El Hombre Enmascarado – Heroes Del Comic (which translates to The Masked Man – Comic Book Heroes) is a comic book series published by Buru Lan S.A. de Ediciones in San Sebastián, Spain in 1971. The series contains a total of 96 editions, broken down into 84 regular editions and 12 variant editions, published on a weekly basis.
Hardcover album style comic book editions were also published containing the original series, with two seperate album series released, the first containing 3 albums and the second containing 8 albums a total of 11 album editions.
Buru Lan S.A. de Ediciones was a prominent Spanish publishing house based in San Sebastián, reaching its peak influence during the early 1970s. Founded by Luis Gasca and Javier Maria de Pascual, the company specialized in high-quality editions of classic adventure comic strips and horror anthologies. Buru Lan is perhaps best known for its ambitious efforts to rescue and curate “Golden Age” American newspaper strips for the Spanish market, often presenting them in large-format, meticulously colored editions that appealed to both children and adult collectors.
The publisher’s catalog was heavily anchored by iconic King Features Syndicate characters, most notably The Phantom (El Hombre Enmascarado), Flash Gordon, and Mandrake the Magician. Their 1970s runs are particularly celebrated for their production value; for instance, their Phantom series featured iconic cover art and utilized a chronological approach to reprinting Sy Barry’s definitive work. Beyond adventure heroes, Buru Lan was a pioneer in the horror genre with titles like Drácula, which showcased a blend of international and Spanish talent, helping to elevate the medium’s aesthetic standards during a transformative period for Spanish tebeos (comics).
Despite its creative success, Buru Lan’s later years were marked by erratic publishing schedules and financial challenges. An attempt to relaunch titles in the early 1980s, such as the 1983 El Hombre Enmascarado series, suffered from a quirky, non-linear numbering system and was prematurely cancelled after only a handful of issues. Nevertheless, the company’s legacy remains significant among enthusiasts of “pulp-era” heroes, as their editions served as a crucial cultural bridge that preserved the history of adventure illustration for a generation of Spanish readers.
The El Hombre Enmascarado – Heroes Del Comic comic book series contain a softcover with all 24 pages per edition printed in full color measuring 30cm x 23cm with Spanish text. The first 20 front covers contain painted artwork by Enrique Torres, with the remainder front covers containing artwork taken from Phantom comic strip stories published in the series.
A sample of internal pages can be seen below.
The first series of albums were advertised throughout the Heroes Del Comic comic book series, usually on the outside back covers. Below we see edition number 1 advertising the first album comic book series, with five editions seen in the advertisement. Only 3 editions were consequently released by Buru Lan S.A. de Ediciones.
The El Hombre Enmascarado – Heroes Del Comic first album series was released in 1971, all published with a hardcover, with each edition containing 240 full color pages measuring 30cm x 23cm with Spanish text. Each edition contains 12 comics from the above comic book series. All three editions can be seen below.
The second series of albums were advertised throughout the reprinted editions of Heroes Del Comic comic book series. Below we see edition number 3 advertising the second album comic book series, with five of the eight editions seen in the advertisement found on the internal and external back cover.
The El Hombre Enmascarado – Heroes Del Comic second album series was released in 1974, all published with a hardcover, with each edition containing 244 full cover pages measuring 30cm x 23cm with Spanish text. The numbering system for the series commenced with number zero thru to number seven, totaling to eight editions. The artwork on the covers of all albums are illustrated by Enrique Torres, taken from the Heroes Del Comic series. All eight editions can be seen below.
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