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COMIC BOOK ARTIST Vol. 2, #3
($7.50,
Top Shelf Productions)
Review by Rick Bradford
I can't believe I'd never read
Comic Book Artist prior to the Top Shelf version. I'd say
CBA is primarily aimed at fans of mainstream comics but certainly not exclusively. The focus here seems to be on quality work. "Quality", of course, is in the eye of the beholder but clearly editor Jon Cooke has a vision. Yes, it's somewhat fannish and enthusiastic (especially if you compare it to something like
The Comics Journal, which you shouldn't) – not necessarily detriments – but I think the mix is good and the resulting product is worthwhile. I'll admit that I read very little in the way of superheroes of otherwise mainstream comics these days, but I don't have anything against them. Good comics are good comics and likewise bad. I grew up on that stuff, am not biased against the superhero genre and still enjoy what certain artists and writers are doing in that arena. With
CBA, one thing that helps keep my attention is the fact that the subjects tackled are, generally speaking, worth knowing about to me. The other thing that helps is the diversity. The mag
is mostly a mainstream affair but not entirely.
The feature I most enjoyed in this issue is the interview with Darwyn Cooke, an artist (and writer) who I've been watching from the sidelines and one who gives me hope for the future of mainstream comics. The interview is fairly lengthy, interesting and a lot of great art accompanies it (much of it in color). Another nice bit in this issue is the Jay Stephens sketchbook section. I just can't get enough of that guy's work. Let's see, what else? Well, there's: an interview with Fantagraphics' Gary Groth regarding "Peanuts" and their new project that collects the entire run; a page by Fred Hembeck (which is such a perfect fit for this mag); a spotlight on
Little Archie in general and artists Bob Bolling and Dexter Taylor in particular; interviews with colorist Dave Stewart and DC Art Director Mark Chiarello (lots of nice art here, too); and still more.
As I said, I think the overall mix in
CBA is a good one. In the previous two issues you'll find more interviews (Peter Bagge, Neal Adams, Alex Ross, Art Spiegelman, Bill Griffith, Mike Allred, JJ Sedelmaier, Mike Friedrich, more), sketchbook sections (Craig Thompson, Alex Ross) and other fun stuff. Yes, you have to be able to tolerate mainstream work but come on,
CBA is no
Wizard. That's a compliment.
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