Oscar Zárate
Oscar Zárate once built a career in advertising in Argentina. He later drew a graphic novel about an advertising man being hunted by a sadistic child. That book is A Small Killing, written by Alan Moore and published in 1991, and it stands as his best-known work in the United States. Zárate was born in 1942, studied architecture, and left Argentina for Europe in 1971. In Europe, his life as a professional illustrator began in earnest. How does a man trained in architecture and advertising become a comics artist and illustrator of ideas? And what led Alan Moore to choose him for a story set inside the world Zárate had left behind?
Lenin for Beginners, published in 1977 by Writers and Readers, launched Zárate's partnership with the writer Richard Appignanesi. Two years later came Freud for Beginners, again with Appignanesi. These two books established a template that would run for decades: intellectually demanding subjects rendered through illustrated pages. Appignanesi returned as a collaborator in 2001 for Introducing Existentialism, by then published by Icon Books.
William Shakespeare's Othello appeared in 1983, published by Ravette, extending Zárate's work into literary adaptation. Christopher Marlowe's Dr Faustus followed in 1986 through Abacus. In 1987, Alexei Sayle's Geoffrey the Tube Train and the Fat Comedian arrived from Methuen.
Icon Books became the main publisher when the subjects shifted toward science. J.P. McEvoy wrote Stephen Hawking for Beginners in 1995, then Quantum Theory for Beginners the following year. Angus Gellatly's Mind & Brain for Beginners arrived in 1998. Dylan Evans wrote Introducing Evolutionary Psychology in 1999. Rupert Woodfin's Introducing Marxism, published in 2004, was the last of Zárate's listed titles in this series.
Alongside the guide series, Zárate also drew for Crisis, the UK comics magazine. VG Graphics published A Small Killing as a one-shot: a single, self-contained volume with no ongoing series attached. That distinct format gave the book a home apart from the educational work that had occupied most of his career to that point. By the 2010s, SelfMadeHero had become his new publishing home.
It's Dark in London, published by SelfMadeHero in 2012, was a departure: Zárate served as editor, with various artists and authors supplying the pages. The following year, SelfMadeHero published The Park, with Zárate back in the artist's role.
Graphic Freud: Hysteria arrived from SelfMadeHero in 2015, with words by Richard Appignanesi. The collaboration reunited a pairing that had been quiet for more than a decade. Appignanesi was Zárate's most persistent collaborator, and the Hysteria book marked the fourth time their names appeared on a book together.
Thomas Girtin: The Forgotten Painter appeared from SelfMadeHero in 2023. By then, Zárate had been publishing illustrated work for more than four decades. He was in his early eighties.
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Common questions
Who is Oscar Zárate and what is he known for?
Oscar Zárate is an Argentine comic book artist and illustrator born in 1942. He is best known in the United States for A Small Killing, a 1991 graphic novel written by Alan Moore. He also illustrated numerous volumes in the For Beginners and Introducing series of illustrated educational guides.
What is Oscar Zárate's graphic novel A Small Killing about?
A Small Killing is a one-shot graphic novel about a rising star in the advertising world who is being stalked by a sadistic child. Alan Moore wrote the text, VG Graphics published it in 1991, and Oscar Zárate provided the artwork.
What is the For Beginners series that Oscar Zárate illustrated?
The For Beginners and Introducing series are illustrated guides to complex subjects. Zárate illustrated volumes covering Lenin (1977), Freud (1979), Shakespeare's Othello (1983), Stephen Hawking (1995), quantum theory (1996), the mind and brain (1998), evolutionary psychology (1999), existentialism (2001), and Marxism (2004), among others.
Who were Oscar Zárate's main writing collaborators?
Zárate's most frequent collaborator was Richard Appignanesi, who wrote Lenin for Beginners (1977), Freud for Beginners (1979), Introducing Existentialism (2001), and Graphic Freud: Hysteria (2015). Other collaborators included J.P. McEvoy, Alexei Sayle, Dylan Evans, Angus Gellatly, Rupert Woodfin, and Alan Moore.
When did Oscar Zárate move from Argentina to Europe?
Oscar Zárate moved from Argentina to Europe in 1971, after which his career as a professional illustrator began in earnest. He had previously studied architecture and worked in advertising in Argentina.
What are Oscar Zárate's most recent published works?
Zárate's most recent published work is Thomas Girtin: The Forgotten Painter, issued by SelfMadeHero in 2023. Earlier SelfMadeHero titles include Graphic Freud: Hysteria (2015), The Park (2013), and It's Dark in London (2012), on which Zárate served as editor.