One of the most outstanding names of the Portuguese band, João Paulo Cotrim, died this Sunday, aged 56, a victim of a prolonged illness, according to the CM. The writer was hospitalized at Hospital dos Capuchos, in Lisbon.

João Paulo Cotrim was one of the great promoters of comics in Portugal, having also been the founder of Bedeteca de Lisboa, a special comic book library, of which he was the director between 1996 and 2002.
Born in Lisbon on March 13, 1965, he studied as a journalist at ‘Expresso’, ‘Cosmopolitan’ and ‘O Independente’, having also collaborated with RTP, SIC and TSF. At the same time, he gave rise to creativity as a screenwriter for animated films – ‘Something Important’, ‘A Step Can Be a World’, both from 2009, or ‘Fado de um Homem Grown’ (2012) are some of these works -, as well as author of graphic novels, children’s books, essays or poetry. ‘Salazar – Now, at the Time of His Death’, ‘The White of Chinese Shadows’, ‘A Minha Cat’ or ‘Bad Race’ are some of his most distinguished works.

Founder of publishers Abysmo and Arranha-Céus, João Paulo Cotrim also organized roles for rising names in the field of illustration and was director of Salão Lisboa de ilustrada e Banda Desenhada for four editions. In 1996 he created the magazine ‘LX Comics’, dedicated to comic strips.