VALLEJO, Boris

(1941-)

   Illustrator, born in Peru probably around 1947 and trained there in graphic design; moved to the USA in 1964. BV, who signs his work "Boris", began working in the sf/ FANTASY genre with Warren Publications'magazines and comics in 1971, then shifted to MARVEL COMICS, where his covers for The Savage Sword of Conan soon caused him to be tagged "the next Frazetta"; work in this vein won him a reputation in heroic-fantasy ILLUSTRATION second only to Frank FRAZETTA's, though perhaps BV's work issmoother and less vigorous. His book-cover work in this genre since 1975 has been primarily for BALLANTINE BOOKS and DEL REY BOOKS. His erotic fantasies of male power and female bondage were a natural accompaniment to the Gor novels of John NORMAN, for 7 of which he did covers in 1976; he also painted the covers for Ballantine's reissue of 24 of Edgar Rice BURROUGHS's Tarzan books in 1977. BV's work is almost a compendium ofalternate sexual fantasies, moving easily from men like a homo-erotic musclebuilder's dream to lush-breasted, dominatrix whip-wielding women. Much of BV's later output is in the form of books and pictorial calendars,often featuring previously unpublished work. There are at least 10 calendars, starting with The Tarzan Calendar 1979 (1978). The books include The Fantastic Art of Boris Vallejo (1978), Mirage (1982), overtly erotic original art with poems by BV's wife, Doris Vallejo, Enchantment (1984), further erotic art with stories by Doris Vallejo, and BorisVallejo's Fantasy Art Techniques (1985).

   PN/JG

   Other works: The Boris Vallejo Portfolio (1994); B.V. (1994); Bodies: His Photographic Art (1994).