Comic News: Newsarama: Comic Book Artists Remember Frank Frazetta

The news that legendary artist Frank Frazetta died today spread through the comic book industry, and creators reacted with both sadness and admiration for one of the greats.

Newsarama contacted several artists in the comics business to find out what influence Frazetta had on not only comic book art in general, but on their careers in particular:

J.G. Jones
I still have my original, beat up Bantam Frazetta editions. I used these as my bible when learning to draw and paint as a kid.

David Finch
I've had Frazetta's work close to my drawing table for many years, and I always try to soak up a small part of the power he put into every image he ever drew. He was a lightning bolt of creativity and dynamic power in a field of mostly static, posed, photo traced work. Nobody ever had to explain the appeal of Frank's work to anyone. It reaches out and grabs you the minute you lay eyes on it, and makes you want more. He transcended his medium and influenced everything from comic books to music to movies and books. In an era when fine art consisted of mindlessly splattering canvasses and proving inane intellectual points, Frank Frazetta was showing that painting had more vitality than it ever had before.

Read the full article here.

Source: Newsarama

Digital Spy: Aphrodite IV returns to Top Cow universe

Android femme fatale Aphrodite IV has returned to the Top Cow universe in the pages of its Witchblade comic.

The character first appeared in David Finch and David Wohl's Aphrodite IX and has gone on to feature in several Top Cow titles. She re-emerges in the ongoing plotline 'Pantheon' by writer Ron Marz and artist Stjepan Sejic.

In an interview with CBR, Mars provided an overview of the character's arc. "I think Aphrodite IV is still a work in progress," he said. "In the Aphrodite IX miniseries, there were issues of her maybe not understanding where she came from and all of that stuff.

"To my mind, the real story here is the evolution of the character from IV to IX and how you start putting the pieces in place to show that. For one, the Aphrodite IV model is not as advanced as IX. She's still learning about herself. We didn't want to do the Pinocchio cliché of an artificial life form that wants to be human."

Aphrodite IV makes an appearance in Witchblade #134, available in stores now. She will next feature in Witchblade #135, released on March 17.

Source: Digital Spy

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CBR: Aphrodite IV Returns To "WITCHBLADE"

Once upon a time in "Witchblade" lore, Detective Sara Pezzini encountered a green-haired cybernetic assassin that had only one purpose in life - beating the ever-living snot out of Sara.

Now, after a 15 issue absence, the android femme fatale Aphrodite IV is back in the pages of Ron Marz and Stjepan Sejic's "Witchblade," and although her purpose doesn't involve Sara at all this time around, fans can bet that the Witchblade bearer will have a bone or two to pick with the returning assassin. CBR News spoke with Marz about Aphrodite's return to the Top Cow Universe, the differences between her and her future counterpart, and why readers seemingly can't get enough of this deadly character.

Although the character first appeared in David Finch and David Wohl's "Aphrodite IX," the protagonist of that miniseries was actually a future version of the one that Marz ultimately brought into the Top Cow herd. "The 'Aphrodite IX' miniseries from a few years ago, story-wise, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me," the writer told CBR. "I wasn't really sure what was what and where it was all going. So I initially brought an earlier version, Aphrodite IV, into the last couple of pages of my last 'Cyberforce' issue, and when I had a chance, I brought that same model into the pages of 'Witchblade.' I had a good time doing it and the readers really responded - we sold out of that issue real fast - so there's obviously an interest in the character."

Read the full article here.

Source: CBR

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Newsarama: Top Cow Alum David Finch Ushering in a Brightest Day for DC

Top Cow Alum David Finch signed exclusively with DC this year and will be doing covers for the Brightest Day series.

In an interview with Newsarama's Vaneta Rogers, Finch recounts his early days at Top Cow:

Newsarama: Dave, we've talked a lot before about how you got into the business, but for DC fans who might not be familiar with your work, you came through Top Cow, right? Starting on Cyberforce under the direction of Marc Silvestri. How did you get started in comics there?

David Finch: I went to New York with some samples and showed them to David Wohl. He liked them enough to suggest I draw a pin-up and turn it in to Top Cow. They liked the pin-up enough to take me on as an intern and I learned on the job. That lead to seven years with Top Cow.

Nrama: Who were some of your influences as you began your comics career? Do you think they still influence your art, or has your style evolved?

Finch: My biggest influences when I started drawing were Marc Silvestri, Dale Keown, Jim Lee, Adam Kubert and Alan Davis and I would have to say that they still influence my art very heavily. Since then I’ve taken on a lot of other influences and gone in different directions, but the core of what I do has always stayed the same. I was attracted to comics because of the powerful artwork that I saw at that time, and that type of work is always going to be central to what I do.



Read the complete interview with David Finch here.

Source: Newsarama

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Parka Reviews The Art of Top Cow

The Art of Top Cow's 320-page volume collects some of the best work from Top Cow. There's art from Witchblade, The Darkness, Cyberforce, Aphrodite, The Magdalena, Hunter-Killer, Universe, Weapon Zero and other smaller titles.

If you read Top Cow comics, you should know of the quality of art. The illustrations are reproduced brilliantly in high resolution showing all sorts of detail down to the minute brush strokes. There's no commentary but every illustration is credited. Some of them also come with the pencil sketches and layout before the inking stage.

The impressive lineup of artists whose work are featured, just to name a few, are Marc Silvestri (who drew the cover), Michael Turner, David Finch, Frank Cho, John Cassaday, Greg Horn, Jim Lee and many more. The work from them are really top notch — the colouring, line art, design, etc.

READ MORE.

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Wizard Magazine Includes Top Cow in their Decade Issue

Wizard Magazine has included Top Cow in their Decade Issue out this month.

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Best Shots reviews Art of Top Cow

Ever since the Top Cow imprint was founded in 1992, it has earned a reputation of having some of the most outstanding art in comics, sometimes to the detriment of its stories, if you listen to some critics. That audacious artistic legacy is on display in this handsome hardcover, coffee-table sized offering from Top Cow. In over 350 sumptuous pages, the finest Top Cow artists and their work are on display.

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