Comic Art – Walt Simonson

I have a bad cold.
It Sucks…

But that means I have been laying around in bed most the day watching British Mystery shows and reading comics.

For comics I have been bouncing back and forth between The Essential Defenders and The Essential X-Factor.

This has made me remember just how much I loved Walt Simonson’s work on X-Factor when I first started reading comics as a teen…

Anyway, I have recently stumbled on an amazing blog called Marvel Comics of the 1980’s They have some amazing original art pages featured on their blog. Here are a couple of Walt Simonson pages that just really jumped out at me.

I actually had a poster of this cover on my wall for most of High School. I would sit and stare at it and study the line work. One of my top ten favorite covers to this day.

 

The covers to X-Factor 24 thru 26. I never realized at the time that the three of these formed one image… I was not until I saw this that it sunk in!

Actual covers together.

 

I am ashamed to admit that I never really gave Thor the time of day. It was not until just a few years ago that I finally read some Thor just because of Walt’s run on it…

 

Artist to Watch – Travis Hanson

I found Travis Hanson on Deviant Art, where he is known as Travsthebean, as I was poking around other artist favorites pages. I instantly fell in love with his work.

The art that Travis creates is filled with a joyful happyness. The feeling I get looking at the prints that Travis creates reminds me of the joy I use to get reading Calvin and Hobbes, a sense of youthful adventure and fun.

Travis fills his art with a brilliant coloring style and amazing inks. In his one panel prints are told better more thrilling stories then I have seen in some full comicbooks!

Recentlly in his journals on DA Travis has been taking polls about two art books he will be putting together this year. One to feature his Forgotten Folks works and the other to focus on the Teddy Bear Pirates. Although I have seriously been cutting back on my book purchases of late, these will be additions to my collection for sure.

The final thing, and the item from the future of Travis that I think has me the most excited is that he has been talking a little bit about a weekly comic. The idea of an illustrated story by Travis something that I will follow, and buy if given the option, with out a doubt!

Artist to Watch – Katie Cook

Back when I was working on creating a story titled Abbie and the Monsters I did a whole bunch of web searches to make sure I wasnt using a name that already exsisted somewhere else. when I was doing that I came across The Mosters Republic of Monstairia. a webcomic by Brodie H. Brockie with art done by Katie Cook. That was my discovery of the genius that is Katie Cook.

 

Katie is best described (in my opinion as well as half of the internet I would think.) as the queen of cute. Her talent doesnt end with cute though.

 

Katie is one of those talented people who seem to have a perfect eye for layout. Her pages look wonderful As seen in Myspace Dark Horse Presents #4 “Tricks of the Trade” and her issues of the online Star Wars comic.) and her sketch cards are amazing. This ability at layout makes her one of the greats at sketch cards. Where some artist well create a multi-card set to be put into packs that will leave someone with a card of a shoulder or something equally lame or stupid Katie makes everysingle card something a collector would love to have.

My favorite all time piece of Katie art though, has to be the drawing she did for me of my family as Hobbits!

Artist to Watch – Michael Cho

Not going to write much about Michael Cho. I really dont know much about him at all. If I remember right I found his art via Michael May’s blog, and have been following his work ever since.

I love his use of single colors in his work. I really think that it gives a cool feel to his drawings. By using the one color, he makes it so that the lines of the picture are what grabs your eye first and not a vibrant stand out color of a picture.

More then anything,I love his none superhero art. His pictures of everyday people and normal settings. I think that he does a wonderful job of capturing a feeling of a person in his pictures. His drawings of locations give a feel of an old photograph. Kind of a nostalgic feeling of a place you haven’t seen in a long time when you look at them.