Hey folks – here’s a bunch of webcomics that you should check out this month. Some are new, some are old and established, but all of them are worth a read. If you’re looking for some new reads, this is a good place to start. You can check back in the archives for other favorites that you may have missed. Click here to continue…
If you’ve wondered why I’ve taken a few days off here and there, I suppose it’s time to let the cat out of the bag. I have a webcomic project I’ve been working on entitled El Cuervo, and I’ve finally created the website and released the first 5-6 pages of the comic. It’s going to be an ongoing webcomic that updates twice a week – on Mondays and Wednesdays. So while you’re waiting for your updates on idrawdigital, you can check out El Cuervo on the off days. Click here to continue…
Tim Bradstreet is one of the quintessential noir styled illustrators who has lent his creative talents to creating book covers, movie storyboards and animation, roleplaying games, trading cards and posters. His versatility has garnered him much exposure over the years, a far cry from his early days when he struggled to be noticed. Click here to continue…
This month’s Artist Spotlight focuses on Mike Mignola, an American comic book artist and writer known mainly for his creation – Hellboy. Mignola started as an illustrator for the Comics Reader, drawing spots and covers Click here to continue…
It’s time for another idrawdigital webcomic round-up for y’all, so saddle up and check out some more of the great comics available for free on the Internet. There’s some absolutely amazing work out there that will keep you entertained for weeks to come (at least until the next update) so rummage through the artist’s archives and enjoy the stories. Here’s a list of comics that you can fill your bookmarks folders with. Click here to continue…
Last week I gave you a series of webcomics to check out. This week I have something a bit different to put in front of your eyeballs. If you’re in the mood for some more reading material, check out these 10 artists and their blogs / portfolios. You may have heard of some of them, but they are not your average household names, that’s for sure. With sneak previews, upcoming projects, production images and inside looks at their processes, these blogs will definintely give you a different outlook on the lives of the everyday comic artists like you and me. Take my word for it – they’re great resource material. Click here to continue…
Hey folks, I’ve been trying to put together a few tutorial posts and its been taking a bit longer than anticipated, so in order to tide you over and keep you occupied, I’ve compiled the latest set of webcomics links for you to check out. I recommend all of these finds, and even though they may not be your cup of tea, I’m sure you can probably find something of value (whether it is the art, dialogue or story) within the pages. Make sure you check out the archives on the listed sites where available. Click here to continue…
The Graphic Novel – the term that is casually misused on a regular basis among those who collect, read and create comics. Some view it as a method of collecting a series of comics, removing the cover and by-lines and sandwiching them all together as one big long story. Others see it as a way of breaking beyond the traditional 22+ page issue format into a lengthier story form, allowing the artists/writer to develop their characters and settings with greater depth.
I don’t care to argue – I love graphic novels whether they are series of sandwiched trades, or magnum opus full length tree killing volumes. But how does one go about starting to put their graphic novel together? Click here to continue…
When I was growing up, I recall taking one look at Jim Lee’s style, and aspired to become a comic book artist with his level of efficiency and precision in his artwork. His runs on Marvel Comics X-Men, Image Comics Wild C.A.T.s and DC Comics Batman: Hush are some of his best known works. Have a look at this gallery of Jim Lee’s work throughout his career.
Lee created an instant chemistry between the young and naive Jubilee and the gruff, overprotective Wolverine during his run as the lead penciller in his own XMen title with Chris Claremont.
The famous pull-out cover of X-Men #1. This image is one of Lee’s most iconic works.
Aboveare some samples of Jim Lee’s DC comics works – note the level of precision and how dynamic his characters look. Below are some samples from his Image comics days.
It’s hard to believe that an artist of this caliber almost took a career path in psychology. Jim Lee started off as a fill-in artist for Marc Silvestri on the Uncanny X-Men title, and it became permanent after Silvestri left in 1989. By 1991, fans were so taken by his work, that Marvel launched a new line simply titled X-Men which featured Lee’s work and the writing of Chris Claremont. After Claremont left due to a working disagreement, Lee continued on until 1992 until he left Marvel with a group of artists to form Image Comics.
While under the Image Comics umbrella, Lee formed a series of titles called Wildstorm Productions, featuring his flagship title – WildC.A.T.s. For years, Image was criticized for its lacklustre story telling and its style over substance approach during the 90s. Lee managed to concentrate on publishing a number of critically acclaimed series such as The Authority (Ellis/Hitch) and Planetary (Ellis/Cassaday).
Lee finally sold Wildstorm to DC Comics in 1998 and returned to his role of illustrator on titles such as Batman – where he was involved in the 12 issue storyline entitled Batman: Hush.
After the Batman run, he worked on Superman for awhile on the ‘For Tomorrow’ story arc, and also teamed up with Frank Miller in 2005 for the oft-interrupted All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder series.
He was currently commissioned to oversee the art for DC Comics online RPG game as the creative director.
You can check out his work at some of these links:
Jim Lee Cover Gallery
Gelatometti – a blog with numerous artists including Lee
DeviantART gallery
I personally encourage you to pick up anything Jim Lee has worked on in the last 20 years. You wont be disappointed.
I’ll leave you with a video of Jim sketching Wolverine in his trademark style at the NYC comic con this year.
If you’ve been abreast of things in the comic book-turned movie world, you’ve already come across a number of Frank Miller’s works in recent years. He is best known for his dark, film noir-style graphic novels such as 300, Sin City, Ronin and more familiar names with Daredevil: Born Again (during his run at Marvel) and Batman : The Dark Knight Returns (with DC).
His gritty, loose style gives his characters more of a darker, mysterious edge. Miller is well known for his use of contrast and deep shadows to create some dramatic looking imagery:
Miller refined his style with the issues he developed for Daredevil in the 80s during his time at Marvel, and collaborated with Chris Claremont on a Wolverine miniseries. Miller was able to expand Wolverine’s character through the new storyline, and introduced more of an Eastern flair with his artwork featuring some manga-like undertones.
From there, he moved on to produce his own ‘creator-owned’ title for DC – ‘Ronin.’ The story is about a reincarnated Ronin samurai who ends up in an alternate version of a future New York.
In the mid 80s, Frank Miller produced one of his greatest pieces of work, which still remains as one of DC’s best selling series of all time: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Set in the future after Batman retires from crimefighting following the death of the 2nd Robin, the story develops with Batman returning to action as a meaner, grumpier version of the vigilante in future Gotham which is overrun by punks. The political and moral aspects of the stories bring Batman to face one of DC’s greatest champions in a duel to death for the fate of society.
After a contract dispute with DC over ratings and censorship, Miller produced the first of a series of stories for independent publisher Dark Horse. This series, entitled Sin City proved to be the pinnacle of Miller’s work and his calling card for future work to come. Set in seedy Basin City, the stories revolve around a number of darker anti-heroes forced into noble roles in order to complete their tasks. All of the stories intertwine in some manner, creating a rich, yet pulpy film-noir world of booze, broads, and bullets.
Some of the books were transformed into live-action sequences for the Sin City movie. With Miller on the production team, the director, Robert Rodriguez was able to follow the pacing and use the books as the official shot storyboard. It was one of the few graphic novels that stayed true to the story and appearance, and followed the books frame by frame. Here are some examples:
Miller went on to write for a series of different stories – Hard Boiled with Geof Darrow, a new Daredevil series with John Romita, the scripts for RoboCop 2 and 3, and numerous others. In 1998, he hammered out his version of the ill-fated battle of Thermopylae, simply entitled 300. Using his trademark shadowy style, Miller illustrates the battle between the vast Persian army and their defeat at the hands of 300 Spartans told from the perspective of King Leonidas of Sparta.
300 was also brought to life on the big screen and followed many of the same techniques used in Sin City, under the direction of Zack Snyder. Here are some of the stills from the movie, and you can see how they mimic the style of the graphic novel:
Setting aside his differences with DC, Miller returned to produce a sequel to The Dark Knight Returns entitled the Dark Knight strikes again. The story continues on where DK left off, but this time the story revolves around the criminal activity of Lex Luthor and a band of superheroes forced to work for him.
Miller also produced a pet project of his own, another silver screen adaptation of one of his favorite comic book icons, penned by the immortal Will Eisner – The Spirit. Panned by critics and fans for its lack of substance, you can still feel the noir edginess Eisner developed in his books from the 40s-50s. Miller extended that edgy, pulpy feel to the movie – unfortunately, the dialogue was out of date and out of context for today’s viewers, and it remains only as a piece for die-hard fans and eye-candy for the rest of us.
Will Eisner's 'Spirit'
Miller's homage to Eisner's Spirit
Currently, Frank Miller has been busy working on the sequel to the Sin City movie, and rumors were reported to have him create a series of new stories for the film which would also be available in print. Miller has also completed work on the first draft of a followup graphic novel for 300 which has yet to be titled. His work has influenced many, and he has been awarded for his revolutionary edginess in writing for classic comic book characters as well as for his artistic works done on his own terms. Frank Miller is an icon and a pioneer in the comics world, due to his unwavering attitude towards the display of the darker, violent side of reality.
