Mexican artist, who drew Mickey Mouse comic strip dies at the age of 83. Roman Arambula was born in Guadalajara in 1936 and studies drawing and fine art at the National Autonomous University of Mexico before starting out as an assistant cartoonist and illustrator for Mexican publications.
Arambula ended up at Gamma Productions, which animated shows created by American animation studios Jay Ward Productions and Total Television, among them Rocky and Bullwinkle, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, King Leonardo, Fractured Fairy Tales, and Underdog. Arambula’s talents ranged widely: he worked on storyboarding, layout, and backgrounds, as well as animation.
After Gamma shut in the late 1960s, Arambula continued his animation work in the U.S.: first in Dallas at Keitz & Herndon where he worked on the tv series Jot, and then in 1970 at Hanna-Barbera Los Angeles. At H-B, he worked in layout and animation on shows like Josie and the Pussycats, Help!…It’s the Hair Bear Bunch!, Charlotte’s Web and Scooby-Doo.
He started drawing Donald Duck comic books for Western Publishing in mid-1970s. In 1975, when Floyd Gottfredson, the longtime artist behind the syndicated Mickey Mouse comic strip, retired, Arambula won the job as the principal artist. He continued to draw it until 1990.
Even during his time on Mickey Mouse, he remained active on other projects, including Marvel comics based on Hanna-Barbera properties like Laff-a-Lympics. After his stint on Mickey Mouse, he storyboarded for Disney (Talespin), Warner Bros. (Pinky and the Brain), and Hanna-Barbera (The Addams Family), among others. He also served as assistant director on Hyperion Animation’s The Oz Kids.
