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.
Art Adams
The jungle around Sheena comes to life in Adam’s linework. He possesses an astonishing ability to develop buoyancy and shape with neatly feathered details. It’s a joy to see in a setting like this too, as both the flora and fauna appear every bit as active as the heroine they surround.
Kelly Brack
Christopher Reeves holds a special place in my heart, and this portrait of the late actor’s portrayal of Superman captures his performance beautifully. Even with minimal details developing a bust and face, it manages to suggest posture and bearing. As a fan, it’s easy to see Reeves and much of what he brought to the screen here.
Ted Brandt
While Brandt typically focuses on layouts and inks in his ongoing collaborations with Ro Stein, he showed off his skills as a draftsman in this brooding portrait of Morpheus from The Sandman. The cross hatching and hair both call back to some of the earliest issues that introduced the character and his gothic style.
Andrew Buck
Portrayals of The Maxx are all about the impact and power an artist can bring to the page, and that’s exactly why this one works so well. The straining muscles, sound effects, and fists ready to emerge from the page contrast perfectly against the cool attitude of the young woman perched on his shoulders.
Elsa Charretier
This single image of Harley Quinn is transformed into a complete portrait of the character with Charretier’s excellent eye and framing of three distinct attitudes and eras. It’s a reminder of how much can be developed in a single panel, especially with the right style and sense of storytelling.
Olivier Coipel
You wouldn’t know it from the intimidating portrait of a tiger, but this page was inspired by a house cat lounging in the same position, but without an animal carcass, as revealed on Instagram. That perfect feline posture and attitude shine through Coipel’s watercolors brilliantly.
Jim Lee
Jim Lee has produced some truly outstanding work over the past couple of months raising funds to support comic book stores, but this Brainiac is the crown jewel of the collection. This is a piece worth spending some time examining (and looking at progress pictures) as Lee merges his vision of Brainiac with an impressive reflection of the DC universe. Outstanding work.
Vic Malhotra
With some characters less is more, and John Constantine is just such a character as Malhotra demonstrates here. The sullen pose and reserved expression are true to his personality, but the drifting smoke and long shadow suggest plenty and leave the tune of John Carpenter’s Halloween theme drifting in the air.
Mike Mignola
Mike Mignola drawing Pokemon is the exceedingly rare example of a good surprise in 2020. While his foray into drawing a different sort of monster produced a lot of delightful sketches, it’s the combination of Psyduck’s terror, Charmander’s fiery word balloon, and Jigglypuff’s dead-eyed stare that make this one stand out.
Michael Avon Oeming
One great thing about following superhero artists is you get to witness so many team ups that may never occur in comics, like this pairing of Hercules and Elektra that’s all about impact. The two characters and their very different approaches to action are summarized wonderfully, even without a comic to surround them.
Ben Oliver
Any depiction of the grizzled Bruce Wayne introduced in The Dark Knight Returns has to carry significant weight, and Oliver’s figure does so both in his posture and linework that looks like it also battled a mutant in a mud pit. This is work capable of suggesting a story around it, and that’s what makes it look so damn good.
Emma Ríos
There’s an ethereal quality to Ríos’ work that blends wonderfully with stories like Pretty Deadly. It’s easy to recognize in a drawing like this, one that contains figures whose forms are simultaneously clear while still leaving plenty for the reader to interpret. Even in a sketch, Ríos’ art is enthralling.
Otto Schmidt
It was a genuine shame to see Otto Schmidt’s second rendition of a bow-slinging superhero pushed to a digital exclusive, because he captures the vitality of Clint Barton wonderfully in Hawkeye: Freefall. This sketch captures so much of what I’m enjoying in the series, especially the odd couple dynamics Clint shares with… almost all of his romantic partners.
Jillian Tamaki
Tamaki’s ability to capture the joy and unweighted steps of childhood fits well within a body of work that often illustrates the feeling of certain periods in life as well as the stories that accompany them. A brief drawing between two characters is all the artist needs to elicit a smile.
Philip Tan
The best Daredevil comics transform the character’s action sequences into the superhero comics version of basketball—poetry in motion. That’s what Tan is displaying here as it’s possible to see Daredevil’s movement in long graceful arcs without looking before or after this single image.
Skottie Young
Much of Skottie Young’s work succeeds because of its sense of humor, often trading in shades of irony, raunchiness, and satire. That’s why I appreciate seeing the sincerity present in that same style when applied to a self-portrait of an early summer day with his sons. Sometimes comics art is simply good.
