There are very few new comics on shelves today as many shops, distributors, and publishers remain closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. While the absence of new issues may be disappointing, it doesn’t leave comics fans without recourse. Artists from across the energy have continued to work on future projects and many have begun posting sketches and commissions from home.
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While quarantine measures remain in effect, ComicBook.Com will be assembling a weekly round up of favorite new pieces posted to social media by comics artist. Each shared sketch will also include a recommendation and links for readers to further explore each artist’s work. We hope this will help fans discover new artists and find some books to order from their local comic book store.
So without any further ado, here are some of our favorite sketches from the past week along with information and links on where to find more work (available today!) from these incredible comic book artists.
Morgan Beem
Morgan Beem’s range as an illustrator can be best appreciated from a convention floor flipping through an array of comics, sketch cards, and other work. Some of it has the wondrous, dreamlike quality of this sketch, while others manage to capture the banal reality of a moment like the final shot of The Graduate. What unites the work is that it’s all excellent.
Joe Bennett
It is almost certainly too soon to be questioning what Joe Bennet should do after The Immortal Hulk, but the character and career redefining run should create plenty of opportunities for this detailed superhero-loving storyteller. This commission of Guy Gardner and Ice, calling back to classic Giffen-DeMatteis stories makes you wonder what Bennet might do with the Super Buddies.
Ming Doyle
We have a (very positive) review of Ming Doyle’s recent work in The Banks publishing later today and this drawing of Rogue illustrates why our critic is so effusive in praising the artist. This portrait manages to capture the power bound up in the character and offer a subtle sense of humanity, all in a very calm moment.
Francesco Francavilla
Francavilla brings an unmistakable sense of style to every piece, but this brief sketch inspired by images in the news reminds readers that his sense of composition is just as powerful as his style. It pays careful attention to body language, size, and shape to quickly render a verdict on the scene without offering a single word.
Dan Hipp
Dan Hipp’s design work is instantly recognizable and defined one of the most charming superhero cartoons ever produced. That’s why it’s fascinating to see him channel the distinct tone of another artist like in this commission of characters from Pan’s Labyrinth. Watching Hipp fuse his work with such an eerie mood is a joy.
Sam Kieth
Seeing Sam Kieth drawings of the most popular superheroes (and antiheroes) of the 90s is almost enough to make someone nostalgic for the era. He captures the exaggerated forms and ludicrous forms of violence in an always entertaining manner, as showcased in this piece drawn and auctioned to benefit comic book stores.
Jason Latour
Jason Latour has an incredible skill to distill personalities in the sparest number of lines. His depiction of the entire Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crew fills the space with motion, emotion, and an easily recognized set of six characters. It’s deft storytelling in a single “panel” and yet another reminder that at least we have a good number of Southern Bastards issues to re-read before the next one eventually arrives.
John Paul Leon
The movement created by Daredevil’s billy club in this piece is stunning—a reminder as to why any issue drawn by Leon can be considered required reading. The recently collected Batman: Creature of the Night is one of the best comics published by DC in recent memory and a perfect introduction to Leon’s work for the unfamiliar.
Eric Orchard
Eric Orchard is the sort of illustrator who makes it not only easy, but natural to lose yourself in his work. Check out Maddy Kettle if you don’t believe me. It’s a treat to see him draw outside of his more familiar genres and deliver an almost too cute version of Venom. Marvel Comics wouldn’t be misguided in commissioning a few Orchard variants for future issues.
Nate Powell
Powell is another cartoonist who doesn’t often cross paths with superhero stories, so it’s all the more stunning to see him tackle to fan-favorite X-Men from one of their most memorable eras. While many readers likely associate these lively lines with March, Powell has one of the most consistently high quality collections of work in the entire industry with comics like Two Dead and Any Empire.
Chris Samnee
I adore the simplicity of this Rocketeer design. It is impactful and imprints an instant memory of an elegantly reduced figure. This is the sort of thing you could imagine adorning backpacks and hoodies in a world where the Rocketeer held more than a cult fandom, but at least we can always return to Samnee’s existing work with the character in comics.
Dave Stokes
A sketch like this makes you want to read comics because of how it manages to capture a story in a static image. The use of Nightcrawler’s power, skills, and personality to deliver this triumphant moment of action is a delight. It’s a talent exhibited throughout Stoke’s work on many other popular characters, showing off a skilled artist.
Michael Walsh
It’s worth stalking Walsh’s Instagram to see how this #SixFanArts unfolded. The attention to detail placed into each character and their logo is something to behold, and a reminder as to why Walsh can so deftly pivot between tones and story modes in his comics work. It’s this artistic talent that made his run on Secret Avengers one of the best superhero team comics of the last decade.
Lee Weeks
Lee Weeks’ work has garnered a lot more attention recently with some high profile work at DC Comics, and it could not be more merited. Weeks manages to play every moment in his work at just the right level, never shouting when a statement will do plenty like in this sketch of a coldly terrifying Frank Castle.
Kelly Williams
Kelly Williams delivered my absolute favorite collection of Inktober sketches last fall, serving up a series of 31 Halloween themed Pokemon. Those were generally more fun than spooky, but Williams can absolutely bring the terror as evidenced in this stunning commission inspired by Sienkiewicz’s work in The New Mutants.
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