I'm pretty sure I've mentioned Joe Madureira before, since he's one of my favorite artists. I remember when I discovered him in the first Deadpool miniseries, one of his first gigs. He quickly developed his own style and was one of the first artists to blend Japanese manga elements with traditional American superhero comic books. His run on Uncanny X-Men was nothing short of fantastic, and his pencilwork wowed pretty much everybody. Then he left Marvel to create his own book, Battle Chasers. It was a phenomenal book, with a cool story and awesome, beyond-description artwork. Of course, it was ridiculously late, and kind of ended after 9 issues or so. (Actually, "was left there to die after its creator lost interest" would be a more accurate description: shame on you, Mad!)After designing videogames for a while, the man with the crazy signature is back. Months ago, Marvel announced Madman was going to draw the third Ultimates series, which will be released at some point next year (riiiiiight). Meanwhile, and -one would assume- in between months-in-advance-drawn Ultimates pages, Joe Mad finds time to draw a cover here and there. You'll remember I talked about the Onslaught Reborn project a couple of weeks ago. We all made fun of hack Liefeld and his nonexistent drawing skills (just check out Captain America's chest again if you have forgotten). Well, since alternate covers are all the rage in comics nowadays, Marvel has gotten some actually cool artists to draw alternate covers for the series -I guess they do want to sell some of these books after all. And, of course, they're getting fan-favorite artists to do it. Michael Turner, another one of my favorite pencillers, has drawn this one. Before seeing it, I had read people were saying how dull, boring, and unoriginal it was. I was skeptical, but I confess I agree with them. Don't get me wrong: Turner is an amazing artist, and I wish I had even half his talent. However, when you compare it to Joe Mad's cover (gracing this post with its presence), well… It pales in comparison. That Joe Mad cover is just a little example of what makes him a superb artist. Unfortunately, everybody knows he suffers from the same malady J. Scott Campbell does: he's soooooo slow the only way he could actually be any slower would be for him to draw with an eraser instead of a pencil. Which is kind of ironic, I think. I mean, how could you draw something so kinetic, so full of energy, so incredibly dynamic as the cover above, being such a slow artist? Truth is, I don't know, but I confess the finished pieces are always strikingly amazing. But I've learned from past mistakes, so when Ultimates 3 comes out, I will not buy it. I will only buy it when it comes out on paperback. That way, I will be able to read the story and enjoy the pretty pictures in one sitting, instead of waiting for maybe two years. I guess I'm getting smart.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Mad! Is! Back!
I'm pretty sure I've mentioned Joe Madureira before, since he's one of my favorite artists. I remember when I discovered him in the first Deadpool miniseries, one of his first gigs. He quickly developed his own style and was one of the first artists to blend Japanese manga elements with traditional American superhero comic books. His run on Uncanny X-Men was nothing short of fantastic, and his pencilwork wowed pretty much everybody. Then he left Marvel to create his own book, Battle Chasers. It was a phenomenal book, with a cool story and awesome, beyond-description artwork. Of course, it was ridiculously late, and kind of ended after 9 issues or so. (Actually, "was left there to die after its creator lost interest" would be a more accurate description: shame on you, Mad!)After designing videogames for a while, the man with the crazy signature is back. Months ago, Marvel announced Madman was going to draw the third Ultimates series, which will be released at some point next year (riiiiiight). Meanwhile, and -one would assume- in between months-in-advance-drawn Ultimates pages, Joe Mad finds time to draw a cover here and there. You'll remember I talked about the Onslaught Reborn project a couple of weeks ago. We all made fun of hack Liefeld and his nonexistent drawing skills (just check out Captain America's chest again if you have forgotten). Well, since alternate covers are all the rage in comics nowadays, Marvel has gotten some actually cool artists to draw alternate covers for the series -I guess they do want to sell some of these books after all. And, of course, they're getting fan-favorite artists to do it. Michael Turner, another one of my favorite pencillers, has drawn this one. Before seeing it, I had read people were saying how dull, boring, and unoriginal it was. I was skeptical, but I confess I agree with them. Don't get me wrong: Turner is an amazing artist, and I wish I had even half his talent. However, when you compare it to Joe Mad's cover (gracing this post with its presence), well… It pales in comparison. That Joe Mad cover is just a little example of what makes him a superb artist. Unfortunately, everybody knows he suffers from the same malady J. Scott Campbell does: he's soooooo slow the only way he could actually be any slower would be for him to draw with an eraser instead of a pencil. Which is kind of ironic, I think. I mean, how could you draw something so kinetic, so full of energy, so incredibly dynamic as the cover above, being such a slow artist? Truth is, I don't know, but I confess the finished pieces are always strikingly amazing. But I've learned from past mistakes, so when Ultimates 3 comes out, I will not buy it. I will only buy it when it comes out on paperback. That way, I will be able to read the story and enjoy the pretty pictures in one sitting, instead of waiting for maybe two years. I guess I'm getting smart.
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