I might as well spotlight another artist, I don't believe he's on DeviantArt either. His name is Francesco Francavilla, and his website is: http://www.francescofrancavilla.com/

I found him through my love of Zorro. At first when I picked up the comic, I was wishy washy with the comic. The inking style looked a little soft, and the story wasn't designed for single issues. I returned again, once Dynamite Entertainment released the first trade to Zorro. Story is great, artist is a match made in heaven. My only qualm is the generous amount of spelling errors in their usage of Spanish (or should I say Spanglish) through the comic.

So, I visited Francesco Francavilla's website, and I am floored. This artist is after my own heart. He has a huge love for old horror movies and pulp crime fighters!! He also makes title cards for episodes of old radio shows, and gives a link to the mp3 in his blog. These title cards are beautifully done. I wish I thought of it! The main radio show he draws for is The Shadow, but he also has a few others, in particular Green Hornet.

Besides doing art for my favorite heroes like Zorro, Shadow, and Green Hornet, he also has his own creation, The Black Beetle. It looks really well done, I sent an email in hopes of buying one of his one shot ash can comics. I also ordered his sketchbook, also available on his website.

So, now on to this man's artwork. I'll post a few favorites, I hope he doesn't mind:


I love the way he makes collage pages like this







Some radio show episode art. Its so nicely done, I also like the dimensions of the piece, a long narrow canvas must make for a unique design.


Nice splash page of Zorro. I specifically like his limited palette, it gives it a nice touch!


Just an all around eye catching page!


I like the design in the panel layout, great way to introduce a character and his abilities!


I love how he's using a "binocular" style field of view to tell us the character is looking down at the scene of the building, but the panels of the field of vision create an entire image. When this technique is done well, it always amazes me.


More cool collage pages. I'm definitely taking notes!


Classic!


I love the detail on that old Zenith radio!


The Shadow is just awesome. A classic Shadow over the city.

Well, I could add about a hundred samples of Francavilla's work, but I'd rather not. Anyway, I'm taking a few notes, so Francesco, thanks for the lessons!

Also, on his blog, he has some old stuff of his from 1994. Its really great to see someone that you admire, and be able to see how they have grown and how they started. It makes me feel that I can grow and achieve more with my work.