The graphic novel that inspired me most
Havoc & Wolverine: Meltdown
Written by Walter Simonson and Louise Simonson
Havok art by Jon J. Muth
Wolverine art by Kent Williams
There are so many comic books and graphic novels that rocked my world. I remember when the graphic novel first come on the scene. The Death of Captain Marvel was the first one to come out. I noticed a difference in the art work compared to regular comic books. There seemed to be more time spent on it and different techniques used. It was awesome.
On my 16th birthday I picked up this jem from my local comic shop Mike’s Coliseum in San Jose. It was Christmas Eve, 1989. I had some birthday money in my pocket, and this was my gift to myself. This book was unliked any I had seen before. It had a team of writers and artists that gave it a varied yet cohesive visual world. It was something I had never seen before.
If you pay close attention to the design of Havok’s costume you may notice an influence on my design of Mister Chron’s costume. What?!
Havok & Mister Chron’s costume design
It felt like it was a sign from the universe when I first soaked in the contents of every page. It showed me that rules can be broken. That painterly fine art and modern graphic design can now fill panels in comic books. As I first scoured those pages I felt like I was looking into my future. Then I came across a two page spread of a naked burning Wolverine screaming my name in a huge pointy dialogue bubble “Alex!” In that moment it was like the final validation I needed to what I was feeling. I was being called forth to do my version of work like this (by Wolverine himself no less).
I had seen so many different styles of art in comic books up to that point, but this… This was different. My mind was blown. The quality of these paintings inspired me so much. Some panels were charcoal drawings! The characters were either beautiful or hideous. Most of the art of Wolverine was not very flattering, but it felt real, transparent, authentic, gritty and vulnerable. Like they had nothing to hide. It shattered preconceived notions of what to expect in this medium.
Immediate Influence
The following fall I enrolled in nothing but fine art classes. I became an oil painting major. Then later a filmmaking major. I carried this book with me everywhere as a North star guiding me. I felt determined to acquire as many skills as possible to tell nuanced visual stories of my own. In that first semester it was there that I first sketched my character design for Mister Chron.
Enough words. This should be more about looking at pretty pictures. Hold on to you hat. There’s a lot of them. Thank you for this masterpiece Walter Simonson, Louise Simonson, Jon J. Muth, and Kent Williams. Sincerely.
Ten other graphic novels that rocked my imagination world
Return of the Dark Knight - written by Frank Miller, art by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson
Daredevil: The Man Without Fear - written by Frank Miller, art by John Romita Jr.
V for Vendetta - written by Alan Moore, art by David Lloyd and Tony Weare
Top Ten - written by Alan Moore, art by Gene Ha and Zander Cannon
Promethea - written by Alan Moore, art by J. H. Williams III and Mick Gray
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - written by Alan Moore, art by Kevin O'Neill
Marvels - written by Kurt Busiek, art by Alex Ross
Red Rocket 7 - written by Mike Allred, art by Mike Allred
Incredible Hulk Vs. Superman - Written by Roger Stern, art by Steve Rude and Al Milgrom
I’m sure I’ll be kicking myself later for omitting other books from the above list. I have over 8,000 comic books and graphic novels in my collection, and it’s pretty hard to choose. I am leaving regular comic book runs out of this and just focusing on graphic novels. Each of these books shattered what I previously thought was possible in storytelling, and woke me up in a big way. They sparked ideas in me that I’m still forming in my work.
While my art work is different from the work above, see if you can spot hints of it’s influence on my work in Remember Tomorrow. Do you have a favorite graphic novel? What is it? Let me know what it is in the comments below.
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