Artist: Jordi Penalva
Jordi Bosch Peñalver was born in Barcelona, Catalunia, Spain in 1927. Peñalver signed his artwork as Jordi Penalva. He worked primarily as an illustrator of fantasy and military fictional well as comic book covers.
Penalva has an older brother, Antonio Bosch Peñalver, who was born in 1925 and created several comic strips in Spain.
Jordi Penalva studied at the Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes in Barcelona. In the late 1950s, he began work as a comic artist with several companies, eventually finding his way to DC. Along with other Spanish artists of his era, like Manuel Sanjulian, Esteban Maroto, and Enrich Torres, Penalva was popular for his sensual art style and comic work, including his Vampirella covers.
Penalva dabbled in romance cover art in the 1970s and early 1980s. In the late 1970’s he was frequently used by Playboy Press, illustrating full-cover color clinches. That style would be used as a template by many other publishers like Kensington and Dorchester to attract potential readers.
The Covers
For the week of Monday, November 21, 2022, to Sunday, November 27, 2022, our Covers of the Week focuses on the early romance covers by Jordi Penalva.
The Covers from Left to Right, Top to Bottom:
- Midnight Fires, Andrea Layton, Playboy Press, 1979
- Daughter of the Sand, Pamela South, Playboy Press, 1979
- Tempt Not This Flesh, Barbara Riefe, Playboy Press, 1979
- Tamarisk, Claire Lorrimer, Jove, 1978
Your Opinion
What do you think of Jordi Penalva’s style? Which of our picks do you like the best, if any?
Do you have suggestions or requests for future Covers of the Week themes you’d like to see on Sweet Savage Flame? Let us know, and we’ll do our best to create a gallery of stunning art!
Please drop a comment, and let’s talk romance.