The pulp fiction of Francesco Francavilla

There are two things you need to know about Italian comic book artist, Francesco Francavilla: Firstly, he produces some of the best pulp and retro-styled pictures you're ever likely to come across and, secondly, he has created possibly the most perfect minimalist posters for the hit TV show, Breaking Bad; the latter project purely as a hobby.

In 2009 he created The Black Beetle, a comic series he originally made for his Pulp Sunday blog, which has since been picked up by Dark Horse Comics, gaining him much critical acclaim. And he has also produced a long line of fantastic covers for many publications (including Dark Shadows, The Spider, Hellboy, Sherlock Homes and The Shadow to name but a few), earning him an Eisner award in 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

Sketches by Mike Mignola

Mike Mignola is easily one of my all time favourite artists. His utterly unique style not only perfectly complements the horror genre he writes about but has also influenced countless other artists across the world.

Everyone knows Hellboy. Especially since the movies came out and hit the box office. And every comic fan knows Mignola's work. But what I wanted to show here is a selection of his cool little sketches and studies of the beasts and demons that inhabit his world. I think these illustrate just how loose Mignola is naturally when not having to ink for a finished publication.

His website is here...