'Comisarul Alimănescu'.
Valentin Ionescu is a Romanian illustrator and comic creator, known for creating the character of 'Jimmy McBacon' (2019- ) and a comic book adaptation of the short story 'Două Loturi' by I. L. Caragiale (2023). In 2026, he released the graphic novel 'Comisarul Alimănescu', about a controversial yet legendary Bucharest policeman from the early years of socialism in Romania.
Early life and influences
Valentin Ionescu was born in 1990 in Bucharest. Although he studied at the Nicolae Tonitza High School of Fine Arts, he regards himself as a self-taught artist. His teachers saw a construction technician in him, and he was sent to the Elie Radu Technological High School instead. In his professional life, Ionescu has maintained an interest in both art and craft projects. In addition, he loves nature and likes to meditate, which, in his own words, has opened his "third eye" and has given him a more relaxed view of the world. Among his artistic influences are Mad Magazine and the American cartoonist/caricaturist Tom Richmond.
'Jimmy McBacon'.
Comic creator
In 2019, Ionescu made his debut as a comic creator with a short story starring his character 'Jimmy McBacon', an anthropomorphic pig with borderline personality disorder, depression, sociopathic tendencies and anger issues. The character has also been made available as a 3D figurine. In the same year, Ionescu contributed an 8-page story to the comic anthology 'Istorii din '89', published by the Brasov County History Museum. Since then, his work has been featured in several other comic anthologies and catalogs, for instance 'Dracula în Benzi Desenate' ("Dracula in Comics", 2024), also published by Brasov County History Museum.
'Două Loturi' (2023).
Două Loturi
In 2023, Ionescu and publisher Editura Grafic released Ionescu's comic adaptation of the short story 'Două Loturi' ("Two Lots") by the satirical Romanian author and playwright Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912). According to a 2024 interview by Ema Cojocaru for www.editura-art.ro, the idea of adapting this particular story came from Mad Magazine and a dream in which the artist encountered Caragiale's literary character Nenea Iancu ("Uncle Iancu"), who told him that all of the author's works had been adapted into comics, but that 'Două loturi' was reserved for him. For his adaptation, Ionescu kept most of the original story, about a clerk who loses his winning lottery ticket, but he also used much of the atmosphere from the 1957 movie adaptation. In the background, he subtly added characters from other Caragiale works.
'Comisarul Alimănescu'.
Comisarul Alimănescu
In 2026, Valentin Ionescu and the publisher Editura Vremea released 'Comisarul Alimănescu', a noir graphic novel about the vigilante police commissioner from the early years of socialism in Romania, Eugen Alimănescu (1916-1958). During the second half of the 1940s, the exceptional deeds of this "justice hero" were widely and sensationally reported in Bucharest newspapers. Within two years, the policeman freed the Romanian capital from its high post-war crime rate, making him a hero among readers and giving him a legendary status in Romanian history. Even though the Romanian secret police (Securitate) used him to liquidate several political prisoners or former members of anti-communist resistance groups, Alimănescu and his "Fulger" brigade have remained in the collective memory as the "liquidators" who "cleansed" Bucharest of the most dangerous criminals.
For his graphic novel, Ionescu did extensive research, resulting in an accurate recreation of the murky atmosphere of the era, both in the settings (buildings, cars, weapons, costumes), and in the vivid and colorful characters. In addition, Ionescu also wrote an essay on Alimănescu and noir comics for the new Greek magazine Modus Operandi.
Recognition
In 2024, Ionescu was the first Romanian comic book artist to be featured at the Comic N' Play festival in Thessaloniki, Greece. Two years later, he received the Yellow Boy Award at the same festival for his contributions to Greek comics. In that same year, Ionescu was featured in a Greek documentary about Vlad the Impaler and Halloween in Transylvania, called 'Balkania Express', which aired on 17 February 2026 on the Greek television channel ERT3. In the broadcast, he talked about Romanian comics featuring Vlad Dracula.
Valentin Ionescu.