Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Darkhawk pencils

Here are a few pages from the opening of Darkhawk No.9, and these pages are around 20 years old now--hard to believe! At least for me, in some ways it seems long ago and some ways it seems not that long ago at all. This was also from the time when the Punisher was a hot character and was appearing in just about every Marvel comic, so why not old DH? I also got to draw Savage Steel a character that I co-created with DH writer Danny Fingeroth. Comics were cheaper and I think more fun then, there was a lot more story it seems in the average comic then so I think the reader got more bang for your buck, this was also before computer coloring became all the rage. It was really a different time. I can't tell you how many times in the past few years I have had people come up to me and tell how much they loved this character and series--which I find a bit surprising in some ways, but i also realize that this was really the last time there was an influx of young readers into comics, the early 90's was the last feeder generation of readers for the industry. These fans read--not just collected. It was before 'certificates or authenticity" and the crazy, crazy times of speculators and collectors which basically tore the business down.

I was also younger then and earning my stripes as they say, and DH was the first book I got to start from scratch, so I felt I had a lot to prove every month.

I remember thing of the opening of this issue almost like a movies and so I wanted to get that cinematic feel to some of the panels by using the horizontal panels. I was also very influenced by Williamson, Romita Sr. and Garcia Lopez at the time.

1 comment:

  1. This book changed my life. Darkhawk was the first title I ever collected o a monthly basis and what inspired me to illustrate and look at graphic design as a career, over my previous career path goal of forensic scientist.

    Sure some crimes may now be going unsolved as a result - but I still have your run on Darkhawk in my room now, with which to dive into and escape the sad stories which make a news bulletin - just like good comics should.

    Thank you for everything.

    ReplyDelete