Francisco Ibáñez Talavera (March 15, 1936- ), Spanish comic book artist and writer. Born in Barcelona, he is the creator of several comic book series, the most famous of which is Mortadelo y Filemón.[1]
He worked in a bank while publishing his first drawings before dedicating himself fully to his craft in 1957. A year later, Mortadelo y Filemón appeared for the first time in the publication Pulgarcito. Subsequently, Ibáñez created several other characters. Since 1988, he has drawn six new Mortadelo y Filemón albums a year, many of which incorporate issues of the day.
In 1994, he received the Grand Prize of the Salón del Cómic de Barcelona and in 2001 he was awarded with the Medalla de Oro al Mérito en las Bellas Artes ("Gold Medal for Contributions to the Fine Arts"). He received the "Premios Notario del Humor" 2008 from the University of Alicante.[2]