BELL, (COMIC) BOOK, & CANDLE The fun fraternity of Prescott’s comic artists By Jacques Laliberté
Most
would agree Prescott is a town of fabulous artists of all genres, talents and personalities. What may not be evident is that we’re also fortunate to be in the company — hidden though it is — of some of the best and quirkiest cartoonists, too. Though comic book art has generally been considered a “trashy” art form, the reality is that now, more than ever, artists with real talent and rare gifts gravitate to the form because of its immediacy and unique expressive potential. The line blurs between fine art and
commercial illustration as comic artists make the leap to moving images, conceiving of and drawing gorgeous animations for studios like DreamWorks, Disney, and Pixar. Prescott-based cartoon artist Ryan Liebe says the distinction is moot: “Cartoonists and illustrators have had to expand their skill sets to fit in to today’s mass consuming state of affairs. You can find a drawing or animated character or anthropomorphic character to represent and sell just about everything from U-Haul boxes to dog food.” It’s a small community of cartoonists, and a few of our locals and their idiosyncratic styles are represented
here. Don’t be surprised to find new delight in one of your old pastimes: reading comics. The workman-if-the-workmanwere-like-Da-Vinci In the thick of the industry around 1981, at the time the field was expanding with broader subject matter and more opportunity, was Bret Blevins. Working with Marvel Comics during a golden age, Blevins says, “Was creative, it was a lot of fun.” The names he can drop are legion: Spiderman, Wolverine, The X-Men, The Hulk, Captain America, Thor,
Daredevil, Dr. Strange, The Fantastic Four, The New Mutants, Sheena, Ghost Rider, Conan, Solomon Kane, The Inhumans, and The Punisher. Blevins drew and story-boarded these titles, and many more. Georgia-born, with a stint on the East Coast, Blevins followed a love of the Southwest to Prescott in 1990. It was a solid place to raise his kids and still work from home for the studios on the coasts.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 >>>
IMAGES: “Epoch” cover sketch and final version, by Prescott-based comic book artist Bret Blevins. Courtesy images.
5ENSESMAG.COM • OCTOBER 2014 • PORTFOLIO • 13