Hi, folks ....
After our recent pondering on what Cam was up to, I took a bit of a stab in the dark at trying to reach him by e-mail and, much to my surprise, received a very nice e-mail back the other night. I know it's incredibly bad form to disclose the contents of a private e-mail, so I've thought long and hard about the best way to approach this.
I don't believe that I'm breaching any netiquette by relaying the following:
Cam is well, and concentrating on illustration and painting work between now and his retirement, which he seems to think will be in the not too distant future. He has no anticipation of doing any further comics work, so I was pleased to be able to relay my thanks to him for thirty years of brilliant artwork.
In light of this, and because I thought that what both Robbie Cox and Mike Molcher did for Massimo Belardinelli and Ron Smith respectively, I thought it would be nice to offer my fellow boarders the same opportunity. I don't have the option of posting or delivering your replies in person, and I don't want Cam to think I'm some kind of stalker, so I'm intending to e-mail him one last time in, say, a fortnight, at which time I'll include any messages that you want to post to this thread. For obvious reasons, if you can keep 'em to a paragraph, it'll be less likely to clog Mr Kennedy's inbox up completely.
Cheers
Jim
Cam, you are a true original. Able to cope equally well with humour and action, unparallelled draughtsmanship and characterisation - one of the best Dredd artists ever for me, you're up there with Ezquerra - above even Brian Bolland, Mike McMahon, Ron Smith, Henry Flint & Colin McNeill.
Thanks for the entertainment and inspiration thorugh the years. And nobody ever drew the Millenium Falcon better either. Enjoy your retirement sir. You've more than earned it.
I've loved Cam's work for as long as I can remember. So please extend my gratitude for all the years of pleasure his art has illicited.
I hope he has a happy forthcoming retirement, though I sure will miss his precise, clean lines from 2000ad.
Cam Kennedy's pretty much my favourite artist in comic books.Not just 2000AD with all that excellent work on "Rogue Trooper" but other stuff like "The Light and Darkness War" and my fave comic of all time "Boba Fett- Bounty on Bar-Kooda".(written by John Wagner).
I found a book of yours (When the Fat Lady Swings) last night and was jabbering like I was ten years old, utterly lost in the worlds you create with your drawings.
Have a long, restful and happy retirement. You've earned it. All the best.
Cam u're the man!
God bless u sir
Cam, many have tried, but nobody, and I mean nobody, captures the bizarre anatomy and poise of a skysurfer as you. Your depictions of the madness of MC-1, its cityscapes and crazy citizens, have helped define a world that we all love absolutely. It's heartbreaking to read that you're approaching retirement, because we're all selfish and want more!more!more! from you. Nevertheless, enjoy it knowing you've thrilled so many thousands of fans! Thank you, Cam!!
More unabsehd gushing:
Cam, for me, you were the definitive artist on classic Rogue. Those early adventures were my favourite strip as a nipper, and I still leaf through them fondly to this day. A beautiful, dynamic and just plain cool style helped fire my imagination and always will. Nothing more to say really!
Thank you
Cam Kennedy you showed us the future. Thanks and I hope the painting and illustration work gives you as much pleasure as the many Rogue Troopers, Judge Dredds, etc, etc gave us. ;D
Kenny Who? ;)
Stellar stuff for so many years. Lang may yer lum reek!
Many thanks for your beautiful work.
Like someone else here said- I am selfish as well and i want more !!
You are not allowed to retire !!
Or you can but you have made a big impression on a lot of readers of 2000ad and thats something to be very proud of.
Thanks !
Best wishes Cam, thanks for years of pleasure, your storytelling skills are second to none, Tom
Thank you Cam for many great moments in comics
Thank you for almost all of the Traitor Generals escapes and making Rogue Trooper one of the most gripping reads for a young lad.
Thank you Super surf 7 and Two Ton Tony Tubbs
Thank for the best Star Wars story outside The Empire Strikes Back.
Thank you for all the weirdness. For all the Wonderful. And for all the Cool.
Mr. Kennedy, thank you for the many years of pleasure that your art has given to myself and everyone else. I will remember you most for you unique style that you provided to MC1 and its citizens. With even a glance at your work I would be able to recognise that you were on art duties and not much else could make me happier.
I hope you enjoy your well earned retirement.
You're a star, Cam. Have a great retirement.
Cam. Your art is one of the most recognisable and original to have graced the prog. You have and will be missed.
V
Cam, your work has always been an inspiration. One of the best ever to grace 2000ad's pages. Kidnapped was also a stand out, beautiful piece of work amongst a stand out career. Say hello to Byron from an old role-playing friend from Elgin, please.
Thanks and enjoy the rest!
Thank you for all the memories. You gave us the highs and the lows of life in Mega City One, never letting us forget that the sublime could transform into the ridiculous could transform into the tragic.
Dear Cam,
Judge Dredd, The Midnight Surfer Episode 2 prog 425, I think it was Tuesday 9th July 1985 when my Mum brought it home from shopping.
I'd like to specifically thank you for that episode, because, that's the one that got me hooked, due, in no small way, to the artwork (and story telling) you had produced. I poured over those pages for weeks, probably tried to copy some favourite panels too...
So, thanks, for every line of scratchy ink, every mad-cap outfit, every spy in the sky, every snotty be-freckled perp, every power-board swoosh, thank you for making my first Judge Dredd such a good one.
Best wishes for a long retirement, punctuated with many guest spots in 2000AD!
Kev.
You've brought me so many hours of quiet enjoyment over the years that I couldn't begin to thank you for all of them Cam. But thank you. Enjoy yourself and have a long and relaxing retirement, you've earned every minute of it.
I don't do gushing (I'm British dammit!) so I'll restrict myself to:
Nice one Cam. Cheers!
Short and sweet.
Cam, you are one of the greats. I wish you all the best for the future, and a happy retirement. Respect.
Retirement already.
It doesn't seem possible, your art seems as fresh now as it did when I first saw it all those years ago. I think I need to retire now.
Enjoy your free time Cam
Best wishes for your retirement Cam.
I've had the good luck to meet you a few times at Moniaive and Hi-Ex and it was always a pleasure to chat with you and get sketches.
I've a lot of favourite artists but it says a lot that it was your Two Ton Tony Tubbs cover I choose to get painted onto the back of my motorcycle jacket.
And I still sob that the beautiful Nort AtomCraft you did for me in teh pub at Moniaive disappeared when I lost my sketch book.
You are one of the true comic artist greats and you work will be sadly missed but your retirement is well-deserved.
PS: Izzy teaches my nieces and nephews at Stromness and they are always impressed when I show them a Judge Dredd Case files or Kidnapped.
Not for the card:
Actually, I did an interview with Cam at Moniaive one year but can't find it just now - I'm sure it used to be on the old site. I'll try and dig it out and post it for the benefit of other boarders.
Clearly the greatest names in trashzines.
Better than yon Kenny chancer anyroads.
Gwad Bless ya sir.
One of the definative Dredd's and so much more besides. Enjoy your retirement and thank you for all the great comics we have to read.
All the best Cam. I still love The Midnight Surfer. Nobody draws skysurfing like you.
Tip please do as that would be awesome to see
Quote from: Tweak72 on 02 December, 2009, 04:09:08 PM
Tip please do as that would be awesome to see
Seconded.
Cheers!
Jim
Thirded and then some.
And, for the record, I totally agree with everything everyone's said since my post.
I learnt more about life and the world from "The Midnight Surfer" than I did from fifteen years of schooling. A great story and an even greater artist, who will be missed, whose retirement is deserved and then some.
All the best for the future, Cam.
You captured the epic scale of the Big Meg beautifully, but the characters were equally exquisitely drawn.
So many great moments in Dredd, Rogue and beyond.
It's begging for a redraw of the last frame of Midnight Surfer - with Cam standing in for Chopper :)
Cheers
Steve
Thanks for all the great memories while I was growing up and the recent exitement of your Kidnapped and Jekyll and Hyde graphic novels Cam, hope you have a long a very happy retirement.
Best wishes
filip
Forever grateful for the awe inspiring artwork over the decades. Your work is amongst the best that ever graced the pages of 2000AD. Your Rogue Trooper art was just stunning and it looks just as fresh today as it did when I was a kid. I then fondly remember your first episode of Dredd and discussing with friends your imposing version of Dredd towering over the cits of MC1. You then went on to spoil us with so many classics.
All the best and enjoy your retirement.
You're work is some of the best ever in the comics medium. Your 2000 AD and Star Wars stuff is quite honestly the best there is. You're Rogue Trooper and VC's stuff especially.
Enjoy your retirement knowing that you have given many hours of pleasure to us mere mortals.
Thanks and have fun.
A very quick bump -- I shall get that e-mail sent off to Cam on Sunday. If you'd missed this thread, or had been meaning to add something and hadn't got round to it, tomorrow's your last chance!
Cheers
Jim
Enjoy the retirement Cam, for me you are the classic Rogue trooper artist, Fighting mann was great too.
Cheers
David
Nice one Cam! Alongside Al Williamson, in my humble opinion, you are the finest artist to have illustrated Star Wars (espescially your outstanding Boba Fett work with John Wagner). All the best!
Enjoy the well earned retirement Cam. Your work was absolutely awe inspiring, thank you so much!
Mr. Kennedy, your unique artistic style and vision will never be matched. Your penned versions of Dredd and Batman are as great in imagination and technical excellence as those of Kirby and Neil Adams. Your inspirational work will be greatly missed.
Hope I haven't missed the boat, Jim - I found this strangely hard to write as a single paragraph:
Cam, many, many thanks for all years of pleasure your art has given me. You have the distinction of being the definitive artist for three of my favourite fictional places: Dredd's Mega-City 1, Rogue Trooper's Nu Earth and Han Solo's Galaxy Far, Far Away. Your depiction of life in MC-1 is simply the gold standard, a fabulous mix of looming futuristic architecture and working vehicles moving through an undergrowth of enigmatic pipes, shuffling masses and grungy detritus. You were the artist of three of my all-time favourite Dredd stories (Midnight Surfer, Sunday Night Fever and Two-Tonne Tony Tubbs) and it was your work on Return of the Assassin that got me to start buying 2000AD gain after many years absence. Your Nu-Earth hardware, rusting robots and rage-filled villains made Rogue Trooper's crazy world believable. Your work on Star Wars catches the look and feel of the original movie like no else's ever has, as well as telling clear, action-filled stories. Enjoy whatever it is you plan to do next, and thank you again!
How did i manage to miss this thread?!?
For what its worth Mr Kennedy, you're a 'kin legend!
Thanks for enriching my youth :)
Congratulations, Cam, you drew the definitive and best Mega-City 1. You'll be missed.
UPDATE!Those of you who missed the deadline (and you know who you were), don't fret -- your messages have also gone to Cam, from whom I have now had another lovely reply.
Sadly, Cam reports that he has eye problems that mean that there's no realistic possibility of his doing any more comics work, but I wanted to relay the following:
Quote from: Cam Kennedy... Many, many thanks for sending me all those comments and wishes from the resta the guys back at the waterhole. Made this old artist feel really chuffed.
Thanks also from me for taking the time to put your appreciation into words, folks. It meant a lot to be able to pass them on.
Cheers!
Jim
*warm glow*
Glad to hear Cam knows he's been appreciated so much by so many. Said to hear about his eye problems, but I'm sure there's plenty of other things to take up his retirement and I hope he has a great one. *sniff*
He is a lovely man and a great artist, well done CheersJim for putting this together too
Thanks Cam for years of great comic art that kept me entertained no end for such a long time.
Love your work. Sorry I won't be seeing much of it in the future.
Jon
Great shame to hear this. Cam's work on Rogue Trooper was one of the best things about 2000AD for me, reading it as a kid. Some of the best future military designs. Loved his Dredd too. Phenomenal artist.
Rob Williams
Jim I've posted this on twitter, so there may be more notes coming from people - if there is and you can send them on that would be lovely.
I've always loved Cam Kennedy's work, he is, was and remains one of the greats. I hope he enjoys his time away from the drawing board as much as I enjoyed my time lost in his art.
-pj
True shame to hear this.
Gonna make me appreciate his body of work even more now i know it's finite - always kinda thought the old 2000ad artists would just go on forever entertaining me. :)
Thanks for doing this, Jim. It's genuinely great to be able to let Cam know how much his work is appreciated.
Late to the party- again! Thanks to PJ for putting this up on Twitter (and Jim too, of course).
Nothing much to add really- except that Cam Kennedy was one of my earliest drawing influences. My Rogue Trooper was always based on his Rogue Trooper- and in my mind, whenever I felt like I was getting it wrong, it was because it didn't look like Cam Kennedy had drawn it!
Major Magnam, Gunnar's re-gening, The Midnight Surfer- all as vivid and fresh to me now as they were then. I remember his colour work on Star Wars and the Light and Darkness War simply blowing me away at the time- in fact, it still does.
I don't know what else to say, really- just a fantastic body of comic art- and I'm genuinely sorry to hear that he won't be doing any more. Here's hoping he enjoys his retirement.
Gah - even later to the party, but better late than never.
Having grown up with Cam's work on 2000AD (and anywhere else I could find it in later years: Light and Darkness War, Outcasts, digging through old issues of Commando, etc.) I feel extremely lucky to have had so much fantastic artwork run past my eyeballs over the years. Cam will always be one of my favourite artists and he's given us so many great moments that I never tire of re-reading.
I'm saddened by the news that he's pretty much done with comics, but I'd rather focus on the huge amount of joy he's brought to us through his work.
Incidentally, I recently picked up my first page of original 2000AD art (thanks, Ruf!) - one of Cam's amazing Rogue pages, one that I have extremely fond memories and that gives me a warm glow every time I look at it.
(http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/6209/roguekt.jpg)
Quote from: ming on 30 March, 2010, 03:15:06 PM
one of Cam's amazing Rogue pages
Christ on a bike -- look at the movement, the energy in that bottom panel.
Amazing, as you say.
Cheers!
Jim
My god that is good. Art gallery good. And check out the designs on the atmocraft. Urge to rush out and buy Nu-Earth Files rising...
That's a great page and well worth whatever it cost you. Mmmmmm. Beautiful, if I could get that much energy into even a sketch I'd consider myself very lucky.
From The Marauders one of my fave Rogue Trooper stories. >bliss<
Cam produced stunning work on Rogue and Dredd, and drew the Scotches better than anyone.
I think the nicest thing I can say about him is this: he's one of those Tooth artists that, in my youth, made me pore over each prog until they fell to pieces.
A genius.
I've been coming back to this panel all afternoon. Part of the brilliance of this is the apparently effortless way that movement is created:
Perspective is implied with no more than the relative scales of the figures and a line of stones! The unseen perspective lines simultaneously implying the field of fire, reinforced by the impact reactions of the Norts, with the direction of movement travelling left to right -- the same direction as the readers' eyes.
Rogue, by contrast is travelling in the opposite direction to everything else, thudding to a halt against the direction of the reader's eye.
(http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb36/jimcampbell2000/RogueLines.jpg)
Quite, quite brilliant.
Cheers!
Jim
Wow. I knew i loved but i didnt know why. Very well observed.
Quote from: Johnny Alpha on 31 March, 2010, 12:15:10 AM
I knew i loved but i didnt know why.
Nah ... you loved it because it's fluid and dynamic, and because Cam draws cool SF military hardware like no other artist. A perspective trick is just the icing on the cake!
Cheers
Jim
Lovely cake, gorgeous icing!
Speaking to Cam at Hi-Ex, :D (Jim were you expected?) he mention a great way to check anatomy was to have a quick look at your drawing in a mirror
Quote from: Proudhuff on 31 March, 2010, 11:41:17 AM
Speaking to Cam at Hi-Ex, :D (Jim were you expected?)
I had very much hoped to be there,
particularly once I found out that Cam was booked, but my finances conspired against me. Ironically,
next month looks like being a bumper pay day.
(Although, when I e-mailed him, Cam did say I could look him up the next time I was in the Orkneys ... :))
Quotehe mention a great way to check anatomy was to have a quick look at your drawing in a mirror
God -- looking at your artwork in a mirror is a revelation. It can sometimes look like a completely different page! Of course, sometimes a page you were really proud of can look like a complete mess, but better that you realize it earlier rather than later!
Cheers
Jim
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 31 March, 2010, 12:03:07 PM
Quotehe mention a great way to check anatomy was to have a quick look at your drawing in a mirror
God -- looking at your artwork in a mirror is a revelation. It can sometimes look like a completely different page! Of course, sometimes a page you were really proud of can look like a complete mess, but better that you realize it earlier rather than later!
Yes, one can really be brought down to Earth with a thud when checking a drawing in the mirror. Or flipping the image in Photoshop (or whichever program) also helps if you have gone digital.
An advantage of working on computer is the ability to zoom in and out of a work in progress. It is preferable to standing away from a piece of work on paper, squinting eyes and tilting head and looking like a right flash git.
Always loved Cam's V.C.s, great contrast to Gary Leach's clean lines. Anyone know what Mr Leach is upto these days?
Quote from: Proudhuff on 31 March, 2010, 11:41:17 AM
he mention a great way to check anatomy was to have a quick look at your drawing in a mirror
Can one of you artist-types explain this to us non-artist-types? Sounds interesting.
QuoteCan one of you artist-types explain this to us non-artist-types? Sounds interesting.
A good (and anatomically consistent) drawing should look great even when in mirror image. Sometimes a drawing will look ok the way it was drawn, but when it is 'flipped' all the errors in anatomy and botched perspectives will jump out at you. Often an artist becomes too close to a drawing, and reversing it gives him or her the opportunity to see it with a fresh pair of eyes.
It's good practice when working digitally to periodically flip an image while working on it - though I usually draw on paper, when I scan I will often flip and then transform or warp the image, then resize elements if need be.
I've been rereading Akira recently, and it makes me weep at how astonishingly beautiful the artwork is -
even more impressive is that as its manga, what is presented in the western printing is a flipped version of the artwork.
Thanks for all the nice comments on that Cam page, folks. It's a belter sure enough and as soon as I saw it I had to jump. I've been in touch with Cam lately and there will hopefully be a couple of V.C.s pages sitting alongside Rogue before very long - which will make my year. He's undeniably one of the best of the best and we're a very lucky bunch to have been exposed to his particular brand of Thrill Power.
I won this lovely signed print in the Hi-Ex raffle at the weekend - I was well chuffed for £2 worth of tickets. And he was a very nice chap too!
(http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/anaconda888/100_0927.jpg)
I'll tell you lot where Cam Kennedy is, he's in the Cellar of Dredd and he ain't ever leaving, well until I get some other artist to take his place, I just missed out on Colin.
This was taken just before I showed him the Radwagon round the back of the convention.
(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t136/commandoforces/Hell%20Trek%202010/P3280383.jpg)
That.
Is the very definition of cool.
QuoteI had very much hoped to be there, particularly once I found out that Cam was booked, but my finances conspired against me.
I initially read that as "fiances" and was undeciedly unsympathetic.
Yeah Jim. You've got a wife already, leave some ladies for us.
I mean - for the OTHER guys. Not me. Nope.
Quote from: Dandontdare on 01 April, 2010, 06:50:09 PM
I won this lovely signed print in the Hi-Ex raffle at the weekend - I was well chuffed for £2 worth of tickets. And he was a very nice chap too!
(http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/anaconda888/100_0927.jpg)
*seethes with jealous rage*
;)
Bloody hell that is cracking piece of art from the great man Dandontdare.
Quote from: Zarjazzer on 02 April, 2010, 02:48:01 PM
Quote from: Dandontdare on 01 April, 2010, 06:50:09 PM
I won this lovely signed print in the Hi-Ex raffle at the weekend - I was well chuffed for £2 worth of tickets. And he was a very nice chap too!
(http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd359/anaconda888/100_0927.jpg)
*seethes with jealous rage*
;)
Bloody hell that is cracking piece of art from the great man Dandontdare.
It too could be yours!
While trying (unsuccessfully) to identify the character, I found out that it's a limited edition of 99 signed prints and is available on t'web for £20. I found 2 sites: http://www.bookpalace.com/acatalog/Home_Cam_Kennedy_Art_1221.html (http://www.bookpalace.com/acatalog/Home_Cam_Kennedy_Art_1221.html) ; http://www.illustrationartgallery.com/acatalog/info_KenndeyCamEli.html (http://www.illustrationartgallery.com/acatalog/info_KenndeyCamEli.html)
I still got it for a 20p raffle ticket though, so nyah nyah!
Thanks Dandontdare a sore temptation but alas not yet. On one of the sites they had a star wars Boba Fett piece as well by Cam Kennedy!
My two V.C.s pages just arrived from Cam. Fantastic stuff. :D
I'll get some pics up asap!
Quote from: Zarjazzer on 02 April, 2010, 07:14:54 PM
Thanks Dandontdare a sore temptation but alas not yet. On one of the sites they had a star wars Boba Fett piece as well by Cam Kennedy!
There was a Boba Fett print signed by Cam and Jeremy Bulloch in the HiEx auction- it went for £80 or something.
My new VCs pages:
Prog 150
(http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1043/prog150.th.jpg) (http://img218.imageshack.us/i/prog150.jpg/)
Prog 158
(http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/8655/prog158.th.jpg) (http://img218.imageshack.us/i/prog158.jpg/)
How happy am I? Very! :D
I hate you. I just thought you'd like to know that.
Cheers!
Jim
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 01 May, 2010, 07:53:46 PM
I hate you. I just thought you'd like to know that.
Cheers!
Jim
They're bloody lovely.
We've got this:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/rac11/IMG00196-20100402-1354.jpg)
You were lucky it wasn't a Dredd piece Richmond ;)
(http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac132/BOON_DAWG/73d1a4f7.jpg)
Quick art question.
On that last page of Rogue Trooper art there are some areas which are inked black but then have what appear to be white scratches on them- how did Cam do that?
Quote from: Richard T Field on 09 June, 2010, 01:32:09 PM
Quick art question.
On that last page of Rogue Trooper art there are some areas which are inked black but then have what appear to be white scratches on them- how did Cam do that?
White-out applied with a fine brush, it seems to be (look at some other pages by other artists in the 'original art' thread and you'll see the same thing). Looking at original pages versus the printed versions, it's great to see the little details like this and the technical aspects that aren't apparent after reproduction.
Thanks for that Ming. Wasn't sure if that was the process or not. I'm amazed the ink doesn't bleed through somehow.
Quote from: Richard T Field on 09 June, 2010, 01:43:25 PM
Thanks for that Ming. Wasn't sure if that was the process or not. I'm amazed the ink doesn't bleed through somehow.
Generally speaking it is, but not always! I remember reading an interview many years ago (in print, no less!) with (I think) John Higgins, where he talked about using a particular kind of art board that was rigid with a finish that was almost like matte ceramic. He explained that the reason he used it was because he could do his corrections and all his white effects with a scalpel, since the board was durable enough to use a sharp blade on without destroying the surface.
Unfortunately, I can't remember what the brand of the artboard was ...
Cheers!
Jim
Ooh - now you mention it... The Ezquerra Strontium Dog page I posted in the 'original art' thread has scratched out areas (probably visible in the pic I posted). If you really want, I can check the brand of the board when I get home.
The Cam Rogue page I have and the Ezquerra page are on heavy art board, but the V.C.s work is on a much lighter stock (again, I can look for details later).
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 09 June, 2010, 01:48:58 PM
Generally speaking it is, but not always! I remember reading an interview many years ago (in print, no less!) with (I think) John Higgins, where he talked about using a particular kind of art board that was rigid with a finish that was almost like matte ceramic. He explained that the reason he used it was because he could do his corrections and all his white effects with a scalpel, since the board was durable enough to use a sharp blade on without destroying the surface.
Unfortunately, I can't remember what the brand of the artboard was ...
Cheers!
Jim
That sounds very much like what i use to draw and ink on and its called Ivory Board.Its cardboard with a very thin layer of Kaolin clay which has a smooth and semi matt finish.I
Its really very very good because its very cheap,double sided and non absorbant so no ink bleed and like you say if you make a mistake you can carefully scrape the ink of the surface of the board and go over it again.However you can only really do this a couple of times in the same area before the surface of the board starts to degrade.Also always use a fresh scalpel blade.
Quote from: ming on 09 June, 2010, 01:39:56 PM
Quote from: Richard T Field on 09 June, 2010, 01:32:09 PM
Quick art question.
On that last page of Rogue Trooper art there are some areas which are inked black but then have what appear to be white scratches on them- how did Cam do that?
White-out applied with a fine brush, it seems to be (look at some other pages by other artists in the 'original art' thread and you'll see the same thing). Looking at original pages versus the printed versions, it's great to see the little details like this and the technical aspects that aren't apparent after reproduction.
I was curious about the same thing but like you say you cannot appreciate all these little technical aspects without seeing the original art close up.
Quote from: ming on 09 June, 2010, 01:55:05 PM
Ooh - now you mention it... The Ezquerra Strontium Dog page I posted in the 'original art' thread has scratched out areas (probably visible in the pic I posted). If you really want, I can check the brand of the board when I get home.
The Cam Rogue page I have and the Ezquerra page are on heavy art board, but the V.C.s work is on a much lighter stock (again, I can look for details later).
All info gratefully received. Thanks Ming
I've been very, very lucky to pick up a few more pages from Cam... He even did not one but two Dredd sketches for me as a gift - a proper gent, and I've really enjoyed exchanging e-mails with him over the course of this year.
Anyway, the pages...
The Warlord, Prog 452
(http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/4899/prog4521sm.jpg) (http://img535.imageshack.us/i/prog4521sm.jpg/)
Magnificent Obsession, Prog 440
(http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/2862/prog44020sm.jpg) (http://img299.imageshack.us/i/prog44020sm.jpg/)
The Big Sleep, Prog 466
(http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/9232/prog46622sm.jpg) (http://img517.imageshack.us/i/prog46622sm.jpg/)
Those are magnificent. I am positively green with envy. :-(
Cheers!
Jim
He now works in my local chippy*
*he doesn't. He just loiters.
Arh man those are superb. I've always absolutely loved 'The Big Sleep' one of my favourite Dredd's. Those are blooming lovely.
Thanks, folks - just wanted to share the latest Cam goodness. As these represent some of the most memorable of Dredd stories for me, I'm really happy to have got these from Cam. The fact that they'd been left in the US and forgotten about for 20 years is the only reason no-one had bought them and hidden them away years ago. Anyway, here's one of the Dredd sketches Cam included in the package as a surprise...
(http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/4766/camdredd.jpg) (http://img39.imageshack.us/i/camdredd.jpg/)
Those are great. I was reading the Two Ton Tony Tubbs story last night coincidentally.
Cam is one of the best.
Lovely pages.
Great art yet strangely it's the banter between Tony and the robots that makes one of those pages sing for me.
Quote from: Dunk! on 03 August, 2010, 02:45:11 PMGreat art yet strangely it's the banter between Tony and the robots that makes one of those pages sing for me.
Me too. The dialogue makes me laugh, always has. Cam does a fantastic job bringing the script to life, though. The details (such as the suitcase Tony's holding) are lovely, and the angles used and views of the city add so much to this. Interestingly, the back of the page has some (mostly erased) pencils for a very different layout of the first panels.
One thing that struck me looking at some of the VC pages earlier in this thread:
Although this is by no means unique to Cam -- I think it's certainly true of most of the British and European artists that have graced the Galaxy's greatest -- a page that's thirty years old still looks like the future. By contrast, I find that US comics' attempts at SF, by and large, date quite rapidly and quite badly.
Cheers!
Jim
:D these older threads are a real delight to unearth & read. Really enjoying 2k now that 2kreview is no more. So what was Cams last Dredd?
Lovely thread, Cam is a major talent - his Rogue trooper work sparked my interest in comicstrip when I was a wee boy 7 his Dredd work on Midnight Surfer, was out of this world.
Thought you might be interested in some of my 'Cam goodies' too?
A sweet print of Boba Fett in action with Barcuda in the background, signed by Jeremy Bulloch [Boba Fett actor] and Cam of course. It glows in the dark too! :)
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1370/5149398835_422dd9dea2_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neil_ford/5149398835/)
...and a Rogue Trooper page:
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1218/5135679518_b3340e51dd_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neil_ford/5135679518/)
That Boba Fett page...
Man...
I've just bought Star Wars - Dark Empire Trilogy in hard back.
300 pages of full colour Kennedy goodness in one hit!
Cam Kennedy is a genius.
Cam is one of my favourite artists in 2000ad history -
I even loved him before I started reading it - there was this Batman annual with a Cam story about... Man-Bat I think. I used to copy panels from it when I was like, nine. So that's early influence right there. Bloody love the guy.
'Light and Darkness War' is also packed with excellent Cam Kennedy work.
Bit late to this thread but cam was who made me want to draw as a young chap. I loved his chunky filth in rogue trooper vehicles especially. my school excessive books were covered in tracings of his work ( i lack talent) but I loved his work.
even today when I doodle something dreadful on my call centre notepad (sigh) you can see cam all over it.
cheers.
Storm is the name of a strip in Tornado comic which is partly drawn by Cam Kennedy just so you know.
I had a chat with Cam during a fagbreak at last years HI-EX plus a couple of questions answered at a Q+A session at the same event.I copy panels to improve my brushwork and Cam explained this is the right way to learn whereas previously i felt like i was some kind of plaigarist because all i do at present is copy panels.
Having revisited this thread after the Cam sketchbook post, I noticed that the Big Sleep image seems to have vanished, so here's a (better quality) replacement. Flip Marlowe... Genius.
The Big Sleep, Prog 466
(http://i.imgur.com/OQNHb.jpg)
I've said it before so I might as well say it again I bloody love 'Big Sleep', one of my favoiurite Dredd's and that page is just glorious