Christopher Irving recently published a great piece on his blog Graphic NYC entitled Walter Simonson and How He Became the Man Who Fell Into Comics. It reminds me of how much I appreciated Walter's work in the 70's and 80's, especially his re-envisioning of the Marvel comic Thor. Read the piece to find out more about how he has been able to carve out a meaningful, and memorable, career in the comics field.I also have to tip my hat to Mr. Simonson for a seemingly unrelated reason. Like many aspiring artists, I starting thinking about how I signed my name and was not satisfied with the cursive script prescribed in school. While there are many artists with distinctive signature styles, I found two that really resonated with me.
The first was Frank Cirocco a San Francisco area artist who was doing a comic called Alien Legion at the time. His distinctive mark, with an "f" and "c" in a box, was simple and elegant. And I created a similar version with my own "J" and "C" within a stylized triangle and used it on my own art for many years.
Mr. Simonson has a very distinctive way of signing his work, where the letters build up to the middle of his last name, highlighting the large "O" as a focal point, and then tailing off to a squiggly ending. I can remember spending hours trying to mimic the style to come up with my own signature. But the effort was worthwhile. I ended up with something I love, and use to this day.
So, because I owe it to him for helping me create a little of my own artistic flair, and because I truly love his art, here's a small showcase of his work for you to enjoy.
A small GALLERY of Walter Simonson Art pulled from the Internet
All art and copyrights are the property of their respective owners
Next Up: Frank Frazetta
Cheers! - Jason
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