comics and other leading enterprises in the field of comic book publishing. He became especially noted for his activities as an inker, with contributions on series such asBuffy the Vampire Slayer,The Executioner,X-Men: The End,Batman R.I.P. andBatman: Battle for the Cowl.
Florea has maintained enduring contacts with his native country, and has taken an initiative in popularizing theAmerican comic book style in Romania. He has been described as one of the most successful among his colleagues, and claimed to be one of the most recognizable Romanians in his field.
Born inGhelari,Hunedoara County, Sandu Florea first became interested in comics while in fifth grade, his first contact with the medium being through a copy of theFrench youth magazinePif Vaillant.[1] This encounter, he recalled in a 2004 interview, left him with "an impression that cannot be erased", and "the wish that I myself could draw such appealing and interesting characters."[1]
Sandu Florea published his first comic strip in 1968, withLuminiţa children's magazine. It was a series centered on the anecdotal hero classicPăcală.[2] In 1971, Florea graduated fromBucharest'sArchitectural College, and subsequently worked for a building design institute in his adoptive city ofTimișoara.[1] Before graduation, he had also published his first work in the comics genre, inspired by thefolkloric tale ofPăcală, and featured in a 1968 issue ofLuminiţa magazine.[1]
After moving to Timișoara, he became a noted presence among the localscience fiction fan base, joining theH. G. Wells Literary Club founded by writer Ovidiu Şurianu.[1] Their collaboration produced the 1973Galbar, reportedly the first Romanianscience fiction comic book.[1][3] In 1975, he and Timișoara native Marcel Luca published what is thought to be the first-ever Romaniancoloring book with a science fiction subject,Vreau să fiu cosmonaut ("I Want to be aCosmonaut"), which reputedly sold 45,000 copies.[1] By then, having received offers of collaboration from two publishing houses (Editura Ion Creangă and Editura Facla), Florea settled back in Bucharest and focused exclusively on his work in comics and illustration.[1][2] Said to have been the most prolific comic book author active during the communist period, he had his work featured in almost all of the children's periodicals in print at the time.[2][3]
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was creating and publishing comic books dedicated to popular legends, such as a retake onIon Creangă'sfantasy storyHarap Alb, or recounting episodes inRomanian history (involvingDacian rulersBurebista andDecebalus,Roman EmperorTrajan,[3][4] andWallachianPrinceMichael the Brave).[3] Several single-issue albums in this category were based on texts byhistorical fiction author Radu Theodoru, forming part of the seriesStrămoşii ("The Ancestors").[5] The full list includes:Cavalerul alb ("The White Knight"; Editura Facla, 1976),Călugăreni (referencing theBattle of Călugăreni; Editura Ion Creangă, 1977),Misiune de sacrificiu ("Suicidal Mission"; Editura Ion Creangă, 1979),În lumea lui Harap Alb ("Inside Harap Alb's World"; Editura Sport-Turism, 1979),Burebista, regele dacilor ("Burebista, King of the Dacians"; Editura Sport-Turism, 1980),Decebal şi Traian ("Decebalus and Trajan"; Editura Sport-Turism, 1981),Carusel ("Carousel"; Editura Sport-Turism, 1982),Sarmizegetusa eroică ("HeroicSarmizegetusa"; Editura Sport-Turism, 1983).[3] Florea was also involved in creating Romania's ownWestern comics, adapted from stories by Nicolae Frînculescu.[2]
These works received critical attention, both in Romania and abroad.În lumea lui Harap Alb earned him the aEurocon award (1980).[3][5][6] This, literary critic Michael Hăulică notes, made Florea one in a final wave of Romanian Eurocon laureates to have emerged under communism (also including writersVladimir Colin,Ion Hobana and Gheorghe Săsărman).[6]
Florea also received attention from celebrated poetNichita Stănescu, who discovered inCarusel an unclassifiable and imaginative work. The writer argued: "[Florea] introduces mystery where we usually had happy-endings, imagination where there was lyricism and an indecisive epic where there was nothing. The book he callsCarusel [...] is without precedent, in Romania and everywhere else."[7] In 1982, Stănescu began working with him on the albumSemne şi desemne ("Signs and Designs"). Florea printed thelithographs to go with the poems, but the project was cut short when Stănescu died (December 1983).[7]
The 1984-1989 interval was described by Florea as "one of the most difficult periods in my life."[1] Having unsuccessfully demanded from communist authorities the right of leaving for the United States, where two of his siblings had already settled, Florea was exposed to political persecution, andthe censorship apparatus lifted his right to publish, prompting him to contribute several comic strips under various pseudonyms.[1] He returned to public attention after the1989 Revolution, when he was briefly editor in chief of the new children's magazineCarusel.[2][3][5] With Frînculescu, he also founded another such publication, calledProteus.[2][3]
Sandu Florea, his wife and two children eventually left for the United States in 1991, moving toNew York City[1] and afterward settling inLong Island.[8] Although initially discouraged by the competition among comic book artists, Florea recounts, he decided to contact Marvelrecruiters within three months of his arrival, submitting a sample of his take onConan the Barbarian.[1] According to his own statement,Conan proved compatible with his talents: "[he was] the only Marvel character who did not fly, did not breathe fire and did not use psychic waves to defeat his enemies, being instead armed with a giant sword and axe. Since I had been drawing many historical tales back in the old country, Conan was a character whom I could depict in drawing with relative ease."[1]
He was accepted by Marvel soon after this, specialized as an inker, and began working on several of its main releases, including, alongsideConan,The Amazing Spider-Man and the various spin-offs ofAvengers,Blackwulf,Elektra,Mighty Thor,Captain America,Doctor Strange,Fantastic Four andX-Men.[1][3][5][8] He also worked withDC Comics (onSuperman Second Series,[1]Batman,[1][4][8]Justice Society of America,Nightwing)[8] andDark Horse Comics,[3][4] signing additional collaborations withInnovation Publishing, Vivid Comics (onThe Executioner)[3] andChaos! Comics (Lady Death,Undertaker).[8] Among the significant miniseries to which he contributed as an inker areX-Men: The End (2004–2006),[1]Batman R.I.P. (2008),[4][8] andBatman: Battle for the Cowl (2009).[8] His work with Dark Horse includedBuffy the Vampire Slayer[3][5][8] andAngel.[8] His artistic production also touched other media: Florea createdstoryboards and other graphics for the motion picture producersFull Moon, as well as book illustrations forThe Princeton Review.[8]
Florea was selected honorary president of the Romanian Association of Comic Book Fans in 2001.[2] Speaking in 2004, he expressed interest in relaunching the native comic book genre in his native country, and in publishing a new children's periodical with original content.[1] In 2006, he participated in the relaunch ofCarusel, in a version argued by Hăulică to have been "professional under any definition."[9]
The publication, which went out of print after only two issues due to distribution problems, includedRomanian-language reprints of American comics such asConan the Barbarian andAliens, alongside original collaborations between Florea and his Romanian colleagues:Două paloşe ("TwoBackswords", with Florea as artist and György Györfi-Deák as writer),Ultima frontieră ("The Final Frontier", text by Florea, Marian Mirescu and Eddie Pandele, drawings by Daniel Rizea and Cătălin Gospodin),Toxic (text by Florea, drawings by Tudor Popa),Leviathan (written by Cristian Lăzărescu, illustrated by Florea).[9][10] The magazine also featuredBorderland, a comic series conceived especially for a Romanian public by writerJohn Warner and illustrated by Florea, depicting the confrontation between three worlds: of the Mortals, of Magic and of the Demons.[10] Around the same time, Sandu Florea also began contributing to various Romanianwebzines, such asPro-Scris,Imagikon andParadox—the latter of which published his stripFortăreaţa, based on a short story by Ovidiu Bufnilă.[10] Several aspects related to the artist's new Romanian ventures were however criticized by Michael Hăulică. He argued thatToxic in particular was "weak and obvious", and noted that, in its featured edition, the text ofBorderland evidenced its translator's poor command of the Romanian language.[10]
These initiatives helped cement the artist's reputation in Romania. Sandu Florea claims to be "The only Romanian professional graphic artist who has managed to make a living exclusively out of his drawings, in the old country as well as [...] in America."[1] Dodo Niţă, a historiographer of Romanian comics and Florea's colleague atCarusel,[10] placedÎn lumea lui Harap Alb as fifth among an all-time chart of original Romanian works in the genre.[11] According to a 2008 piece in the Romanian dailyEvenimentul Zilei, Florea shares the distinction of "best known Romanian comic book artist" with Mircea Arapu, the latter being known for his contribution inFrancophone comics.[12]
An annual Romanian comic bookfan convention inConstanţa awards the Sandu Florea Prize to artists with a long contribution in their field.[2][13] In 2010, Florea was guest of honor at the European Comic Strip Salon, organized by theRomanian Cultural Institute (ICR) at theNational Theatre Bucharest.[2] He exhibited his work, including the never before seenSemne şi desemne collection, at the Bucharest "Comic Book Museum" exhibit, jointly organized by the ICR and theBelgian Comic Strip Center in 2011.[7]
