Igor Kordej started as a professional graphic designer when he was 18, and as a professional comic artist and illustrator when he was 19 years old, joining a very influential group of comic artistsNovi kvadrat 1976-1979, and publishing in all relevant Yugoslavian youth magazines of that era. In 1979 Novi kvadrat won the prestigious national award 7 sekretara SKOJ-a, thus marking a break-up of the group.
SLS studio
At the beginning of the eighties Kordej teams-up with Mirko Ilić again in SLS studio, and focuses on producing album covers and posters for Yugoslavian pop musicians and groups. After the break-up with Ilić he continues with solo career, doing illustration for Yugoslavian mainstream magazines, film and theater posters, logotypes and album covers.
Early international work
He started a career in European comic market in 1986, and since 1989 on the US market. His most significant work from that period is album Les cinq saisons – Automne, published in 1990 by Dargaud. That album was appointed by the Ministry of Culture in France as a work of significant cultural value and was assigned to all public libraries in France, as well as veterans Radovan Devlić and Dragan Filipović Fipa, producing comics and design for the German market.
Moving abroad
He moves to Denmark in 1991, invited by Semic International company, where he spends almost a year, producing comics and illustrations for Malibu Comics. In 1997 he moves to Canada, invited by Digital Chameleon company, working as a creative director. Having disputes with management, he leaves the company after eight months and becames a freelancer again.
His career in Marvel Comics can be divided in two phases; the first one is from 1994-1996, under editor-in-chief Marcus McLaurin, when Kordej produced several hand-painted comics for Tales of Marvels series. Second phase begins in 2001 when he got invited by editor-in–chief Joe Quesada, to work on Cable series, as well as New X-Men series. Shortly after 9/11 attacks many of Marvel artists produced illustrations inspired by the tragedy. They all went on public auction, with all profit given to families of fallen rescuers. Kordey’s illustration Pennsylvania Plane was bought by The Library of Congress. Because of his speed as an artist, at his peak, Kordej was producing artwork for three or four monthly books at the same time. However, as a result, he has attracted heavy criticism for the quality of his art, especially from the readers. Eventually he got fired from Marvel in April 2004.
Delcourt
However, that event opened up a new chapter in Kordey’s career. Just a few months later he signed his first contracts with Editions Delcourt, and his prolific collaboration with that French publisher continued until nowadays. In a period of fifteen years, producing 4-5 albums per year, concluding with 2019 he published close to seventy albums on francophone market, out of which only :fr:L%27Histoire secr%C3%A8te|L’Histoire secrete series sold out over 1,000.000 copies. In 2006 he moves back to his homeland.
Style and recognition
Through out all those years Kordej continued to produce graphic design and illustrations for both francophone and ex-Yugoslavian region markets, occasionally doing illustrations for US comics market. He has a very diverse repertoire, moving between traditional pencils and inks to fully painted panels, using watercolors and gouache. His works are collected, among others, in The Library of Congress, LucasFilm and MoMa – Museum od Modern Art.
Awards and nominations
1986 Best comic, Mladost magazine, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
