Pixar Animation Studios has always had a keen eye for finding truly unique and individualistic artistic talents to create visually stunning ways to drive their stories forward. In the highly stylized opening title sequence for their fourth film, Monsters Inc., the notable influence of 1950’s animation began to appear. Of the many talented artists working at the studio, four names are most commonly associated with pushing this distinctive look forward: Lou Romano, Don Shank, Nate Wragg and, last but certainly not least, Scott Morse. This mid-century style (dubbed in recent years “Cartoon Modern“) is now a signature Pixar artistic stamp.
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In last week’s installment of Sequential Sunday we took a look at the work of the great Al Williamson who passed away on June 12. As an addendum to that article I’d like to give some suggestions to those who’d like to explore the work of this comic art master via some of the books currently in print as well as those that are soon to be released.
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Independent publisher IDW is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary and their current slate of releases says much about how far they’ve come as a company in terms of scope and overall variety. The steadily churned out comics based on licensed properties such as Transformers and G.I. Joe has been (and likely still is) their bread and butter. Yet in the last few years their titles have started to also include top-notch horror and sci-fi (The Ghoul and Starstruck), classic comic strip reprints (Little Orphan Annie and Bloom County), and art books.
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It’s safe to say that lately I have had zombies on the brain. From reading over 1,500 pages of The Walking Dead in a week to the recent spectacular art show Zombies In Love there has been no shortage of the shambling dead in my thoughts. Given this it was without hesitation that I picked up the recently released first issue of the new IDW series We Will Bury You written by brother and sister writing duo Brea & Zane Austin Grant with art supplied by Kyle Strahm.
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With Halloween right around the corner and all the spooky connotations that come with it hanging in the air it seemed like a good time to scour the shelves of my favorite comic book store for some seasonally appropriate material. The store in question is Comics Factory in Pasadena, CA where, if you’re an indie reader like me, you’re in luck as their selection of independents is so wide it almost rivals all the stock of the Big Two put together.
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