The Art of Comic Books

Why I Like Them So Much

I freely admit to being a comic geek, a total fan girl when it comes to the whole superhero genre. But it wasn’t the characters so much as the art of comic books that drew me into comic books themselves, like a moth to a flame. Let me explain…

I grew up with the originals on TV. Reruns of George Reeves’ Superman, Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman (still my favorite), Lou Ferrigno as the Incredible Hulk, Adam West as Batman, and of course Julie Newmar as Catwoman. Back then though, us kids didn’t get an allowance to go out and buy comic books. And strangely, even when I got old enough to do so, I didn’t. I guess putting gas in my truck as a teenager took precedence. I will admit however, that the art of comic books at that time didn’t make much of an impression on me.

It wasn’t until I was in college that I truly noticed comic books. I remember passing through the Student Union and there was one of those revolving comic book racks by the snack shop. What stopped me in my tracks was a slick cover of The X-Men (who I’d never heard of up until that point) done by the incomparable, Jim Lee.

X-Men cover by Jim Lee

It was fantastic. It was slick and sexy and powerful. And I was hooked! From there I discovered all of the other X titles, and then Cyberforce, Gen-13, Wetworks, and WildC.A.T.s to name a few. Strangely, I never picked up Wonder Woman…

WildC.A.T.s promo by Jim Lee

Cyberforce by Marc Silvestri

WetWorks by Whilce Portacio

Gen¹³ by Jim Lee, J. Scott Campbell, and Brandon Choi

Initially, I started buying comic books for the art. But then one day I actually started reading them and I thought, “Oh no…what have I done?” With the right writers, the stories were captivating and the art of comic books were essentially polished storyboard art. In a nutshell, storyboarding is a process in which a series of sequential illustrations or sketches are created in order to get a visual idea of a live-action or animated movie sequence. In comic books however, there is an incredible amount of detail in each image.

It’s More Than Just Drawing Cool Pictures

The art of comic books must not only be eye-catching to draw readers in, it must also move the reader through panel to panel in a way that makes sense. The art must tell the story. It must convey emotion, tension, and make the action believable. And, it must do all of this without the use of actors, sound, or special effects. All of this must take place via static images. The trick is, getting those images to appear to be anything but static.

Comic books and the art of comic books is serious stuff and the fans won’t hesitate to let social media know if they think the artwork is lame. Comic book artists: pencilers, inkers, and colorists all have to know their crafts inside and out. For pencilers, they have to know how to draw and draw well. They have to know perspective and how to push the limits, for so many really great and impactful panels are done in extreme perspective. They have to know the science behind what makes a panel great. Things like perspective, rule of thirds, how one panel flows to the next, which areas of the human body should not be cut off by the edge of the panel, contrast between light and dark areas, when and where to break the rules such as having a character break the edge of the panel, and the list goes on.

Art of Comic Books…A Guilty Indulgence

My love for the art of comic books (and their stories) went so far as to the comic shop guy pulling my titles for me every month so all I’d have to do was go to the register and pay for them. Sadly, it got to the point where financially, I couldn’t keep up (about $150/month!). But there really was nothing that made me happier than having breakfast in bed every weekend with a stack of comic books to read through. Ah, those were the days!

Wonder Woman by Alex Ross

I did however rectify one situation. Where I was previously remiss in collecting Wonder Woman comic books, that is now the one and only title I pick up every month. It is a guilty, indulgent pleasure and I am not ashamed to admit it. I am a comic book geek and a huge Wonder Woman fan girl. Get over it!

Wonder Woman, TM DC Comics