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I've recently started a new comic so I've been doing some research. I usually start by going back and looking things that deal with similar themes or subjects- sometimes as a point of departure- sometimes to find something to steal. Here's some stuff I've been looking at:
This is New York Movie by Edward Hopper. I love this painting- when I think of a story that takes place in a theater this is the image that comes to mind. It looks like it must have been an influence on David Lynch's INLAND EMPIRE.
I also think of The Wagnerites by Aubrey Beardsley.
I've been a huge admirer of Beardsley's work for many years. I wish I had his sense of simplicity and sophistication. I remember getting one of his art books from the library when I was in high school and copying every illustration out of the book. If only I had that kind of manic energy today. His stuff was such an eye-opener. Really knocked me on my ass. Some of it's pretty racy -like these drawings with these giant phalluses and farting women:
I think it might be because of Beardsley that I've put a dick in almost every comic I've drawn. (Sorry, there's no dicks in the new one.)
Here's one of Jack Kirby's incredible two page spreads from the Demon #10:
And I really love this musical sequence from Captain America's Bicentennial Battles. It's beautiful but kind of nightmarish at the same time. Sorry about the weird scans- the book is HUGE.
Dancing is something that I think translates well to the comic page- but it's something we don't see enough of. Dash Shaw did a pretty incredible job of it in Bodyworld.
Pretty hilarious. I would read a whole comic book of just dancing. Maybe I'll make one someday...
Bill Williams is an artist I discovered several years ago. I love his lanky male characters and, of course, his women. He did a bunch of old Dell comics like Henry Aldrich and collaborated with John Stanley on Dunc and Loo and one of the best comics of all time: Kookie!
Kookie has a great concept behind it. It's about a beautiful waitress who works at a cafe with a bunch of beatniks and other art world misfits. It's probably one of the best send-ups of the art scene that I've ever encountered. John Stanley had a real talent for creating a world and drawing you into it. I think there were only two issues made. I've only got issue #2- would love to get my mitts on #1.
Jayre Pulga is an artist of been thinking about lately. He did a few short comics for RAW. He had a really cool way of depicting the abstract murkiness of darkness- something to really take note of.
A friend who'd been visiting France brought me back a fascinating book called Blitz by an artist named Jean-Claude Floc'h - someone I'd never heard of who worked in the ligne claire tradition established by Herge.
It appears to be some kind of locked room mystery that turns out to be taking place on stage.
And probably the finest example of comics on stage is Osamu Tezuka's Robe of Feathers from Phoenix volume 8. Here's a couple pages I took randomly off the net.
The reaction to Tezuka's work in the US is a bit puzzling. Even though he's the God of Manga in Japan, his stuff didn't really start appearing over here until this last decade- and is often met with a bit of skepticism. Even the website I took these images from had a negative reaction to this story. I really don't get it- but Tezuka doesn't need my help to convince anyone of his genius. This entire story is told from the same fixed angle- just like on stage. He used a similar technique for a sequence in Ayako- an incredible book that I'll probably have to do an entire post on.
Anyways, that's kind of the flavor of what I'm working on. I'll post a page or two later on down the road.
There's a site called Shit Comics who put up a more legible version of the illustration from my last post. And I should also mention that this "cool shit" post was inspired by the the "cool shit" posts that Brandon Graham does.
A'ight. I'll be back with you guys in another couple weeks or so.