An appreciation of Mike Mignola. Always a pillar of inspiration for character, form and a graphic striking style
RIP Ron Cobb
Ron Cobb, American/Australian illustrator designer and concept artist died on the September 21, in his 80s.
Ron was know most for his work on the ships and logos and iconography in Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien. He also worked on Back the the Future, Total Recall, The Abyss, Dark Star, Star Wars…
More information on his life and history here at We Are The Mutants.
The Semiotic Standard
Alien is one of the best lived-in-future worlds in all of cinema. It is dingy and rough, old and broken down. Tactile and utilitarian. In addition to the objects and interiors, there is also a very plausible graphic system for the ship indicating various safety warning. These types of symbols exist in a lot of hazardous workplaces and this version looks clean and futuristic, but also looks like it could have been in use at any point from the 40’s onward. They are completely usable and believable.
Political Comics
Cobb served in the Vietnam war and when he returned he got back to work as an artist, creating many gorgeous and brutal political cartoons for the Los Angeles Free Press. They are critical of the government handling poverty, race, the draft, nukes, environmentalism and police brutality. These comics are an amazing time capsule of the anti-war and politically conscious era and are incredibly relevant today. Sadly we haven’t solved really any of these problems.
The Bus – Paul Kirchner
The Bus is a wonderful surreal strip comic by Paul Kirchner.
Walk Like You - Esad Ribic
Esad Ribic is a painter from Croatia.
I've recently read Thor, the Unworthy (Coipel) and Thor God of Thunder, The God Butcher (Ribic) comics and I am blown away by the quality of the art on each page. A lot of this work is comprised of very strong compositions and watercolor, which in many instances show a sort of greyed down, washed out color into the shadows. A suggestion of atmosphere and depth that you seldom see. Comics tend to lean heavily on black, and fill in colors underneath. But these paintings are fading away, into the distance, and yet still remain dynamic and strong. Striking.
Walk Like You: Sergio Toppi
Walk Like You: Phil Hale
Phil Hale, who I've found sort of adjacent to Ashley Wood, making beautiful paintings sometimes for comics. Incredible dynamic action, color and compositions. Beautiful stuff.
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Walk Like You: Moebius
I've been reading The Incal ...
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