Hi all,
I'm after a book (or failing that a blog) that charts the progress of comic art through the years.
Can anyone recommend anything?
Personally I'm a fan of the European-style comic art, especially the work of Arthur Ranson, and also the painted work of Kevin walker and Sean Phillips. I'm not so enamored by the contemporary US-influenced digital comic art, but I'd like to get an understanding of how styles developed to the point they're at today.
Any help would be appreciated!
Blacky
Hunt down books by Dennis Gifford on eBay or somewhere like that. He wrote several on the history of British comics and will be a good place to start.
Thanks! Looks like he's got a couple of interesting books that can be picked up second hand on Amazon etc.
You could do worse than find David Roach on social media (he often posts comic artwork from eras gone by on his facebook). Apparently he is also associate editor a USA magazine Comic Book Artist. I had a chat with him at a convention, and I believe he's working on a comic history book, though could be mistaken.
Best known in these parts as artist on Judge Anderson and Nemesis the Warlock.
wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Roach_(comics))
I have the Gifford ones but also like 'Great British Comics' by Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury and 1000 Comic Books you Must Read by Tony Isabella too.
If that helps.
Bryan Talbot did a History of British Comics in just 3 beautiful pages:
page 1 - http://www.bryan-talbot.com/images/art/history/page1.png (http://www.bryan-talbot.com/images/art/history/page1.png)
pages 2-3 - http://www.bryan-talbot.com/images/art/history/page2and3.png (http://www.bryan-talbot.com/images/art/history/page2and3.png)
There's an American book called something like "A Comic Book History of Comics". It's very US-centric but it does have a (somewhat inaccurate) 'chapter' (2-3 pages) on 2000AD etc. It was good to see their drawings of Judge Dredd but from memory it said things like 2000AD started in 1986 etc.
Paul Gravtte's Comics Unmasked exhibition catalogue from the British Mueum show in 2014 is well written with great art samples across the decades. The hardback is a really beautiful book.