Legendary artist, Alex Nino, turns eighty years old today. One of the vanguard of the Filipino Comic Artist Invasion of the 1970s, Nino's career spans more than five decades. While he has done some great superhero art in his time, the majority of his work has remained centered in SFF and horror. Check out his full bio here.

Alex in 2009 at a comics convention. Having a good time, as usual.

I first encountered Nino's work as a preteen. Normally, I don't tend to love highly-stylized, busy art with a surreal edge. Nino's art is all of that...but he's Alex Nino. Nino can pull off art where others fear to tread.

While certain elements of Nino's style remind me of Esteban Maroto, Gil Kane, Roy G. Krenkel , Vaughn Bode and Rudy Nebres--with some manga/anime sort of stuff as well--Alex is absolutely his own dude. Utterly unique, exuberant, angular and dynamic, with loads of detail--that's what I think of when I see a piece of art from Nino. It also usually looks like he was having fun when he created it. From interviews and commentary I've read, that actually seems to be the case. Alex Nino has always been a happy warrior exploring and limning exotic realms of horror and fantasy.

Enjoy your ninth decade, Alex! Just keep on being you.

Feel free to click on the carousel gallery of inimitable Nino art below.