ISTANBUL

Aslan Şükür, who changed the purple outfit from the American comic book “Phantom” to red and changed her name to “Kızıl Maske” (Red Mask), has been designing comic book covers for 25 years and has now started drawing for collectors.

Şükür is the creator of “Red Mask”, one of the first series that comes to mind when talking about comics in Turkey.

Hailed as the living legend of the comic book world, Şükür, 76, created the “Red Mask” by designing a red costume for the “Ghost,” which was drawn by its creator Lee Falk in a purple costume.

“Sezen Yalçıner, the owner of Tay Publications, signed an agreement with the Americans on Phantom. He said, ‘We’re going to do a Lion Phantom; What should we do? ‘ I used to read about Phantom in the newspapers when I was a kid. At that time it was published in comic book form. When the book came out we saw that they had been working on the color purple in the United States. But I thought the color purple would not be suitable for a hero. I said, ‘The color purple is not suitable for a hero. It was in 1971. The color purple is not for men. I think we should do it in red. Then I made purple and red colors. The purple color does not stand out. I made it red and named it the Red Mask. I can say that I am the father of the Red Mask, ”he said.

While drawing on souvenirs, Şükür started making comics thanks to Yücel Köksal, one of the cover artists of the time, and he also made the covers of famous novels such as Tombraks, Zagor, Mandrake, Mister No and Bonanza.

Stating that he was very interested in reading comics as a child, Şükür said, “I started reading with Tommiks Texas. I used to wake up early and read them before my breakfast. At the time, I had a passion for painting. I used to draw horses, cowboys, guns and swords in my mom’s cookbooks. When we were little we used to look at the covers while reading comics and say “how beautifully drawn”. I never thought that one day I would draw them too. In my 25 years of life as a comic book illustrator, a lot of people have grown up with my covers. They say, “We grew up with you. You are the painter who colored our youth. It is one of the greatest joys for me in this life.

[HH] 2,000 covers, 8,000 illustrations

Noting that he has been involved in painting and brushing for 55 years, Şükür said: “I have drawn comic book covers such as Tombraks, Zagor, Red Mask, Mandrake, Mister No, Bonanza, Jeriko, Captain Volkan and Karaoğlan. So far I have created 2,000 comic book covers and 8,000 original works such as school books and world classics. I started drawing in 1971 and continued until the 90s. Comics were sold at that time. In 1972, 45,000 Tombraks and 45,000 Zagors were sold in booklets. When Mister No was released, the circulation was 75,000 copies.

“In our time, there was no digital media, and we always worked by hand. As times have changed, there has been a digital transition. But I like to do it by hand. As I draw by hand, collectors prefer my works. I draw the cover of the comics whenever they want. Still, I don’t work digitally because I want to see the painting on it. I want to smell the paint. If Van Gogh had created “sunflowers” digitally, would the museums be so full of people? ” he added.