Barcelona (EFE).- Cartoonist Francisco Ibáñez, who died today at the age of 87, will be fired next Monday in an open ceremony to be held at the Sancho de Ávila funeral home in Barcelona, sources from the Penguin Random House publishing group have reported.
The editorial has reported this Saturday “with great sadness” from its Twitter account of the death in Barcelona of Ibáñez, creator, among others, of the popular characters Mortadelo and Filemón.
The cartoonist’s funeral chapel will open tomorrow, Sunday, and Ibáñez’s farewell ceremony will take place at 12:30 p.m. next Monday.
Ibáñez, the most nationally and internationally recognized Spanish comic book author
Ibáñez has been the most nationally and internationally recognized Spanish comic book author, after he published the first Mortadelo y Filemón comic strip on January 20, 1958, in number 1394 of the Pulgarcito magazine, published by Bruguera.
Born in Barcelona in 1936, Ibáñez was the creator of some of the most famous characters in Spanish comics, since in addition to those mentioned, he was the father of Rompetechos, Pepe Gotera and Otilio, from the neighborhood community of 13 Rue del Percebe or of the Sacarino bellboy, a profession in which the artist began in the world of work.
In February of last year, Barcelona City Council honored Francisco Ibáñez “for his tireless and intense creative career, as a benchmark in the world of humor and comics in our country.”
A fan of comics and drawing from a very young age, Ibáñez has sold more than 100 million albums, making him the most prolific and recognized Spanish cartoonist.