Classic cover artists: José Ortiz

José Ortiz started working in British comics in the 1980s, as a regular on Eagle and co-creator of The Thirteenth Floor in Scream! By the middle of the decade he had gigs on 2000AD, working on Helltrekkers and Rogue Trooper. His contributions include a number of strong front cover pieces. While not the most celebrated of IPC's artists - perhaps because the majority of his work was on Eagle rather than 2000AD - José brought a flavour of horror more haunting, in my opinion, than any of his exceptional contemporaries. There's a darkness in his characters (the victims as well as the ghouls), a fear behind the eyes and a constant feeling of something sinister just beneath the frame, that make his artwork deliciously creepy. He was a master of the shivers.