Your New Favorite: Chris Brunner
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Jan 26 2010, 2:01 PM
Since I've been writing comics, I've had occasion to search through a lot of sketchblogs and portfolio sites and DeviantArt pages and whatnot looking for collaborators, and I've discovered tons of excellent cartoonists that I otherwise might never have known. So I thought it might be nice to introduce the rest of world to a few of my favorites.
This week, to prove that this feature isn't just an excuse to post my own comics by hyping people that I've worked with, (or, isn't entirely that, anyway), I present an artist that I've never worked with, never even met, and honestly know very little about: Chris Brunner.
From what I can gather, Brunner has a few mainstream comics credits you might have come across--covers for BOOM's current NOLA series, a Legends of the Dark Knight arc a few years back, a couple anthology appearances--but what what really rings my bell is his upcoming book Loose Ends, a self-described "Southern Crime Romance" written by Jason Latour (of The Expatriate fame). He's been posting sketches and samples for a while now, (up at the blog he shares with friend and frequent collaborator Rico Renzi, an equally talented colorist--together they refer to themselves as "The Kickstand Kids"), and god damn those are some beautiful pages. I mean, seriously.
Brunner's style combines the inky grittiness of the "realistic" photo reference artists that are all the rage these days with the expressiveness and energy of an honest-to-god cartoonist. So you get all the immediacy and good storytelling inherent in more cartoony styles, but also lush detailed brushwork that you can just stare at for days. Think Duncan Fegredo meets Jack Davis meets... I dunno... Cameron Stewart, maybe? My point is, he's damn good.
But don't take my word for it, check out some samples below, then do yourself a favor and head over to their blog to order a copy of newly-available the Kickstand Kids sketchbook, Sour Mash--I just ordered mine!
Check back next week for another New Favorite!
Previously: Ming Doyle, Connor Willumsen
Since I've been writing comics, I've had occasion to search through a lot of sketchblogs and portfolio sites and DeviantArt pages and whatnot looking for collaborators, and I've discovered tons of excellent cartoonists that I otherwise might never have known. So I thought it might be nice to introduce the rest of world to a few of my favorites.
This week, to prove that this feature isn't just an excuse to post my own comics by hyping people that I've worked with, (or, isn't entirely that, anyway), I present an artist that I've never worked with, never even met, and honestly know very little about: Chris Brunner.
From what I can gather, Brunner has a few mainstream comics credits you might have come across--covers for BOOM's current NOLA series, a Legends of the Dark Knight arc a few years back, a couple anthology appearances--but what what really rings my bell is his upcoming book Loose Ends, a self-described "Southern Crime Romance" written by Jason Latour (of The Expatriate fame). He's been posting sketches and samples for a while now, (up at the blog he shares with friend and frequent collaborator Rico Renzi, an equally talented colorist--together they refer to themselves as "The Kickstand Kids"), and god damn those are some beautiful pages. I mean, seriously.
Brunner's style combines the inky grittiness of the "realistic" photo reference artists that are all the rage these days with the expressiveness and energy of an honest-to-god cartoonist. So you get all the immediacy and good storytelling inherent in more cartoony styles, but also lush detailed brushwork that you can just stare at for days. Think Duncan Fegredo meets Jack Davis meets... I dunno... Cameron Stewart, maybe? My point is, he's damn good.
But don't take my word for it, check out some samples below, then do yourself a favor and head over to their blog to order a copy of newly-available the Kickstand Kids sketchbook, Sour Mash--I just ordered mine!
This week, to prove that this feature isn't just an excuse to post my own comics by hyping people that I've worked with, (or, isn't entirely that, anyway), I present an artist that I've never worked with, never even met, and honestly know very little about: Chris Brunner.
From what I can gather, Brunner has a few mainstream comics credits you might have come across--covers for BOOM's current NOLA series, a Legends of the Dark Knight arc a few years back, a couple anthology appearances--but what what really rings my bell is his upcoming book Loose Ends, a self-described "Southern Crime Romance" written by Jason Latour (of The Expatriate fame). He's been posting sketches and samples for a while now, (up at the blog he shares with friend and frequent collaborator Rico Renzi, an equally talented colorist--together they refer to themselves as "The Kickstand Kids"), and god damn those are some beautiful pages. I mean, seriously.
Brunner's style combines the inky grittiness of the "realistic" photo reference artists that are all the rage these days with the expressiveness and energy of an honest-to-god cartoonist. So you get all the immediacy and good storytelling inherent in more cartoony styles, but also lush detailed brushwork that you can just stare at for days. Think Duncan Fegredo meets Jack Davis meets... I dunno... Cameron Stewart, maybe? My point is, he's damn good.
But don't take my word for it, check out some samples below, then do yourself a favor and head over to their blog to order a copy of newly-available the Kickstand Kids sketchbook, Sour Mash--I just ordered mine!
Check back next week for another New Favorite!
Previously: Ming Doyle, Connor Willumsen
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