In this research task I looked at four specific well-known comic artists.
Wallace Wood
Wood seemed to use the traditional approach of ink on board. A lot of his work seems to be using pen nib, with brush used for large black areas and organic aspects like leaves etc. His work was very detailed and imaginative, with lots of details in his science-fiction work. I love how he is able to use negative space to do heavy lifting, rather than draw each and every line. He seemed to know instinctively how to get your brain to fill in the gaps.
He also had a great range, and his cartoon and caricature styles are bold and expressive. He seemed to cover a wide variety of content in his work from ‘serious’ serial work, and mainstream superhero comics to wild satire and raunchy erotic cartoons.
His more serious work seems a bit dated (whilst still being masterful in execution) in terms of its content and style. His more cartoony work actually hold up better, although his depictions of female forms and characters are widely out of date, chauvinistic and would likely not be appropriate today.
His work re-imagining Daredevil still holds up really well. His character design is still obviously an inspiration for the character, you can see the influence in the recent Daredevil series on Netflix. I also really appreciate how he makes the character a superhero without having to make him a muscle-bound bodybuilder. His ability to nail the anatomy allows him to depict the strength and athleticism of the character. His Atomic Bomb story looks like it could have been created recently, and his MAD comic are a wonderful combination of realism, caricature and a cartoony style.
Wood has influenced countless comic artists, most notably through his famous “22 (or 24 more accurately!) Panels That Always Work”. Artists that have been influenced by Wood include:
Dan Parsons
William Messner-Loebs
Mike Ploog
Rand Holmes
Mike Allred
Dick Giordano
Wayne Howare
Mark Shultz
Frank Frazetta
Frazetta’s choisen medium seems to be a speciality in single oil painting illustrations. He also did comic work, where he seemed to use a traditional approach of ink using nib and brush. All of his work has a sense of story; he captures the narrative elements through his study (and use) of anatomy to create realistic depictions of fantastical heroes and characters. His style has a timeless quality about it, and his work would not look out of place on any contemporary fantasy novel or roleplaying game. His compositions are stunning, and he uses colour and detail to focus the eye.
I would posit that Frazetta has been an influence on a great deal of artists in the entertainment industry, especially with concept artists and character designers. I found that he was a direct influence to both Simon Bisley and Boris Vallejo.
Moebius/ Jean Giraud
This was an interesting section of research. The artist managed to carve out two creative identities. As Gir, his approach to comics was reasonably traditional using nibs and brush work in an organic approach that allowed for realistic light and texture. His Moebius identity however tended to keep to a ligne claire approach with nibs only, however he would use hatching, but his technique was based on repeating dashes with pointillistic additions. Both aspects of his work leant on realistic foundations, but the Moebius work thrived on pushing boundaries, and would broach on surrealism. As Moebius he seems to love world building, with narrative elements simply vehicles to take the reader to the next grand spectacle.
His work in both identities still stands up well to contemporary scrutiny. They feel fresh and current. I especially liked his limited work with Stan Lee on the Silver Surfer, which leant itself to his open, expansive yet detailed approach. Moebius/Gir’s influences are too numerous to mention but some notable artists have been:
Ralph Meyer
Noelle Stevenson
Frank Quietly
Jose Ladronn
William Gibson
Barry Windsor-Smith
Windsor-Smith’s work seems mostly black and white. He seems to Like to feather his lines, but what I found most compelling was the way he used white negative space, particularly in his backgrounds which create strong contrasts with his spot blacks. His early work, which seems heavily influenced by Jack Kirby has a classic feeling, but does not really hold up to more current approaches. Later he develops a painterly style using paints to create covers and single images. This approach then bleeds through into his later comic work, where his line work becomes fluid and organic, and adopts a style heavily influenced by art nouvea. In my research I managed to find two artists directly influenced by his work: Jim Fitzpatrick and Aaron Lopresti.
Post cover image “Moebius Statue” © 2012 Jean Giraud/Moebius used under educational fair-use copyright policy.
References
Comicartfans.com. n.d. Frank Frazetta - Comic Artist - The Most Popular Comic Art by Frank Frazetta. [online] Available at: https://www.comicartfans.com/comic-artists/frank_frazetta.asp [Accessed 18 July 2021].
Comics.org. n.d. GCD :: Issue :: Space Adventures #6. [online] Available at: https://www.comics.org/issue/10485/ [Accessed 18 July 2021].
Grand, A. and Field, B., 2018. Dan Parsons Interview, Fantasy Comic Artist by Alex Grand & Bill Field | Comic Book Historians. [online] Comic Book Historians. Available at: https://comicbookhistorians.com/cbh-interviews-comic-artist-dan-parsons-in-2018/ [Accessed 18 July 2021].
lambiek.net. n.d. Barry Windsor-Smith. [online] Available at: https://www.lambiek.net/artists/w/windsor-smith.htm [Accessed 19 July 2021].
lambiek.net. n.d. Frank Frazetta. [online] Available at: https://www.lambiek.net/artists/f/frazetta.htm [Accessed 18 July 2021].
lambiek.net. n.d. Jean Giraud. [online] Available at: https://www.lambiek.net/artists/g/giraud.htm [Accessed 18 July 2021].
MacDonald, H., 2010. The Frazetta Legacy - The Beat. [online] The Beat. Available at: https://www.comicsbeat.com/the-frazetta-legacy/ [Accessed 18 July 2021].
Marrongelli, R., 2018. 'She-Ra and the Princesses of Power' is a magical journey. [online] Newsweek. Available at: https://www.newsweek.com/she-ra-netflix-release-noelle-stevenson-nycc-2018-1209498 [Accessed 19 July 2021].
Parker, C., 2006. Mark Schultz – Lines and Colors. [online] Linesandcolors.com. Available at: http://linesandcolors.com/2006/03/10/mark-schultz/ [Accessed 18 July 2021].
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