| Whilce Portacio | |
|---|---|
 Portacio at the 2015East Coast Comicon inSecaucus, New Jersey | |
| Born | William Portacio (1963-07-08)July 8, 1963 (age 62) Cavite City, Philippines |
| Area(s) | Penciller, inker, writer |
Notable works | Iron Man Punisher Spawn Stone Uncanny X-Men Wetworks |
| Awards | Inkpot Award (2012)[1] |
| https://whilcedesk.blogspot.com/ | |
William "Whilce"Portacio (/pɔːrˈtɑːʃi.oʊ/;[2] born July 8, 1963) is a Filipino Americancomic book writer and artist noted for his work on such titles asThe Punisher,X-Factor,Uncanny X-Men,Iron Man,Wetworks andSpawn. Portacio was also one of the seven co-founders ofImage Comics,[3][4] though he did not become a full-partner in the company,[5] and is therefore not a member of its board of directors.[6]
Whilce Portacio was born July 8, 1963[7][8] inSangley Point,Cavite City, Philippines. He grew up in places such asMidway Island andNew Mexico before his family settled inSan Diego, California. He began reading comic books at the age of ten, when his neighbor decided to get rid of her husband's collection, and through this, he discovered the work of creators such asJack Kirby andNeal Adams, who were the two most important influences on Portacio's art. Though Portacio dreamed of becoming anastronaut, his height and eyesight did not meet the necessary requirements, which determined that art would be his vocation. In high school, he continued to create his comic books with his long-time friend,Scott Williams, who would one day be a prolific comic book inker in the industry.[8]
Portacio attended his first comic book convention inSan Diego, whereMarvel Comics editorCarl Potts, upon seeing Portacio's portfolio, offered him the job inking overFrank Cirocco andChris Warner's pencils on the 1984 seriesAlien Legion.[8] The following year, he inked overArt Adams' pencils on the 1985 miniseriesLongshot.[9]
Later he was given assignments as apenciller, and became noted for his work on such titles asThe Punisher,X-Factor, andThe Uncanny X-Men, for which he co-created the characterBishop withJohn Byrne. Bishop first appeared inUncanny X-Men #282, published in November 1991.[10][11][12]
Stan Lee interviewed Portacio in the 1991 documentary seriesThe Comic Book Greats.
In 1992, Portacio left Marvel to co-foundImage Comics with six other high-profile artists. He quickly withdrew from Image due to his sister's illness. He eventually published his titleWetworks throughJim Lee'sWildstorm imprint in 1994. Other notable series that Portacio worked on includeStone and Marvel's controversialHeroes Reborn storyline withinIron Man. At this time Portacio's artwork is notable for his impressive, action-packed splash pages with one character dominating the page borders.
In 1998, he startedAvalon Studios withBrian Haberlin.
In August 2000, Portacio fell into adiabetic coma as a result of a failingpancreas. He woke up a week later, thirty pounds lighter, and unable to walk, stand or even draw. Only six months later was he able to pick up a pencil and draw. According to his blog, "My mind could see what I wanted to draw but my hand couldn't accomplish it."[13]
In 2006, Portacio returned to his artistic duties at Wildstorm onWetworks vol. 2, which was being written byMike Carey. Portacio left the book with issue #6. He also began art duties on the monthlyDC Comics seriesBatman Confidential.
On June 9, 2008, it was announced that Portacio would be the new artist onSpawn starting in October 2008 with issue #185, providing pencils withSpawn creatorTodd McFarlane returning as co-writer withBrian Holguin as the new creative team.
Following his run onSpawn, he has done more work with Marvel. He contributed pencils toHulk #18 in 2008[14] and had a run onThe Uncanny X-Men.[15]
Two pages of Portacio andArthur Adams'Longshot were up for auction in the 2021 April 1–4 Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction in Dallas, where the starting prices were $2,600 and $6,250, respectively.[16]
In July 2021, Marvel announced that Portacio was one of the various Asian artists for the bookMarvel's Voices: Identity #1, in which he would contribute the art for the characterWave (Pearl Pangan).[17][18]
| Preceded by Series creator | Wetworks artist 1994–1996; 2006–present | Succeeded by ? |
| Preceded by | Uncanny X-Men artist (withJim Lee) 1991–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | X-Factor (vol. 1) artist 1991 | Succeeded by |
