I've been thinking of late how the respective big movers at Marvel and DC comics have been pursuing writers from other fields to write their wacky genre fiction. Crime writers, science fiction writers, movie directors, screen writers, bizarre social commentators. Anyone at all who can vicariously bring some respectability to the field, I suppose. Besides, it's hardly new: comics are a hybrid medium, built by a random assortment of con men, ex-pulp writers, ex-animators, failed illustrators, journalists, escape artists and assorted ne'er-do-wells.
So anyway, this train of thought continued: here they are, bringing in all kinds of writers new to the artform, some good, some bad, some I've never bleedin' heard of. Meanwhile, comic artists continue to jump ship as soon as they make their name in the medium, heading for the movies, animation, illustration, advertising, even pop stardom.
So, instead of fretting about bringing in new writers, what if commissioning editors also started trawling through the various bordering media to find new artists? Wouldn't that be cool? An outward sign that anglophone comics were a thriving, confident medium, rather than one content to ride in on Hollywood's disintegrating coat-tails.
Here's a guy who's work I first noticed doing spot illustrations for the Sunday Times Magazine, though these days I can't go into a record shop without seeing his work on the cover of another compilation CD - Jason Brooks. His work is certainly comics literate, though I note he lists much more thoroughly respectable influences on his site's bio. Anyway, the guy sure draws sexy chicks, and that'll take you pretty far in comics these days. Now this fella could definitely provide an editor with a cool, stylish cover without the leery sexism of your average Adam Hughes or Greg Horn piece (no really, as great as Dan Slott's SHE-HULK may be, could you really recommend it to a friend when it carries a cover like this? Yuk).
Just saw a link to this guy's website over at the always illuminating DRAWN blog: Robert Valley. He's done a certain amount of comic's work before (he's published the odd short piece in HEAVY METAL (which means they've been seen by approximately, uh, a dozen people), but he's working mainly in animation and storyboarding. Again, his work is cool and sexy: he reminds me of early, ABC Warriors-era Simon Bisley, with a bit of Mike McMahon's later extreme stylization. Check out the QuickTime movie on his site, MASSIVE SWERVE: it's about the size of a postage stamp, but still compelling.
As a librarian, my eye is often caught by an attractive book cover, or a well illustrated kid's book. Here's one such example: Warwick Johnson Cadwell, whose work on the book THE KING'S SHOPPING grabbed my notice. It's in a loose, sketchy style, which wouldn't look out of place alongside the work Oni Press or Slave Labour Graphics are publishing (after seeing it out of the corner of my eye, I did a quick check to see it wasn't actually by Simon Gane). A quick peek at his agency portfolio revealed he could even fit into the kind of Vertigo gigs that Dean Ormston might be offered but pass up. Plus, like Ben Caldwell before him, his name sounds a bit like mine.
And one more for the pot: Uli Oesterle, illustrator, web designer, editorial cartoonist, comic book artist, German renaissance dude. As far as I know, the guy's only ever gotten one English language gig (from Scott Allie, at Dark Horse), but his work is great. Again, I could see him doing some cracking work at Vertigo: he'd rock a John Constantine commission out of sight. I've tried and failed to procure a copy of his Hector Umbra book from German Amazon, so if anybody out there wants to do an English language edition, you're guaranteed at least one sale. And why wouldn't you? As far as I can tell, it's been reprinted in French, Dutch and Japanese so far.