Nestor Redondo

Nestor P. Redondo (May 4, 1928 – December 30, 1995) was a Filipino comics artist best known for his work for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and other American publishers in the 1970s and early 1980s. In his native Philippines, he is known for co-creating the superheroine Darna.

Early life Redondo was born May 4, 1928, in Candon, Ilocos Sur, in what was then the United States territory of the Philippine Islands. His brother, Francisco "Quico" Redondo, was a comics artist as well.

He studied architecture at the Mapúa Institute of Technology but left it to begin a career in illustration.

Career Early work Redondo began his career drawing Filipino komiks serials, which were written by his brother Virgilio, including Mars Ravelo's Darna series. In 1969 and 1970 Redondo did the four-page serial ”Mga Kasaysayang Buhat sa Bibliya” (“Tales from the Bible”) in each issue of Superyor Komiks Magasin, which was produced by his company Nestor Redondo Publications. This company launched a program of on-the-job training for young writers and artists. Through the 1970s, Redondo drew dozens of such supernatural anthology stories for DC titles including House of Secrets, The Phantom Stranger, Secrets of Sinister House, The Unexpected, Weird War Tales, and The Witching Hour. based on the heroine of a Victorian novel, as well as Swamp Thing #11–23 (Aug. 1974 – July 1976), and DC's tabloid-sized one-shot collection of Bible stories, cover-titled The Bible but officially titled Limited Collectors' Edition #C-36 (July 1975). Nestor Redondo and his brother Frank Redondo often collaborated and were credited together as the "Redondo Studio", including on the Ragman series for DC. Panel, DC Comics' Rima, the Jungle Girl #6 (Feb.–March 1975). Art by Nestor Redondo.

In 1970, Redondo was approached by Vincent Fago of Pendulum Press to illustrate stories for that publisher’s new line of comic book adaptations of literary classics. Redondo helped Fago recruit fellow Filipino comics artists, who illustrated almost every comic Pendulum produced. From 1973 to 1979, Redondo illustrated many stories in the Pendulum Illustrated Classics line, including Dracula and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — adaptations which were reprinted by Marvel Comics three years later as Marvel Classics Comics.

In preparation for the First International Christian Comics Training Conference in Tagaytay, the Philippines, in January 1996, Redondo wrote On Realistic Illustration for his main teaching session, but died before he was able to deliver it personally.