AD4004 Essay by Jak Gerrish
Introduction
In this essay I will explore and discuss the direct,
speculated, and what I consider to be some wider influences of 2 artists. I’ll
be looking into the British comic artist, Charlie Adlard, born 1966 in
Shrewsbury; famous for his comic art in the renowned series of comic books and
graphic novels of ‘The Walking Dead’, ‘The X-Files’ and ‘Astronauts in
Trouble’. I’ll also be researching and discussing Australian illustrator Ashley Wood, famous
for his self-written and illustrated graphic novels and series of ‘World War
Robots’, ‘Robots vs Zombies’ and ‘Popbot’, however, personally I discovered him
through the video game series ‘Metal Gear Solid’ where he illustrated the
commercial artwork for the whole series. I chose these artists because I value
their work in many ways, and I’d consider them as my artistic influences.
Charlie Adlard’s bold use of strong blacks in his colourless work really
defines and separates him from other comic artists, while supporting a rather
classic comic book style such as that of 1970s DC and Marvel. Ashley Wood’s
expression in his work is very unique, so much feeling and soul brushed on
creating so many different ways to perceive certain scenarios. His style can be
valued as fine art, but he illustrates with it also and I find this very
inspiring. Both artists are current, so potentially their primes still haven’t
hit them; however they already have rich histories of influences and
inspirations which I will investigate here.
Ashley Wood
Ashley Wood, born 1971, is an Australian comic book
illustrator who spent many years in the UK area of comics and illustration. He
typically writes his own stories and scripts and illustrates them himself
unlike most illustrators. His creative writing and artwork alike ooze with
character, expression and insight. He is considered to use elements of
Expressionism, a Fine Art focused medium contrary to his comic arts profession.
Unlike typical comic artists who pencil, ink then colour, generally the later
processes done on computer if not the entire thing, Wood fully paints large
canvases for his comics. He’s an illustrator, but his process is Fine Art; that
alone is a very inspiring trait.
Ashley Wood says he used to be a fine artist and was told by
advisors and others that he couldn’t do comics because “you’re a fine artist”
at 20 years old. If anything, this would be a form of direct influence against
the path he has taken, but his drive was so strong he didn’t believe in the
majority, and now he’s better known for his illustration/comic art work. [1]
British comics like 2000AD and Judge Dredd (Charlie Adlard’s
first professional comic job was the Judge Dredd Magazine [2]) inspired his
passion for comics but the style and substance didn’t influence him [1], which
can be clearly demonstrated by merely looking at Wood’s work in comparison to
typical mainstream comics like Marvel, DC and 2000AD. Wood has maintained his
Fine Art background with his truly exciting expressive painting, drawings,
designs and compositions. Wood also stated that he didn’t really have much
encouragement from others such as friends and family, unlike Charlie Adlard.
[1] [2]
 |
| Ashley Wood's WWR commercial art [10] |
When Wood matured and grew he noticed more artists for
different reasons, one in particular was Robert Crumb. Wood calls him a
“genius” with the thought and structure behind panels and composition. Wood
says Crumb definitely inspired and influenced him when he began to appreciate
more forms of comics and art [1].
I can appreciate what Wood means – the viewpoints and composition of many of Crumb’s pieces are often well placed to convey his narrative while also not generally being entirely conventional [3]. He really breaks the guidelines on illustrative composition and I can certainly see how it’s affected Wood’s work. Wood's compositions tend to be rather simple while using interesting angles, direction and motion that truly bring his story to life conveying it exactly how he wants it.
“I studied Graphic Design
then went onto produce photocopied fanzines, then used those to get a magazine
deal.” [7] Wood’s involvement in magazines lead him to meet an Australian comic
artist, “Gary Challoner. We collaborated on stories together, one of which
appeared in Dark Horse DownUnder. In the meantime I got a job working for the
Judge Dredd Magazine in England and then some Marvel editors saw the Dark Horse
work and offered me the first Generation X Annual. While I was waiting for the
script I was offered Ghostrider 2099 which I did from 15 to 25.”[7]
For drawing reference, Wood photographs anything and
everything. He claims to have thousands of photographs of his wife purely for
referencing [1]. This may help explain his incredible expressionism in his
work; using references of life drawing on his work allows for his expression to
focus solely on the style and aesthetics of said life drawings, while
maintaining a noticeable sense of detail which helps make his work relatable
and somewhat believable.
 |
| Ashley Wood [10] |
Wood mentions that he looks up to Jeff Jones, but similarly
he ‘idolises’ Frank Frazetta [1]. He didn’t say specifically that Frazetta
influences him but analysing their works there are some traits that look as
though Frazetta’s style has rubbed off somewhat onto Wood’s; for example, the
similar use of colour, fantastical expression, interesting detail and a
familiar traditional process. Also, as juvenile as it may sound, they also
frequently draw attractive women in sexual ways, from nude drawings to an
‘up-skirt’ shot of an attractive woman bending over. Wood actually touches on
that topic in his Comic Convention interview video where he discusses that;
evidently, some find it gross and offensive, but he likes drawing what he draws
while actively enjoying the fight against the tide. He says he finds it weird
that people will talk about “fucking girl/boyfriends” say, in the media, but
get all “creeped out” when they actually see it, or see “say, a nipple” [1].
 |
| Ashley Wood [10] |
 |
| Frank Frazetta piece [12] |
From what I’ve learnt, I’d say he has quite a controversial nature which I
personally really admire and can relate to. I quote Wood, “I want to overthrow
the government, but I don’t want to become it” [1], a statement I agree with
and completely understand.
Charlie Adlard
Charles ‘Charlie’ Adlard (born 1966) is a British comic
artist and penciller best known for his work on the long and currently running
graphic novel series ‘The Walking Dead’. [8] He had a middle-class childhood,
attended a public school and was an only child. [6] Grew up and “did the
usual school stuff, usual O and A levels blah, blah [8]” all in Shrewsbury,
England. He went on to study film and video at Maidstone Art College for 3
years and left with a BA to go to London and play drums in a rock band. 8
months after leaving for London, and the band aspiration not working out,
Adlard returned to Shrewsbury wondering what to do next. From then on he
started, or should it be said ‘continued’ to create comic art. He then spent
the subsequent 2 years trying to break into that industry and eventually
succeeded. [8]
 |
| Charlie Adlard's 'The Walking Dead' Artwork [4] |
Charlie Adlard said that when he was young, the first
artist he remembers noticing and looking at the credits to see what his name
was, was Michael Golden.
“He was the first guy I sort of latched onto and it was interesting, because it was when he was doing Micronauts, and it was when it was being reprinted by Marvel UK. So, of course, it was being reprinted in black and white.” [4] This quote seems to prove Golden’s influence upon Adlard. Not only was this artist his of course favourite comic artist, but he was the first that really grabbed Adlard’s eye, and from such a young, impressionable age. It may be that Adlard would have tried to emulate or reproduce work like Golden’s at this young age, and it could be understood that this influence is the foundation of Adlard’s entire style and direction. He mentions in particular the strong uses of black in Golden’s work, whether it’s colourful or greyscale, which is a very apparent coherence, even to Adlard. Adlard’s love for Michael Golden’s work is proven even more credible because he mentions it again in another interview when asked about his influences. “The first artist I remember focusing on and actually thinking “I must buy more stuff by this specific person” was Michael Golden.”[5]
“He was the first guy I sort of latched onto and it was interesting, because it was when he was doing Micronauts, and it was when it was being reprinted by Marvel UK. So, of course, it was being reprinted in black and white.” [4] This quote seems to prove Golden’s influence upon Adlard. Not only was this artist his of course favourite comic artist, but he was the first that really grabbed Adlard’s eye, and from such a young, impressionable age. It may be that Adlard would have tried to emulate or reproduce work like Golden’s at this young age, and it could be understood that this influence is the foundation of Adlard’s entire style and direction. He mentions in particular the strong uses of black in Golden’s work, whether it’s colourful or greyscale, which is a very apparent coherence, even to Adlard. Adlard’s love for Michael Golden’s work is proven even more credible because he mentions it again in another interview when asked about his influences. “The first artist I remember focusing on and actually thinking “I must buy more stuff by this specific person” was Michael Golden.”[5]
 |
| Michael Golden piece [13] |
“ I remember he did The Micronauts - I think it was in the back of Star Wars Weekly. Golden was one of the first people I remember using a lot of black. His stuff looked glorious in black and white without colour, and black has obviously played a major role in my artwork as well.”[5]
“Golden was the first person I latched onto as a youth, and I still love him, and every time he appears it’s a joy to behold. He did that Wildstorm thing, The Tales of Tessla Strong – it was a one-off with loads of really good artists. And there was about four or five Golden pages and they were just absolutely blinding, just phenomenal. The drawing was just amazing, and I thought “Why doesn’t this guy do more stuff”? I mean his covers are really nice, but this guy should be at the top rather than doing fill-in issues. I think he did Batgirl or Batman, and he was inked by someone! And I just thought “…Awww”! But this is still Michael Golden, and he’s still fantastic!”[5]
Adlard goes onto to talk about how
Golden wasn’t just a great influence, but he was also inspired by him to
look out for artists specifically.
“He's
one of the rare artists, a guy who's getting to the twilight of his career,
he's better now than he was ten years ago, twenty years ago. He's constantly
improved. Where so many artists of that era have hit a plateau or got worse,
he's got better.” [4]
Adlard
stated, after being asked about encouragement and discouragement towards his
career aspirations and path; “To be honest, any creative industry,
people will advise you not to do it, whether it’s comic books, acting,
painting, whatever. I don’t think it’s just specific to comics. But I was
lucky; my parents always supported me in whatever I wanted to do.” [2] I think
this factor in his youth is a massive influence; the child’s impression on the
parents matter a lot (generally) so equally, with discouragement instead,
Adlard may have gone on to do something completely different. He says he’s very
grateful for his parents’ encouragement.[6] “One of my earliest memories is of
my dad coming back from work one day in 1972… the first issue of The Mighty
World of Marvel came out, the UK version – and he had it.”[6] His Dad would even read
Marvel comic books to him when he was a child.
 |
| Charlie Adlard 'The Walking Dead' artwork [14] |
“So from the age of six I got into the superhero genre from that. And my dad
enjoyed reading them to me, even at that young age, because my dad actually
kind of enjoyed the florid Stan Lee language that they employed. My dad enjoyed
reading what the Silver Surfer said and things like that!”[6]
It would seem that his Father in particular was a huge influence on Adlard’s livelihood now due to his Dad introducing Adlard to comics at such a young age.
“Two of my friends are my favourite artists, Sean Phillips and Duncan Fegredo. I love Tommy Lee Edwards' artwork. I think he's one of the best American artists, probably the best one working out there at the moment.”[4]
 |
| Sean Phillips '28 DAYS LATER' [15] |
Sean
Phillips is a British Comic Artist with a very similar style to Adlard’s, or at
least he has used the style of heavy, strong blacks before.[9] When you mature
and distance from parents, your inspiration and influence comes more from
people in the areas of industry you aspire to be in or are in already. Even
more so when the said people are your friends, so I think Sean Phillips is
definitely a large influence on Adlard’s work, and perhaps even Vice Versa.
“Kirby was someone who I came to a bit later – working in the superhero
genre, which I do, you’ve got to site Kirby as an influence, and you can’t
dismiss him no matter what. Kirby is an influence on me – he’s got to be
because the man virtually single-handedly created the look of superhero comics
today. So, indirectly, he’s a big influence – he’s a big influence on all of
us.
Will Eisner, god rest his soul, was another guy that I sort of latched on to quite early as well, again for his use of blacks.”[5]
Will Eisner, god rest his soul, was another guy that I sort of latched on to quite early as well, again for his use of blacks.”[5]
 |
| A Jack Kirby Silver Surfer comic panel [11] |
“My first job was the Judge
Dredd magazine. I can’t remember the date, I think it was…92, 93.”[2]
Adlard has returned to the Judge
Dredd series apparently about 3 times (in 2005) [6] so he’s been a part of many
genres of comics, but he has a strong, classic action comic background and
influence. Adlard mentioned that Jack Kirby [5] was an obvious influence on
anyone in the superhero genre because he ostensibly defined the general look of
superheroes we know and love today. You need not look any further than Kirby
for the ‘classic’ superhero comic book style, and you can definitely see some
influence here. Even in Kirby’s work you’ll find strong, bold uses of black;
coherent to Adlard’s, but it’s not as intense as Adlard’s work. Kirby’s focus
is on the character designs; a strength of Adlard’s also.
 |
| Adlard's first Dredd work in the Megazine [6] |
Adlard also had influence from
Will Eisner (quoted above) mainly for his use of blacks. There aren’t many
comic artists, or artists in general that utilise a similar style, but any that
were around during Adlard’s early life and career would have been a massive
influence and inspiration to continue working on that style.
Conclusion
Going into this investigation I
didn’t know much about the artists, now I have a thorough understanding of
them. Diving into their roots has been an inspirational and appropriately
influential experience. I’ve learnt that the two artists, similar in many ways,
especially how they both at some point worked for the Judge Dredd British
Magazine, are also very different. In a way I feel like they’re two ends of an
illustration spectrum. On one end you have Ashley Wood, was criticised and
discouraged from doing comics because of his Fine Art background and style; who
has a very expressive style using explorative, traditional mediums which
probably means he’ll never do the same image twice, and on the other end you
have Charlie Adlard who was encouraged to do his field of work from a very
young age, but actually went in another direction for a while exploring his
possibilities; and who works mainly in strong black and white with strengths in
telling a narrative through details reminiscent of the classic comics.
Reference List
1 Wood, (2011) ‘SDCC
2011 Spotlight on Ashley Wood’
2 Adlard, (2012) ‘A
Chat With Charlie Adlard’
3 Crumb, ‘The
Official Crumb Site’ [Art Gallery]
4 Adlard, (2011)
‘Denofgeek: ‘Charlie Adlard Interview’
5 Adlard, (2005)
‘Charlie Adlard Interview’ [p2]
6 Adlard, (2005)
‘Charlie Adlard Interview’ [p3]
7 Wood, (2001)
‘Ashley Wood Interview’
8 Adlard, (2013)
‘Charlie Adlard Facebook Page’ [About
Section]
9 Phillips, ‘Sean
Phillips.com’ [Illustration]
10 Wood, 'Ashley Wood: Part Comic Artist, Part Machine'
11 Kirby, 'Jack Kirby, Comic Artist'
12 Frazetta, 'The Unofficial Frank Frazetta Fantasy Art Gallery'
13 Golden, (2012) 'The Michael Golden Motherlode'
14 Adlard, (2013) 'Charlie Adlard Facebook Page' [cover photos]
15 Phillips, 'Sean Phillips.com'
Bibliography
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accessed 20/4/2013
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accessed 20/4/2013
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accessed 20/4/2013
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accessed 20/4/2013
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20/04/2013
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Wood, A; 2011; ‘SDCC 2011 Spotlight on Ashley Wood’; http://vimeo.com/27070038 accessed 20/4/2013
