Secret Still

If there is one thing that I have never stopped loving in art and illustration, it’s the cutaway. If you have drawn a cutaway, I will be in love with you forever, even if everything else you’ve ever made is crap, even if your cutaway is crap…mostly because I don’t believe it’s possible to make a shitty cutaway. Each one is a magical little window into the overall operations/layout of something. It’s like an architectural schematic with the added character of something that’s already built and in use. I can’t completely explain to you why they’re just so amazing to me, but they are. And Domitille Collardey has more than one in his repertoire. Thankfully everything else he makes is also incredible, so I don’t have to make the tough choice of whether or not to love his work just because he made a cutaway. The answer is always the same, but that never makes the choice any easier.

Domitille Collardey

I’ve mentioned the work of Ryan A. before. And then, as now, I mentioned just one of his comics specifically. This is not to imply that those two comics are the only parts of his works worth paying attention to, far from it. It’s just that those two comics were particularly poignant and significant at the time that I read them. The newest comic, Our Blood Stained Roof, is a great piece of comic arts, perfect pacing, interesting story, simple but well-developed characters, and plenty that I can relate to. The story itself is great, but the way Ryan renders the images is the perfect visual counterpart. I am now a lifelong fan of this dude’s comics.

Ryan A.: Our Blood Stained Roof

While I look for the perfect duck recipe, and you consider what kind of porn you’re in the mood for this evening (why else would you be on the internet), why not take a look at the Hergé-tastic comics, illustrations and doodlings of Zombiehopp. With a +5 pencil of nerdiness, this work will make you smile and possibly forget what you just saw some naked chick do with her feet. Oh, internet, you are shameless.

Zombiehipp via The Fox is Black

I found a Charlie Brown Halloween coloring book on the street once. I took it home, flipped through it, colored in a picture or two, and then proceeded to caption most of the pages with the most horrifying things I could think of. My mother would disown me if she ever saw it. I feel like Tom Neely and I would get along well for that reason, except that he’s got talent and I scribbled in a child’s coloring book. If I wanted it to be art, I would have to put it back on the shelves of some store for a kid to buy. I’m sure that’s a statement on something.

Tom Neely

If you haven’t remembered to check out the work of the always fantastic Luke Pearson lately, consider this your reminder. You’re probably overdue for your annual marvel at how awesome his work is. You should probably double your dosage, just to play it safe.

Luke Pearson

I feel like, given enough cough syrup and enough time, these are the kinds of drawings I would produce. Let’s hope I have some paints around at the time, otherwise I’m going to revolutionize “mucus painting.” That idea actually just made me gag a little. Well, you can’t have art without suffering.

Emilio Santoyo

Ok, aspiring comic artists out there, and some established artists, too, take note of the work of Nick Edwards; this is what you should be working toward. Edwards is creating new creatures, new worlds complete with their own ecosystems and biodiversity. And every world is cleverly constructed, beautifully rendered, and primed for your imagination to run wild across its surfaces. If looking at his work doesn’t give you at least a little inspiration, then you might want to call an ambulance, because you’re probably dead. And frankly, as my sworn enemy, I’d prefer if you’d keep your damn zombie eyeballs of my web content, ya filthy brainsucker.

Nick Edwards

It’s difficult to try and say something about a comic that uses no words. After reading it through my mind feels silent, and trying to drag words out of it seems kind of sacrilegious. It feels like disturbing a temple. But something has to be said or I couldn’t tell you to go read the comic. Go read the comic. It’s beautifully drawn in black and white with those great watercolor textures that are rough and smooth at the same time, the pacing is fantastic, the composition of each frame is perfect. It’s floating somewhere between Calvin and Hobbes and a Miyazaki film. And if you understand how much of a compliment that is, stop reading this and start reading “Nothing is Forgotten.”

Nothing is Forgotten via Drawn!

Following my tradition of liking comics more the fewer words they use, Jon McNaught (previously mentioned) slips right into that part of my brain like a good puzzle piece. His work is quiet, well-paced, and subtly cinematic, the way a great comic should be. His style has this great simplified Chris Ware vibe that almost looks like a linocut. Just fucking fantastic, man. How could anyone possibly not love that? He just keeps getting better and better.

Jon McNaught

Nerd alert! If you know me, or pay any attention to the things I say, which I assume you don’t, then you’ll know that I’m a nerd. I like science, I make math jokes, I regularly get excited about computers, and I read comic books. That last one is the focus of my current nerd-boner, because I found Comic Book Cartography this morning. If you’re thinking that it’s a website devoted to high-res scans of all the maps and cutaways that have populated comic books throughout their history, you’re right; if you were thinking it was anything else, you’re wrong and stupid. Now, there are three specific things about my brand of nerdiness that you should know: 1) I love maps, I think they’re fucking magical; 2) I love comic books, this was already covered but deserves reiteration; 3) I love cutaways, it might seem weird to you that I love something that specific, but I do and always have. THIS SITE COMBINES ALL THREE! Understand that shit, internet. How could I not having raging nerd-wood over a website that is custom tailored to my personal pantheon? It’s making me salivate. OK, Nerdasaurus Rex out.

Comic Book Cartography