Welcome to 31 Days of Horror Comics, where I will spotlight some of the best horror comics around, as chosen by a bunch of my favorite horror comic writers and artists around!
Today's horror creator is Tyler Crook, the brilliant artist on the creepy Harrow County with writer Cullen Bunn...
Recently, he did another strong series with Bunn and Brian Hurtt...
Tyler's suggestion is Nestor Redondo's run on Swamp Thing. Yesterday, I spotlighted the iconic Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson run on Swamp Thing. When Wrightson left the series after issue #10, it was a big blow to the book, but Nestor Redondo stepped in and filled in one of the more intimidating shoes of the era. When Jack Kirby left the Fantastic Four, Marvel had John Buscema, one of their top artists, take over. When Barry Windsor-Smith left Conan, it was also Buscema who stepped in to take over. Here, Redondo had only gotten his first ongoing series a couple of months before he had to take over on Swamp Thing (he had done a number of stories for DC's horror anthologies, but never as a regular artist). So this was like being thrown into the deep end on your first day and Redondo excelled, drawing that larger-than-life type of story that Wrightson excelled at...
Here's Tyler on why he chose Redondo's Swamp Thing...
"One of the first horror comics I ever read was an Australian reprint collection of SWAMP THING. I picked it up at a thrift store for 25 cents. This comic is still one of my most cherished possessions. It's amazing that I've been able to hold onto it for more than 35 years.
The comics themselves aren't especially scary but Nestor Redondo's art is some of the finest comic book making I've ever seen. The way he inks, the way he letters, the way he moves the reader around the page it's all amazing. I'm glad that my first introduction to his work was in black and white because it really lets you experience Redondo's masterful inking.
The way that he integrated the SWAMP THING title into the splash pages was the inspiration for the HARROW COUNTY splash pages. "
Here's a black and white page from Swamp Thing #15 (where David Michelinie had taken over as writer - Redondo outlasted Wein AND Michelinie, too, as Gerry Conway soon followed on the book)...
Here's what Tyler was talking about with Redondo working the title of the book into the book...
And here is its influence on Crook's own work...
Redondo remained on the book until Swamp Thing #23, doing about the same length of a run as Wrightson. Years ago, I once casually mentioned that as much as I enjoyed Len Wein's stories on Swamp Thing, I figured that the selling point on the book was still mainly Wrightson's art. The late, great Len Wein actually stopped by to let me know that sales actually had gone UP during Redondo's run on the book!
Thanks for the suggestion, Tyler!
Add Comments