Sensational Master: The Art of Rafael Gallur is a book published by Comikaze Books in Mexico in 2025. The book is a deluxe artbook which aims to revisit the most iconic stages of Rafael Gallur’s artistic journey and showcase some of his more recent works. It includes texts by Jorge Tovalín. It’s designed to be a comprehensive collection of his work, much of which was previously scattered or difficult to track.

Comikaze Books, founded in 2020 by Marina Gil and Jorge Tovalín (also founders of the Comikaze indie magazine), is known for publishing artbooks celebrating Mexican comic artists. “Sensational Master” is their third artbook, following “Bazaldúa Girls: Sensational Art” (2021) and “Wanted: The High Ace Art of Jorge Aviña” (2022).

Sensational Master: The Art of Rafael Gallur is a deluxe, hardcover, 104 page full-color artbook measuring approximately 21cm x 29.7cm with English text. The front cover can be seen below.

The book was successfully funded through a Kickstarter campaign, indicating a strong fan base and demand for a book celebrating Gallur’s work, who is often referred to as “Alex Ross before there was an Alex Ross” due to his beautiful painted artwork, particularly his dynamic and powerful covers, especially for “lucha libre” (Mexican wrestling) comics like “Sensacional de Luchas.” This book serves as a vital retrospective, bringing together his significant contributions to the Mexican comic art scene.

A sample of internal pages can be seen below.

The art book contains an illustration by Rafael Gallur of the Defenders of the Earth team, featuring the Phantom, Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, and Lothar. The art as found within the books pages can be seen below, printed opposite a fold-out page that opens into a double spread illustration.

The illustration was originally published on the cover of Comikaze magazine edition number 28 published in 2015, an indie magazine series which features news, interviews, reviews and in-depth articles all centered on comic books published both domestically in Mexico and internationally. This edition can be seen below.

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