Comic Pants Podcast #6 (10-19-06)
Episode number six of the Comic Pants podcast is now live. This week, David Martindale, Dave Farabee, Randy Lander and Nick Budd take a page from their “Top Five Books of the Moment” discussion and talk about their top five artists of the moment. The choices range from really mainstream to really indy, and we hope you’ll all find the discussion entertaining.
As always, commentary is welcomed and encouraged. Let us know what you thought of the podcast, tell us which of these artists you like or don’t like, please post your own “top five of the moment” in the comments and, as always, if you’ve got suggestions for future podcast topics, leave us a comment! This is also the first podcast where we’re asking for listener questions and comments that we can address on the air in the next podcast, so please drop us a line at comicpantsfeedback@gmail.com to give us some questions or comments for the next show.
Since this is a visually-oriented podcast, below you will find a slideshow full of sample art from the artists discussed in this show. We encourage you to view the images along with the podcast! We’ll also be posting our Top 5 lists in the comments section, with links to the artists’ sites, but we encourage folks to listen to the podcast before looking at the lists.
Use the podcast feed buttons on the sidebar to subscribe, listen via the flash player below, or directly download the MP3 here:
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Great podcast, as usual, and the slideshow is a nice touch. LOVED the Marmaduke reference. One of my favorite blogs is one where they explain the jokes in Marmaduke in case you don’t get it.
http://marmadukeexplained.blogspot.com/
Nice to hear your mention Teddy Kristiansen and Paul Pope. Guy Davis has always delivered quiality work. Anyone know what is going on with Duncan Fegredo?
19 Oct 2006 at 12:22 pm
QuoteNow that you say it, I don’t know what Duncan Fegredo is up to, and that’s a shame. He’s got a website, but it’s kind of skimpy on info about what he’s working on. However, if you click on “Books,” you’ll see that he is working on Intersections, an art book with Sean Phillips. I will *definitely* be on the lookout for that one. And if you click on his Cafepress store, he’s got a 178 page sketchbook called STUFF for $20, which I just ordered.
I dropped him a line, and he updated me, and of course I had heard but already forgotten. He’s working with Mike Mignola on Hellboy: Darkness Calls, which isn’t on schedule yet but should see the light of day next year, and after that he’s scheduled to work on more Hellboy. Which sounds way cool.
19 Oct 2006 at 1:30 pm
QuoteAs promised, here are our Top 5 Artists of the Moment lists. Unfortunately, the website that Dave found for Riccardo Burchielli is nowhere to be found today, so I’m instead linking to a site with some nice black and white artwork of his. I should note that for the most part, these lists are in no particular order.
Dave Farabee’s Top Five:
*Scott Chantler
*Frank Quitely
*Ryan Kelly
*Riccardo Burchielli
*Chester Brown
David Martindale’s Top Five:
*Cameron Stewart
*Kristian Donaldson
*Matt Wagner
*Steve Rolston
*Ryan Kelly
Randy Lander’s Top Five:
*Ryan Kelly
*Becky Cloonan
*Cameron Stewart
*Takeshi Miyazawa
*Matt Wagner
Nick Budd’s Top Five:
*Michael Lark
*Marcos Martin
*Tony Harris
*Tom Scioli
*Phil Hester
19 Oct 2006 at 1:34 pm
QuoteAnother great podcast. This has quickly become one of the things I look forward to most each week. Kudos, all.
I want to second the recognition for Matt Wagner, Phil Hester, and Takeshi Miyazawa. And I think I’ll check out LOCAL, based on Ryan Kelly’s art. Going back to Hester, I’ll toss in Scott McDaniel as a possible influence. Hester’s not as dynamic, but he has a similar shading and “smooth angles,” and both of their characters have that confident cockiness. And I’m sad to hear of Miyazawa’s departure.
Since Randy asked for our top fives, I’ll throw mine out there with reckless abandon!
5) Billy Tucci (Heroes for Hire) - A book with Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, and the Black Cat should be sexy, sassy, and energetic, and Tucci brings all three. Palmiotti & Gray are going for chopsocky cheescake and I can think of no one today better to do that than Tucci.
4) Terry Dodson (Wonder Woman) - If this could be considered “of the moment.” I’ve always sort of liked the Dodsons, but this really blew me away. It’s like what you’d get if you threw Jim Lee, Mike Wieringo, Ed McGuinness, and Adam Hughes into a blender.
3) Roger Cruz (X-Men: The First Class) - Quite literally “of the moment,” as I read ish #2 right before I listened to the podcast. He seems to have ditched the “Xtreme!”ness of his Madureira-cloning UNCANNY period and gone for a gentler touch that reminds me a little of Miyazawa. He and Parker have managed to make the Original 5 seem cool, anyway, which hasn’t always been easy.
2) Marcos Martin (Doctor Strange: The Oath) - Batgirl: Year One is one of those things that makes me glad I didn’t drop this medium ten years ago. So just the fact that Martin is doing something puts him on this list. Like Darwyn Cooke, he can magically squeeze an amazing amount of character out of the Tothian style. That he’s going all Ditko now only adds to my excitement.
1) Mark Buckingham (Fables) - How can a guy this good be so underrated? Even after five years on Fables, he continues to amaze me. Intricately simple like P. Craig Russell, soft linework ala Alan Davis, and the instincts of Jeff Smith, Buckingham is a monthly clinic on how to do comics.
Extra Credit) James Jean (Fables covers) - Because cover artists never get enough love.
19 Oct 2006 at 8:19 pm
QuoteI’ve never been a big fan of Billy Tucci or Roger Cruz (though you’re right that his First Class stuff is stronger than his older work), but I do really dig Buckingham’s work. Dodson is hit or miss for me, but his work on Wonder Woman has been excellent thus far.
As for James Jean, right there with you and don’t worry, a covers podcast (with props for cover artists) is definitely in the cards for the future.
On Hester and McDaniel… good call, but I think it’s the other way around. Hester’s been at it for longer, and I’d wager that he was an influence on McDaniel.
Thanks for the comments, glad you’re digging the podcasts!
20 Oct 2006 at 12:43 am
QuoteHester’s been at it for longer, and I’d wager that he was an influence on McDaniel.
Wow. GCD lists Hester on Nexus back in ‘89. Had no idea he was around back then. Weird how someone as clearly as talented as him took 10 years before getting anything close to a big shot (as opposed to McDaniel, who almost immediately got the DD gig).
I’m just as amazed about Tucci and Cruz. Five, ten years ago, I’d have thrown rotten vegetables at myself for picking them. I’m still a bit stymied by my newfound appreciation for Tucci, but H4H is a good fit for him. Sometimes, the right project can make all the difference. Actually, that might be a pretty interesting podcast: What comics or creators were you most surprised to enjoy?
20 Oct 2006 at 2:00 am
QuoteMy top 5 (in no order):
• Darwyn Cooke. An incredible blend of classic Saturday morning cartoon mixed in with the action of John Buscema. I love everything and anything he puts out. His style of Wonder Woman is the greatest of all time.
• Michael Lark. He had me hooked with Gotham Central and I’ve been a fan since. He brings to his books that perfect amount of grittiness needed to actually pull you into the storyline.
• Carlos Pacheco. He needs to be on Fantastic Four and be on it forever. Man, his stuff is always so much fun and breathtaking.
• Steve McNiven. This dude has made Civil War one visual fucking roller coaster ride. Yeah, it was late… but it was worth the time. Just blows me away.
• Eric Powell. Not enough space on the internet to contain my love for this man’s art. I can look at it for hours and never get bored. LOVED his monster covers he did for Marvel.
20 Oct 2006 at 8:43 pm
QuoteTom, I love Pacheco as well, but on your top five, I’d put Darwyn Cooke on FF first. Can you imagine his ’50s art deco style on Reed Richards and Sue? Perfect. Pacheco I think would be a great guy for JLA, even if it would mean the book would be bi-monthly. Maybe he’s one of these guys who just needs to do cool OGNs.
If you haven’t read Lark (inked by Sean Phillips!) on Scene of the Crime, get thee to a comics shop as soon as possible. It’s soooo good.
20 Oct 2006 at 10:06 pm
QuoteI’m going to look like a total bum lick for saying this considering who’s posted up there but when Dan Slott was mentioned in the podcast as a prospective good match for writing Spidey in the future I thought that was pretty cool but that Tom Beland would be better.
Oh well…
Anyway, another interesting podcast and I’ll quickly put down my top 5 faves doing work right now…
Darrick Robertson- Loved his work when he took over New Warriors (his Firestar was great) and have followed him ever since, The Boys is mindless fun.
Takeshi Miyazawa- It was nice to his book get some love on the podcast, big fan of it, Takeshi and Sean Mckeever (who’d also be great on a “regular” Spidey book) work really well together, I’d like to see Rick Mays take over when Takeshi leaves.
Cameron Stewart- Like a lot of people I first got his work with Catwoman, it looks so simple and clean, great storytelling. Just as an aside the Vietnam scenes in Full Metal Jacket were filmed in London…
Carlos Pacheco- His work looks really effortless and smooth and as good as he is on Superman I’d love to see him on The Avengers.
Chris Bachalo- I think I’m one of the few people who likes him on X Men, I like his kitchen sink approach to the art and there’s some good design stuff on the layout of his pages going on.
Thanks for the great podcast again…
21 Oct 2006 at 9:29 am
QuoteI love Darick Robertson, but he hasn’t done a project I’ve been interested in since Transmetropolitan. His superhero stuff has looked beautiful, but he’s been accompanied by some weak writing, and I’m not really a fan of The Boys, which is where he’s going to stay for a few years. Robertson’s another one of these guys where I’d be happier if he was doing Vertigo books.
Pacheco gets a lot of love, I’ve noticed. In many ways, he’s the modern George Perez, with a clean-line style perfect for big budget superheroics. His Avengers Forever work was terrific, worth a look if you can find that trade. And yeah, I’d love to see him on one of the big team books like JLA, Avengers, hell, maybe even X-Men.
Bachalo does some great covers, and I loved his older stuff on Shade, Death, etc. but I just can’t get into his crazy whacked-out panel designs these days. It’s like storytelling has gone by the wayside in the name of crazy design. I think he might be one of these guys who should only do bizarre yet beautiful covers to draw people to books.
Rick Mays is a good call for replacing Miyazawa. Mays did some nice stuff on Adam Warren’s Livewires book.
Thanks for the comments, glad you enjoyed the podcast!
21 Oct 2006 at 7:21 pm
QuoteHere’s my top five of the moment. In no particular order
Cary Nord: My first exposure to his work was about ten years ago when he did the “Bruce Wayne Agent of Shield” from the Marvel/DC Amalgam books, I was blown away, he worked on Daredevil for a while after that and then seemed to drop from my radar, until he returned for Conan, at first it took me while to adjust the change in his style, but now totally onboard with, he might not replace Buscemma as my all time favorite Conan artist, but the man has made his mark.
Leonard Kirk: For the bang up job he’s been doing on Agents of Atlas
Daniel Acuna: He’s done mostly cover art, but what pretty covers they are, bit of Hughes influence, but hey I love Hughes.
Frank Quietly: He and Morrison have the magic going on All Star Superman.
Matt Wagner: Been a fan since a friend turned me on to Mage many years ago, and he’s only gotten better over time.
22 Oct 2006 at 9:41 am
QuoteGreat list, Gray. Leonard Kirk and Cary Nord are people that almost made mine, especially Kirk. You’re right that he’s been awesome on Agents of Atlas, but I also enjoyed him on Batman. His style is the kind that changes with each project, like Stuart Immomen (another artist I really like), and not many artists have that capability.
Also, Nord’s work on Conan has been stellar. I don’t remember him on Daredevil, but now that you mention it, I would be really interested in seeing what that looks like.
22 Oct 2006 at 9:59 am
QuoteIt occured to me that many of my “drop everything” artists aren’t currently doing books…Mike Ploog’s doing ABADAZAD as illustrated children’s books, Jeff Parker’s mostly doing writing…man!
In general, the type of artist I usually gravitate toward is the type that has strong character and/or page design on top of good storytelling.
-Seth: He shows up in the strangest places, doing designs, covers, etc., but whenever he does something, it’s very evocative and sad.
-Ted Naifeh: He has some of the best black-and-white artwork I’ve ever seen, period. His designs on the supernatural characters in COURTNEY CRUMRIN are amazing. Plus, he’s so prolific, so double-props.
-Brian Hurtt: Holy God He Is Good. Does some of the best “acting” with characters in comics, along with great realistic backgrounds.
-David Petersen: MOUSE GUARD has some of the best illustrated-style artwork in comics, it’s great to see a high-quality all-ages book.
-Gabriel Ba: I don’t always know what’s going on in CASANOVA, but Ba has a great sense of layout and character design, and can more than keep up with the book’s weirdness. Looking forward to his book with Gerard Way.
22 Oct 2006 at 10:12 am
QuoteCary Nord.
Glad to see somebody else appreciates his month in month out epic work on Conan. Conan is a character that could easily fall into the gritted teeth, snarling bad ass school of art, but where Nord never fails to amaze me is the range of expressions his characters display. As well as the barely contained kinetic energy that Conan exudes even in repose. Just a great artist.
23 Oct 2006 at 8:28 am
QuoteScott Chantler is, indeed, Canadian. Lives just outside of Toronto, I believe. I met him briefly back in 2003 at a con in Toronto.
Chantler’s work isn’t so much inspired by Jeff Smith’s work on Bone, but by commercial pop art. Just compare his stuff with the original iconic art from Monopoly (the game) and pop-art posters from decades gone by.
Canadians are not an ethnic group. And we do not say “aboot.” Don’t know why that myth has persisted (aside from U.S. pop culture references). What many Canadians do say is “aboat” instead of “about.” That “ow” sound in words often comes out as “oh.” Example: some pronounce “couch” as “coach.”
Also, when casting aspersions on people from other regions of the world, bear in mind who the most famous (infamous, actually) Texan is at the moment.
23 Oct 2006 at 2:38 pm
QuoteNick typed:
I don’t remember him on Daredevil, but now that you mention it, I would be really interested in seeing what that looks like.
I have those issues handy I’ll try to remember to bring them with me next time I go to shop.
23 Oct 2006 at 5:25 pm
QuoteRay, like you, I really dig Cary Nord. His Daredevil work was the first work I saw from him, I think, but I remember that “Bruce Wayne Agent of SHIELD” one-shot too. I ran into him at the New Orleans Con and he did a terrific Daredevil sketch for me, early on in his career. And his work with Dave Stewart on Conan has been fantastic. Nord is one of these guys that not a lot of people know, and while Conan has broken him out big, he’s still not as well-known in the industry as he probably should be.
Also a big fan of Leonard Kirk, and his Agents of Atlas stuff is maybe his best stuff yet.
I was drawn into Daniel Acuna’s covers, but his interior work (on Uncle Sam & The Freedom Fighters) is a little… I dunno… something’s off for me. It’s solid work, but it seems maybe a little too airbrushed and stiff.
Zack, your list has an esoteric vibe that I dig. I like all of those artists as well. You read Wimbledon Green from Seth, right? Great stuff.
Naifeh is great too, another guy with heavy Mignola influence who has gone and crafted a style all his own. His POLLY AND THE PIRATES work is the best I’ve seen from him, which probably means he’s only getting better. DEATH JR. and COURTNEY are both awesome as well.
So glad that after HARD TIME, Brian Hurtt didn’t wind up on ROBIN or something, where his talent would have been wasted. Now I hope DAMNED gets a movie deal or something so he can make the big bucks his art style definitely earns.
Everybody on your list is somewhere on my favorite artists list as well.
Don, we kid because we love. We love the Canadians. It’s where I plan on moving after Bush and Cheney declare themselves dictators for life in 2008.
24 Oct 2006 at 11:58 am
QuoteNo particular order just going by numbers and memory.
1. Matt Wagner
2. Tony Harris
3. Mark Buckingham
4. Michael Lark
5. Sean Phillips
Honorable mention:Frank Quitely, James Jean, Pia Guerra, Luke Ross, Takeshi Miyazawa, Adrian Alphona and David Peterson.
25 Oct 2006 at 12:54 am
QuoteWell, Joseph, I agree with every single person on your list. They’re all good. I’m quite glad to see another supporter of Tony Harris. Sean Phillips almost made my list for his work on Criminal, but his Sleeper is an all time favorite of mine. Buckingham is also good choice as well, considering the lengthy work he’s put on Fables.
Coincidentally, have you picked up the 1001 Nights of Snowfall hardcover. If you love James Jean’s cover work, then you’ll certainly love his interior work. Some of the best stuff I’ve seen. I just wish he could be conviced to do more of it.
25 Oct 2006 at 9:31 pm
QuoteI love what Tony Harris is doing on Ex Machina and his Conan covers are just excellent. I just wish I could that nude varient cover he did.
I picked up 1001 Nights last week. I haven’t had the chance to read it yet but I’ve looked through it and JJ’s artwork is superb. He gives another outstanding wrap around cover to boot.
I also wanna give mention Steven Griffin’s work since I picked up Hawaiian Dick Volume 2. I’d love to see him do more work. I’d love to see more Hawiian Dick goodness from him.
25 Oct 2006 at 11:17 pm
QuoteI’m very flattered to have made any of these lists. Thanks for the good vibes.
You were, in fact, pronouncing my name correctly–like the FRIENDS character, but with a “t”.
To answer the question of “what’s next?”: I’m going to be taking the art reins on HAWAIIAN DICK at Image when it goes monthly next year (don’t fret, Joseph Johnson…Steve Griffin will still be doing covers, and the design work.) I’m also going to be doing the art on a prominent licensed property that was recently announced (let the speculation begin!) Then, if all goes according to plan, I’ll be doing another three volumes of NORTHWEST PASSAGE.
(Sorry this reply is a little late…someone just pointed this out to me.)
06 Nov 2006 at 4:37 pm
QuoteI know this is late, but I love discussions like these. My top five of the moment, in particular order:
JH Williams III - Between Seven Soldiers #1 and the Desolation Jones collection I’ve seen a lot of him recently. His issue of Detective was great as well and I’m looking forward to him being on a regular gig.
Sean Phillips - Sleeper was amazing and Criminal looks like it’s going to be up there too. His moody and dark tone doesn’t prevent him from being a great storyteller.
Frank Miller - Been reading his Daredevil run for the first time recently. His sense of movement is so great and everything moves so fluidly.
Bryan Hitch - Read the first series of The Ultimates a few days ago. His splash pages are amazing but his normal pages are great too. The ultimate widescreen artist.
Frank Quitely - His All-Star Superman stuff has been great but I read the JLA Earth-2 story he drew for Morrison recently and that turned me into a huge fan. Took a while to “get” him, but I’m there now. And he did work with Mark Millar on The Authority, so there must be a Scottish conspiracy.
06 Nov 2006 at 7:20 pm
QuoteScott Chantler said:
To answer the question of “what’s next?”: I’m going to be taking the art reins on HAWAIIAN DICK at Image when it goes monthly next year (don’t fret, Joseph Johnson…Steve Griffin will still be doing covers, and the design work.) I’m also going to be doing the art on a prominent licensed property that was recently announced (let the speculation begin!) Then, if all goes according to plan, I’ll be doing another three volumes of NORTHWEST PASSAGE.
Very cool. Glad to hear about a HD monthly (although, with all due respect and love to Clay Moore, with the schedule it’s kept so far, I’ll believe that when I see it
and really glad to hear that there’s going to be more NORTHWEST PASSAGE.
As for the prominent licensed property… my educated guess is Stephen Colbert’s Tek Janson Adventures, and if so, very cool. If not, my second guess is My Name Is Earl, and that’d be pretty sweet as well.
Thanks for stopping by, Scott.
Lambo, some interesting choices there. I like the inclusion of Frank Miller based on his Daredevil work, although everything he’s done since 300 has not quite clicked with me as his work used to. It’s funny, I think JH Williams III is amazing, but his work tends to get overly designy and not sequential enough for me… my favorite stuff is some of his earliest stuff, from the DC series CHASE. I won’t deny that his PROMETHEA stuff was generally amazing, though, even if it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. And I’m a fan of Quitely and Hitch as well, although neither of them can hit a deadline worth a damn.
As for Sean Phillips… an excellent artist, and right where he should be, in my opinion, working with Brubaker on CRIMINAL.
06 Nov 2006 at 11:56 pm
Quotewith all due respect and love to Clay Moore, with the schedule it’s kept so far, I’ll believe that when I see it
That’s been a lot of people’s reaction so far, as you can imagine. But Clay’s planning to do nearly a year’s worth of books before soliciting the first issue, so it should hit that monthly release pretty reliably (at least until some irresponsible artist eats up all that lead time!)
really glad to hear that there’s going to be more NORTHWEST PASSAGE
I intend to do “seasons” of NWP whenever I can work them in. I’m putting together an outline for what will be volumes 4-6, and plan to be scripting them while I’m drawing these other books. It’s definitely a long term project–something I intend to keep coming back to throughout my career.
Good guesses on the licensed property, but I’m not saying if either are correct!
07 Nov 2006 at 9:42 am
Quote