Al Rio

Al Rio, born Álvaro Araújo Lourenço do Rio on 19 May 1962 in Brazil, was a comic book artist whose polished, stylized figures made him a defining visual voice for "good girl" art in the 1990s and 2000s. He began his professional career in the mid-1990s, quickly landing at Wildstorm Comics, where he became best known for his work on *Gen13* and *DV8*. Rio’s clean linework and dynamic, glamorous depictions of characters set a tone for the publisher’s superhero-adjacent titles. Over nearly two decades, he penciled and inked more than 100 issues, with frequent credits on *Purgatori*, *Grimm Fairy Tales*, and *Prime*, as well as a later run on *New Mutants Forever*. His collaborations often paired him with writers like J. Scott Campbell and Brandon Choi, and his style influenced a generation of artists in the pin-up and fantasy genres. Rio passed away on 31 January 2012, leaving behind a body of work that remains a touchstone for fans of sleek, character-driven illustration. Though he did not receive major industry awards, his impact on the visual language of 1990s comics endures through his co-creations and the lasting popularity of the titles he helped shape.