Creators: Mike Mignola

Creators

A growing list of influential Artists, Writers, Poets, Filmmakers, and Creatives.

Mike Mignola

This one was a long time coming.  Some of you who know me may have heard me talk about this guy before.  Almost every time I get into a discussion about great comics, I will mention his name.  Mike Mignola is the comic book artist and writer behind the character Hellboy, the BPRD, and many other monsterific stories.  He is a visual storyteller of the highest caliber and a master of his chosen craft.  Secure your goggles and flippers kids, because we are about to dive in!

This was the first comic book I ever bought myself.  Mignola did the cover but not the interiors. I was so disappointed. The inside was alright, but that cover had me.  It was the reason that I bought it.  And it was that style that would draw me in to buy his work every time I saw it.
Alan Moore once described his work as "german expressionism meets Jack Kirby," and I think that is an amazing way of describing his style.   His pages are heavy and dark, and his figures can be mere shapes of color and light.  And that is part of what makes his work so impressive.  He creates a mood and atmosphere with his art that tells the story in a more visceral way than many writers are capable of doing. Mignola also writes most of his work, and so he often will let his art do the heavy lifting, and leave his text in only where it is needed. 
His work, like many artists, has gone through an evolution from his earlier stuff to now.  Like with his predecessor Jack Kirby, his art early on, while quite distinct, and indicitive of his style to come, feels more conventional and less Mignola-esque. Here is some of his earliest professional work on Namor, where he admitted to not knowing how to draw a boat before accepting the job. We get some shadows and stylization, but it just doesn't pop like a typical Mignola page.

Compare that to one of his following projects, and something that I highly recommend; Cosmic Odyssey (a book where Mike Mignola gets to do Jack Kirby!) Here we see those stark shadows, angular forms, and striking compositions.  Seeing Mignola take on Kirby's creatures and creations is also a treat.

So great.  Funny enough, though, when I met him, and asked him about it, he said he lamented not having his original pencils from the Cosmic Odyssey because the Inker went a little heavy and covered up more than he needed to.  A comic that definitely shows off the defining features of what I have come to love about his art is the Elseworld's Batman classic  Gotham by Gaslight (One that I inherited from my brother's comics). Here we see the shapes, silhoettes, and moody darkness that make mignola great.

And finally we come to the work that we all should know this amazing artist from. In this book, he had sharpened his storytelling and art into the sharpest and most satisfying material that I have ever found in the world of sequential art. Here comes Hellboy!

But like all of his work before, Mignola keeps finding new ways to amaze, his work continues to evolve, becoming ever more striking and inimitable. Hellboy in Hell, for example.

Like I said, I got to meet him.  It was at Mondocon in Austin.  He was very nice and was polite enough to chat with a weirdo like me.  I gave him a comic and a doodle I made for him as a sort of thankyou for creating such great work (he actually gave me one his prints in exchange!)  I asked him a few questions, but one that I think fits with this post was about his style.  I said that I notivced many artists go through changes in their style throughout their career, generally going from more conventional to more distinct and stylized.  When I asked if he thought it was part of a concious discovery of style, or of needing to draw a certain way to get work (since conventional styles are more sellable than distinct ones) he gave an interesting answer.) He said that at any given time in his career, he was always trying to draw the best that he could at the time.  And that at different times he was trying to be like another great artist who inspired him (Bernie Wrightson was mentioned).  I found that really humble and inspiring. It made me feel like I was on the same path too.  Try your best and learn from your heroes.
I leave you with a nearly wordless sequence from Cosmic Odyssey.  Green Lantern John Stewart, through hubris, failed to prevent the annihilation of an inhabitted planet. And here we go through the aftermath.

Woah!