admin
22 December 2023
Before we get to the meat of this issue’s article, I’d like to offer a little insight on what goes into Panels. Sometimes coming up with a good topic or finding relevant subject matter is a real challenge. Yeah, there’s always some news coming out of the comic community, and there are always new books being released. But often they’re all a case of comic inbreeding-- basically comic books created so that people who are already buying comics will start buying more. For example, some people buy Batman comics, and some people buy Superman comics. If DC were to put out a book that starred both Batman and Superman together, some people from both camps are likely to buy this new book. Are those that don’t buy comics going to be interested in this? Most likely not.
So, at times when the news and new material coming out of the industry are charged with this type of inbreeding, I’m inclined to walk over to my bookshelf and try to glean inspiration from some of my older, favorite comics. The other day I pulled out a book I hadn’t looked at in quite a while, yet it still brought a smile to my face. I had found something perfect for the tastes like chicken reader.
Being a humor/arts/entertainment magazine, I have to assume that many of you out there are interested in visually stimulating things. And I can’t think of a more visually stimulating artist than Geof Darrow. Mr. Darrow began his career as an animator working for Hanna-Barbera. In 1982, while working on the film Tron, he met the revolutionary French comic artist Moebius, and subsequently published many comics for European publishers. In 1990, he met and worked with Frank Miller (Sin City) on a three-issue series for Dark Horse comics called Hard Boiled. From there, he and Miller created a two-issue mini-series in 1995 called Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot. This story was actually adapted in the form of a short-lived animated series in 1999. He’s done only a handful of other comic projects between then and 2004, but was a major player in the look and designs of the Matrix movies. Currently, Darrow writes and draws a book called Shaolin Cowboy through the Wachowski-owned Burlyman Entertainment.
The biggest draw to Darrow’s work is his insane (and I mean nearly psychotic) attention to detail. Think Where’s Waldo? (unfortunately, Darrow hates the Waldo reference) meets M.C. Escher. When I first saw his work I had assumed he had previously been a technical illustrator, not an animator. Hopefully, these sample illustrations will titillate you into seeking his work out for yourself. You can purchase both Hard Boiled and Big Guy and Rusty at your local comic shop (or possibly check them out from your local library). Shaolin Cowboy is on sale now at comic shops everywhere, and is also available through burlymanentertainment.com. It’s currently on issue #5, so if you’re not into catching up, I’d have to assume that a collected trade is soon on the horizon. But don’t quote me on that.
artid
3682
Old Image
8_10_panels.jpg
issue
vol 8 - issue 11 (jul 2006)
section
entertainmental