The Marvel Young Guns of 2004, and 2006. A 1UP classic...

I've been away from my blog for far too long. It will take me a while to create new content for it. In the meantime I will be going through my old 1UP archives, and repost some of my favorite articles. It's kind of sad that Capcom-Unity shut down their blogs, I can't link to any more old posts there. Thankfully the majority I already copied over here. There are a few I think I'd have to put together, if they were important to begin with. The classic for today is actually a look at the Marvel "Young Guns." These were the up-and-coming artists from 15 years ago. How many do you recognize? How many are still around? I can say for certain that Adi Granov probably had the most influence in mainstream. His versions of the Iron Man armor set the tone that would be recreated in the Marvel films. Which of course have been recreated in toy, and collectable statue form as well. Did you have any favorite comic book artists from 2004-2006?

There is an old saying that goes "hindsight is always 20/20." That means you can clearly see how you got to where you are now. In the case of Marvel Comics the change for the art team began in 2004, with the release of a sketchbook. The featured artists were new to Marvel but some were seasoned veterans in the industry. Marvel felt that these would be the artists to watch.

It all makes sense now because what Marvel had planned for many of these artists wasn't a book here or there, but to get them started on long-term projects and major crossovers. Many of the arcs that these artists started in 2004 are just being finished right now, some are still in progress.

Jim Cheung was given the task to come up with a young team of Avengers that mirrored the classic heroes, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk. His version was not meant to replace the heroes but rather pay an homage to them while they were away on their various adventures. The writing in the "Young Avengers" book has garnered some attention and the art is right up there with the best of today.

Not to be outdone the second artist featured in the sketchbook is Olivier Coipel. He was slated to work on the Ultimate X-Men books but his style was so solid, so consistent that he was asked to work on the House of M crossover event. Getting a major event as a "rookie" is the stuff that dreams are made of. While critics lamented the weak arc in House of M, Olivier still delivered some amazing panels and terrific covers.

David Finch, like Olivier, has a solid style. His work is classic, his use of framing, angles and shadow should be studied again and again by budding artists. While a lot of artists become popular because of their "style" many of them lack basic chops. Things like anatomy, perspective, shape and color. David succeeds because he has all of the basics down and bends themn to his will. His pencils are tight and flawless and you should check out his work on the New Avengers available in trade paperback. He may just be the most underrated artist of the bunch.

Adi Granov needs no introduction. He is only the best painter to come out of Marvel in the past decade. The art on his Iron Man is simply unbeatable. I dare say that I enjoy Adi's art more than I do Alex Ross... yeah go ahead and shoot. Adi isn't just a great Iron Man artist, his panels and painting ability apply to everything he touches, including the covers to the She-Hulk TPB. You can be certain that Adi's influence will be featured in the upcoming Iron Man animated feature.

Trevor Hairsine is a veteran. He's done work for 2000 A.D. and Judge Dredd. You know, the stuff that British people like to see. Lots of action, lots of violence and lost of blood. For his work at Marvel he was put on the "Ultimate Nightmare" arc. Probably because he pencils a lot like Bryan Hitch, the person responsible for creating a contemporary look for the Marvel Universe in the "Ultimates." Trevor has a clean style, his pencils are tight like David Finch and his sense of direction is great. Hopefully we will see more of Trevor, especially his paintings in the future.

 

Last in the Young Guns sketchbook was Steve McNiven. Like Trevor and Olivier, Steve was given a major arc right out of the gate. His run on "Ultimate Secret" was only a prelude for an even larger event. McNieven was a prominent artist in the "Civil War" a story that touched the lives of every major and minor player in the Marvel U. Steve started as a young gun but is now considered a veteran, two years later his run on the Cilvil War is barely coming to a conclusion! His poster for the Civil War got many people talking before the event ever took place. Take a close look and see if you can spot the actual artist in the image.

 

So there you have it. A look to see where Marvel has been in the past three years. Did these artists revolutionize the industry? No. Were they influential? Hell yes! As an artist nothing could be better than influencing the next generation.


Welcome back. I hope you've been saving your money because these are the artists that will drive Marvel for the next few years. Although this group was collectively published as the Young Guns for 06, their work is just now popping up on store shelves. Like the previous generation some of these artists are veterans with an even more ethnic mix thrown in for good measure.

Note to budding US artists: don't sleep! The Marvel Young Guns from 2006 are here! First up is Billy Tan, originally from Malaysia. His art has popped up on the Uncanny X-Men, one of Marvel's best selling books. For a young gun to get such a prestigous book it means that Marvel has faith in his ability. If you study his pencils you will see that he was heavily influenced by Jim Lee, considered to be the best X-Men artist of all-time.

The similarities are there but Tan is also influenced by Whilce Portacio. I consider Whilce the most underrated of the Image artists, and the one who got a bum wrap for disappearing from the industry. Read his Wiki page and you'll see that Whilce has some rotten luck, let's hope that Tan is able to make it through the cutthroat industry in better health. Check out the current run of the Uncanny X-Men to see more from this talented young gun.

Next up is Clayton Crain. Of all the young guns Clayton might know the least about framing techniques, perspective or proportion. What he does know better than any young gun, current or past, is digital coloring techniques. Clayton is a front-runner for the best digital painter that has ever worked in comics. He has done covers for some Sensational Spider-Man books but it was a limited run on the Ghost Rider that put him on the map. From what I understand writer Garth Ennis and Clayton had to fight with the powers that be to get the book out of the door. It was his art that did most of the convincing.


Over the past decade the Ghost Rider had slowly faded in popularity. The only other artists that defined a generation with the Rider were Mark "Tex" Texeira and Javier Saltares. The Tex version of the Ghost Rider was set in the early 90's and with a new rider named Danny Ketch. Clayton revisits the classic Johnny Blaze character and brings him back to the forefront of the legacy. If you are serious about comics as art or just want to be entertained with some kick-ass art then it would behoove you to check out the six issue limited run Ghost Rider on Marvel Knights.


Clayton is currently working on a Civil War-era version of the Ghost Rider titled "Trail of Tears."

The third artist I will be talking about today is Italian Simone Bianchi. Simone is new to Marvel but not a rookie in any sense of the word. His style is hard to compare with another artist. His figures are bold and kinetic, the poses and pencils very reminiscent of Bernie Wrighston and even a tighter John Romita Sr. Simone has a good eye for framing his subjects. His pencil and even painting techniques help him stand apart from the other young guns. You can expect a lot of great things to come from Simone as he is replacing Humberto Ramos on the Wolverine book starting with issue #50.


Leinil Francis Yu is the next young gun we'll be looking at. His style is the boldest of the new wave. Take the above piece for example, what would happen if the Hulk really did cut loose with Wolverine? Leinil pencils and inks with a thickness that many consider crude. His art has an illustrator quality to it. I would compare him to Moebius with an eye for detail almost as obscene as Geof Darrow. When Leinil paints his pieces, sometimes with watercolor, he creates magnificent effects, some of his technique reminds me of Simon Bisley. 


Certainly Leinil is the type of artist that transcends typical comic book illustration, he just is a great artist period. As Smashbro mentioned yesterday, too bad they don't show this art in school. If you are interested in seeing more of his work check out issues 1 and 2 of Ultimate Hulk vs Wolverine (the rest of the books were never done because the writer flaked out). He is also working on the occasional New Avengers books.

I've said my piece on Ariel Olivetti already. It bears repeating however. Ariel is two issues into the Punisher War Journal and a must-get for Punisher fans. Each page is painted, the characters are over-the-top and the theme of the common man going up against super powered characters keeps Frank Castle grounded in reality.

The Punisher is a lot like the Batman. Both lost their families and both snapped as a result. Frank Castle, a police officer, lost his wife and son during a mob hit. Frank and his family were left for dead in Central Park. He survived to punish the mob families under his new alias. Bruce Wayne uses his mind to solve crimes and never uses guns while the Punisher is more of a brute force vigilante with an affinity for guns. Fans of one character might not like the other. Ariel's art fits perfectly with the character. The exaggerated characteristics shine when there are cameos from other Marvel legends. Who they are will remain a secret unless you pick up the recent books.

Pasqual Ferry, the final member of the Young Guns 06, is my favorite of the lot. Like the others he is not really a rookie, he is only new to Marvel. He has done numerous covers and projects for DC over the years. Marvel and DC are entering "exclusive" contracts in order to secure the writers and artists of the most popular books. The ones working on smaller titles act like free agents and can do the occasional cover for rival publishers.

Pasqual is a franchise player. His style is so amazing that it is almost too good for comics. The other artists that come to mind when comparing his work are Adam Hughes, especially in the painting department and Frank Cho for his pencils. The tiny scans below simply do not do justice. Hit the local comic book store and pick up Ultimate Fantastic Four #33-37 and New Avengers #24. In New Avengers we see him create a version of the Sentry (Marvel's Superman knock-off) and the Inhumans that are awe-inspiring.

Well that rounds out the next gen at Marvel. I hope you enjoyed the series. Be sure to visit your local comic book store and give these new artists a chance. You never know what you might find. Until then, peace. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!