Italian artist Saverio Tenuta has died at the age of 54. The news was announced by Humanoids, which published his graphic novels Legends of the Pierced Veil: The Scarlet Blade, Izuna, and The Mask of Fudo.
Born in Rome in 1969, Tenuta studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts there, graduating in 1992. He also earned a diploma in comics from the International School of Comics in Rome and taught there and at the Daishō Studio, which he founded in 2011.
Tenuta began his career contributing to a number of Italian comics magazines, including the anthology series Il Corvo Presenta, which also carried James O’Barr’s The Crow and work by Tim Sale and Dave Gibbons; Playmen Comix, a short-lived title that ran for 12 issues in 1994-95; Arthur King; and Intrepido. His first graphic novel, Cold Graze – risvegli di ghiaccio (Cold Graze: Awakenings of Ice), written by Otto Gabos, was published in 1997 by Phoenix.
Meanwhile, his work was being picked up by American publishers, starting with Sirius Entertainment, which published his Dolls #1 (1996) and Morrigan #1 (1997), both one-shots written by Lorenzo Bartoli, and included his work in the anthology series Crypt of Dawn. He was the back cover artist for Conan the Cruel, published by SQP in 1996, and a cover artist for the 1996-97 Event Comics crossover Ash /22 Brides.
Heavy Metal began publishing his work starting with the short story “Human Contact,” written by Bartoli, which appeared in the Spring 1998 issue, and continued to publish his work in the magazine. In addition, Heavy Metal published his book Elegia, with a foreword by Joe Quesada, in 2003. In 2001, Tenuta contributed several painted pages to JLA: Riddle of the Beast, written by Alan Grant and published by DC Comics, and in 2010, he teamed up with 2000AD artist Bagwell on the one-shot Chase Variant Is All I Need, written by Bleeding Cool editor Rich Johnston and published by Image.
In 2006 Tenuta launched Legends of the Pierced Veil, a fantasy adventure story set in medieval Japan, with the first volume, The Scarlet Blade, published by Humanoids in France. This was followed by Izuna, written by Tenuta with art by Carita Lupatelli, in 2014, and The Mask of Fudo, with Tenuta returning as sole creator, in 2016-20. Humanoids published the first volume as Legend of the Scarlet Blades as a deluxe limited edition in 2013 and as a deluxe hardcover in 2015 before issuing the general trade edition in 2016 (see “Humanoids’ Fall Releases”).
“He left his mark on the world of comics with his talent and poetry, and with his kindness on all those who met him,” Humanoids said in the statement.
Source: ICv2
