Gabriel Arnao Crespo (Madrid, November 23, 1922 – April 2, 1985), better known as Gabi, was a comic artist from Spain who lived most of his life in France.Gabi Arnao Crespo – Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved 2013-11-08.
Biography
Childhood and youth (1922–1948) Gabriel Arnao made his debut in Maravillas magazine in 1943 with the series El Tigre Brown. From 1943 to 1949, for the comic Flechas y Pelayos, he developed the series Sherlock López y Watso de Leche, a parody of the detective created by Conan Doyle."Gabriel Arnao Crespo". Historia Hispánica. Real Academia de la Historia. Retrieved October 30, 2025 – via historia-hispanica.rah.es."Gabi – Autor profile". Humoristan: Museo Digital del Humor Gráfico. Retrieved October 30, 2025 – via humoristan.org.
In Chicos, he published four long adventures starring Jim Erizo.Antonio Martín Martínez (1973). “Ficha Técnica” in La isla del espanto pequeñito, por Gabi, Fascículos de la imagen / Serie la historieta no. 2, p. 3. Martín, editor.
Stay in France (1949–1985) Gabi emigrated to France in 1949, working for SFPI (Société française de presse illustrée). There, he revived his series Jim Erizo for the magazine Balalín (1958) and Sherlock López y Watso de Leche for Tartine et Tartinet (1959) and Dennis the Menace (1968).
He also created several episodes specifically for the Spanish magazine Trinca in 1971.“Gabriel Arnao Crespo”. Historia Hispánica. Real Academia de la Historia. Retrieved 30 Oct 2025. – states that “a su regreso a España vuelve a recuperar el personaje de ‘Sherlock López’ en 1971 para la revista Trinca”.
His last series was Bloupy, which appeared from 1983 onward in Amis-Coop.“Gabi Arnao Crespo – Comic Creator”. Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved October 30, 2025 – via lambiek.net.
Style Gabriel Arnao demystified genres through the use of absurdity, somewhat in the manner of Jacovitti, with a light graphic style of straight, clear lines.Nino Velasco (1973). “Gabi, un autor ‘raro’” in La isla del espanto pequeñito, por Gabi, Fascículos de la imagen / Serie la historieta no. 2, pp. 4–5. Martín, editor.
Works 1943 – Tigre Brown, for Flechas y Pelayos 1943 – Las extrañas aventuras de Sherlock López y Watso de Leche, for Flechas y Pelayos 1943 – El Señor Conejo, for Maravillas magazine 1944 – El Pequeño Profesor Pin y su ayudante Freddy, for ¡Zas! 1947 – Jim Erizo y su Papá, for Chicos 1948 – Teobaldo Teodolito, for Pulgarcito 1948 – Pototo y Boliche, for Chicos 1949 – Cleopatro Pa, for Chicos 1949 – El Mago Parapapato y su sobrino Patato, for Mis Chicas 1949 – Puck, el gnomo, for Mis Chicas 1949 – Don Ataúlfo Clorato y su sobrino Renato, for Trampolín magazine 1950 – Mateo Pí, for Trampolín 1950 – Pedrín y Linda, for Trampolín 1953 – Ojo de Castor, el pequeño piel roja, for Trampolín 1957 – El pequeño chico Fredy, for Maravillas 1958 – Archibaldo, for Baladín 1983 – Galapo y Vendaval, for Super Zipi y Zape.Cuadrado (2000), pp. 501–502.
References
Bibliography Jesús Cuadrado (2000). Atlas español de la cultura popular: De la historieta y su uso 1873–2000. Madrid: Ediciones Sinsentido / Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez. 2 vols. ISBN 84-89384-23-1.
External links Author profile at Tebeosfera Comic creator: Gabi at the Lambiek Comiclopedia (in English) Arnao, Gabi at Comicvia Arnao, Gabi, Las 9 musas (archived)