Saturday, May 22, 2004
The Art of Richard Corben
desire intensely visual, photorealistic experiences.
Alternately brilliant and clumsy, his wildly-uneven
work is filled with privileged moments that point the
way to radically new possibilities in graphic
storytelling.
Corben's work is a strange combination of photorealism
with cartoony 'bigfoot' drawing. Influenced by both
fantasy filmmakers and underground cartoonist Robert
Crumb, Corben has explored unique methods of bringing
his art to three-dimensional life. A talented
sculptor, he renders many of his characters in clay,
then makes studies of them with striking, noirish
lighting schemes. He also composites photographs and
bleeding colors in his backgrounds. Most noticeably,
he employs an airbrush to create smooth tonal
transitions in his art. (Corben early on was known
for his airbrush work, but he obviously uses a wide
variety of techniques.)
Perhaps the trait for which he's best known for is his
intense, groundbreaking use of color. In his early
work, Corben experimented with hand-separated color
overlays to intensify the saturation of his colors.
This technique was especially startling when Warren
Publishing printed his work on white, higher-quality
paper (at the time, most comics were printed on newsprint.)
Corben's also known for his showstopping experimental layouts. He
pioneered a cinematic style that eschews wordy captions to present the story
in purely visual terms. The result was a powerful immediacy that left
his contemporaries in the dust. But he also excelled when teamed with verbose scriptwriters like Bruce Jones. Constantly experimenting, he managed to enliven otherwise routine horror stories with unusual, provocative visual choices.
Corben's most personal works are outbursts of raw sexual lust, with muscle-bound males and short, mesomorphic women carrying enormous breasts. Explicit sex was almost always accompanied by the most graphically horrific images of rotting corpses and monstrous creatures. 
His graphic novel Den is the most direct expression of this theme, though I've always thought the work was studied and rather joyless (except for the wonderful first chapter, created pre-Heavy Metal.) A more intense representation is a cover image for Bizarre Sex, in which a group of entranced, purple female nudes are caressing and laying over a giant, penis-like caterpillar.
Corben first came to prominence in the underground comics, and his approach to sex and violence was emblematic of a split in the movement. In a widely-publicized letter, Bill Griffith expressed his contempt for the orgiastic escapism of Corben and some of his contemporaries, foreshadowing the later critical consensus that underground comics were for criticism of society, and not for unbridled eruptions of the id.
Unfortunately, Corben's other most prominent trait is a devastating inconsistency in craft. He's created many of the most dazzling moments in the history of the medium, but also many slipshod renderings which undermine his collective work. After departing from Heavy Metal Magazine and after the demise of Warren Publications, Corben's work appeared sporadically and was often abysmal. The high point of his later years was the graphic novel A Rip in Time, scripted by Bruce Jones.
In recent years, Corben has picked up work with mainstream publishers like Vertigo (Congo Bill.) But you never know when his provocative, dangerous side will resurface.
All images copyrighted by Richard Corben
Friday, May 21, 2004
Present activity and future plans
In fact, one of the things keeping me so busy is a section I'm working on with John Barber and Steven Withrow for their upcoming book, a follow-up to Withrow's Toon Art. The new book will focus on new techniques for creating comics and cartoon art, and the authors have asked me to describe the techniques of Poser-rendered comics. It's quite an exciting challenge! I'll post more about it soon.
Another activity keeping me very busy is a new website I'll be editing. Titled The Webcomics Examiner, it will be dedicated to reviews and critical essays on the best 'fine art' webcomics. I'll be going public with the writers guidelines and mission statement on Monday, so watch this page for updates.
Naturally, I'm spending the majority of my free time completing The Fear Mongers. It currently has less than two months to go, and I'm really excited to finally be realizing the climactic scenes! (Hope you all enjoyed the panel last week where the 'true face' of the Mongers was revealed...)
My next comics project will be a series of 5-page short stories, collectively published as House of Paradox. This will begin approximately 2 weeks after the conclusion of the current series. The anthology's theme will be strange fantasy/mysteries with twist endings, inspired by Lee/Ditko's classic '60s comic, 'Amazing Adult Fantasy.'
And finally, I am laboring over the script of my next graphic novel. Though it's still largely undefined, it will be a contempoary romantic comedy with noirish overtones.
Next up-- Corben!
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Monday, May 17, 2004
Gisele Lagace now on Modern Tales with 'Penny and Aggie'!
Modern Tales publisher Joey Manley said, "We're proud to have Gisele on board. Her elegant line, spot-on characterizations and pacing, and sheer professionalism generally set her head and shoulders above most webcomics out there: she has always belonged on Modern Tales. We've always wanted her to join us. And now she has." The strip itself, Manley added, is reminiscent of the best of Archie Comics' output, specifically the classic Betty and Veronica series -- only updated for the current teen scene. "This comic packs the same punch as the best of Dan DeCarlo or Stan Goldberg in their prime -- not in style (Gisele has her own inimitable style), but in spirit, energy, and fun. I hope and expect that "Penny and Aggie" will expand the Modern Tales audience, and the audience for professional webcomics, and, for that matter, for comics, generally." As for the strip's writer, T Campbell, Manley said, "Is there anything T Campbell can't write? He's our Bendis."
Penny is a prom queen in the making. If you stood on the top rung of the social ladder and stretched, you might just brush her foot. The other popular girls in school take her cue on which clothes to wear, which hairstyles to try, which boys to acknowledge. If there's more to her than this "Mean Girls" stereotype... she's never shown it.
Aggie is the class weirdie. Rumor has it she carries a rat in her purse.
She's more concerned about oil drilling in Alaska than whether one of the boys from football tryouts might like her. She's an amateur artist and poet, and dresses like one.
Aggie aims sarcastic barbs at Penny's shallowness. Aggie's frustrating weirdness leads Penny to plot her downfall. But somewhere along the way, a bond begins to grow between them-- a bond neither one expected and neither can explain.
Modern Tales, T Campbell and Gisele Lagace proudly present PENNY AND AGGIE.
http://www.moderntales.com/
http://www.pennyandaggie.com/
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