Artist Spotlight: Darwyn Cooke

Darwyn Cooke is responsible for one of my all time favorite comic stories,  DC: The New Frontier. His Animation art style explodes off every page he draws. After a failed go at comic books in his early career, Cooke went to Canada to work as a magazine art director before responding to an ad posted by Bruce Timm at Warner Bros. Animation. At WB, he worked as a storyboard artist on Batman: the Animated Series and Superman: the Animated Series before animating the title sequence for Batman Beyond. Soon after, Cooke returned to comics first with Batman: Ego for DC then doing a bit of freelance for Marvel. He worked as regular artist on Catwoman, giving her her modern costume, before becoming the regular artist on Will Eisner's The Spirit. His DC: The New Frontier was one of the first to be adapted as an animated movie in Warner Animations series of direct to DVD films. Renamed Justice League: The New Frontier, Cooke co-wrote the film and worked as art director. He is currently working on Before Watchmen: Minutemen for DC and  Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter for IDW.

Artist Spotlight: Brian Froud

Todays spotlight is on Brian Froud the creative genious behind the look of Jim Henson's Labrynth and The Dark Crystal. He is also famous for his books Faeries and Goblins.

Artist Spotlight: Alan Lee

Alan Lee is one of the greatest illustrators of the last century (I know I know, I say that alot) and whether you know it or not, you have seen his work. Lee is best known for illustrating fantasy books, most notably the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, such as The Hobbit,  the centenary edition of  The Lord of the Rings,  and The Children of Húrin.  Others he illustrated include Lavondyss by Robert Holdstock, The Mabinogion, The Mirrorstone by Michael Palin, Castles,  Tolkien's Ring, Merlin Dreams by Peter Dickinson and with Brian Froud he illustrated Faeries. You may know his work in film a little better. Together with John Howe, he worked as the lead concept artist for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films creating the look and feel of the overall movies. His work on Return of the King landed him an Oscar. He also worked as a conceptual designer on the films Erik the Viking, Legend, King Kong, and the TV mini-series Merlin. Here's a taste of his amazing talent. Enjoy!

Happy New Year from Norman Rockwell