'Mad Madam Mim' (Dutch Donald Duck #10, 2 March 2022). © Disney.
José Ramón Bernadó was a Spanish comic artist, mainly associated with Disney comics. Despite stints with Spanish animation studios and Marvel and DC Comics in the USA, he was one of the most distinguishable artists for comic stories with Disney movie characters, working mostly for the Dutch Donald Duck weekly. His vivid linework, dynamic layouts and effective texturizations made him the perfect fit for the atmospheric worlds of Madam Mim, Basil from Baker Street, Br'er Rabbit, Dumbo, Robin Hood and other characters.
Early life and career
José Ramón Bernadó Kneff (also written as Bernadó Neff) was born in 1965 in Villanova i la Geltru, a town near Barcelona. His father, José Bernadó García, had been active as an artist in the Spanish comic book market during the 1960. As an artist, Ramón Bernadó was self-taught, learning himself how to draw by studying the work ofAlex Raymond andJohn Buscema. Later, as a Disney artist, he developed his personal and characteristic style by taking inspiration fromFloyd Gottfredson,Daniel Branca andDaan Jippes. In 1982, early comic work by Bernadó appeared in the black-and-white fanzine Zero Comics, edited by Antonio Garcés.
During the 1980s, Bernado began his professional career in the Spanish animation industry, working on projects like the animated TV series 'Mofli, el Último Koala' (1986-1987), created by Jaime González and produced by EQUIP studio. During his tenure in animation, Bernadó additionally worked for studios like Acció, Oniria Pictures and Munich Animation. Around that same period, his first comic 'El Verdugo' was published in A Tope, a magazine of the publishing house Norma. During the mid-1980s, Bernado also worked with the legendary Spanish cartoonistFrancisco Ibáñez, serving for year as pencil artist for the feature 'Chicha, Tato y Clodoveo, de profesión sin empleo' ("Chica, Tato and Clodoveo, professionally unemployed") in Guai! magazine.
Mickey Mouse story starring Michel Souris (F MP 01205). © Disney.
Disney comics
In 1990, Bernadó got the opportunity to work with Disney characters for European licensee publishers throughJosé Cánovas' Comicup studios in Barcelona. Later that decade, he was affiliated with other studios likeSanchis andComicon, before working directly for his clients. Bernadó's earliest (identified) work included stories with Mickey Mouse and Goofy, as well as gags with Ellsworth the mynah bird, for the French publisher Hachette. Until the early 2000s, he remained one of the most productive mouse story artists for Le Journal de Mickey in France, in the final years particularly working with the French original secondary rat character 'Michel Souris' (2000-2002), an obsessed Mickey Mouse fan. Also during the 1990s, Comicup also assigned Bernadó on story productions for the Danish Disney publisher Egmont, doing a wide variety of characters, including the Duck family. For the Danish production of pocket book stories, Bernadó continued to work on longer 'Mickey Mouse' adventures. In 1995, he penciled the graphic novel adaptation of the Disney film '101 Dalmatians', scripted by Didier Le Bornec for Disney Europe.
'Basil from Baker Street' (H 98126, Dutch Donald Duck #46, 19 November 1999). © Disney.
During the 21st century, Bernadó's production for the Danish publisher was sporadic, with his last story published in 2020, as his main production was dedicated to the Dutch licensee of Disney comics, VNU and its successors Sanoma and DPG Media. Already during his first Dutch productions in the early 1990s, Bernadó was typecast as a specialist in Disney movie characters, starting withRuud Straatman- andFrank Jonker- penned serials with 'Basil from Baker Street' and 'The Rescuers'. In 1992, he drew the back cover gag series with the flying circus elephant 'Dumbo', written byEvert Geradts.
'Little Hiawatha' (Dutch-language Donald Duck #44, 4 November 2005). © Disney.
Even though he also drew the occasional urban 'Donald Duck' story, the Dutch editors felt Bernadó's vivid artwork was more suitable for the more magical and poetic worlds. For many years, Ramón Bernadó was the Dutch Donald Duck weekly's main artist for stories with Hiawatha, the little Native American, Br'er Rabbit and the other forest animals and especially Mad Madam Mim the witch, Bernadó's personal favorite character. When during the 2000s the Dutch publisher increased its production of stories with movie-related characters, Bernadó remained the most sought-after artist. Until his untimely death in 2024, he drew countless stories with 'Robin Hood', 'Peter Pan', 'Pinocchio', 'The Rescuers', 'Basil from Baker Street', 'Junglebook', 'The Seven Dwarfs' and the 'Dalmatians'.
Superboy #36 - 'Grudge Match' (February 1997). Inks by Doug Hazelwood.
American interlude
Between 1995 and 1998, Ramón Bernadó slowed down his Disney comics production for a couple of projects for the American market. During the 1995 Salone del Comic in Barcelona, Bernadó got in touch with executives of Marvel Comics, who offered him work. Subsequently, he illustrated stories for Marvel's 'Wolverine' (issue #98 of 1995), 'Silver Surfer Annual', and the first two issues of 'Fury/Agent 13' (1998). While his Marvel work was limited to fill-in duties, Bernadó's work for competitor DC Comics included longer stints on 'Justice League Task Force' (issues #27 through #37) and 'Superboy' (issues #32 through #40).
Br'er Rabbit - 'De Witte Alligator' (H2016-103, Dutch Donald Duck #41, 6 October 2016). © Disney.
Death and legacy
After a period with serious health issues, José Ramón Bernadó passed away in June 2024, at the age of only 59. Of all the Spanish artists working on the many European Disney magazines, José Ramón Bernadó had the most recognizable and personal drawing style, characterized by its illustrative qualities. He excelled in visualizing the magical worlds of Madam Mim, the hilarious funny animal adventures of Robin Hood and the foggy streets of 19th-century London for the Basil of Baker Street mysteries. Many of the freelance writers working for Dutch Disney comics regularly expressed their joy on social media when they found out that their script had been given to José Ramón Bernadó. In 2022, Bernadó's original artwork was prominently featured in the exhibition celebrating 70 years of the Dutch Donald Duck weekly, held at the Museum of Comic Art in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
'The Seven Dwarfs' (Dutch Donald Duck #16, 15 April 2021). © Disney.