Dark Horse Comicsc: The Art and Unpublished Comics of James Stokoe!
69James Stokoe is one of my favorite current North American comic artists.
The first time I stumbled upon his art it really blew my mind. Why weren't more people headed this direction in comic work? It was an awakening in me like the first time I heard the opening chords of the Stooges' "Raw Power" LP or Bad Brains' "Black Dots" album. Just an overloaded assault on my senses of what had come before, and where things could be going instead.
His art seems to draw inspiration from all sorts of places and his linework is crazy detailed. There's obviously some manga influence and I feel a bit of older Jamie Hewlett style to his work. His pencils especially need to be seen to be believed!
I meant to say his art at times reminds of Kim Jung Gi (another fantastic artist) rather than Hyung Tae- Kim, who was on my mind after working on Kingdom Death models again (he tends to make very curvaceous ladies in his works). They both tend to do these massive drawings just absolutely littered with all sorts of interesting details to pour over.
Stokoe has done work all over the comics industry and one of the cool things about this book is it collects work from a variety of places and publishers.
Even better is there are a slew of comic strips and stories scattered throughout the book. Sadly there's none of his Spider 'Nam or Galactus pieces in here.
My first impression is the book reminded me of a similar art book I've owned for a bit- "Royal Boiler" by Brandon Graham, who has collaborated with Stokoe on quite a few occasions. Where Graham's book is more unfettered and crammed with his typical stream of conscious anything goes art and punnery, this book is much more focused on showcasing each piece on its own. There aren't many occasions where multiple pieces are crammed together thankfully, and given the upgraded size of the book it helps show things off more.
I'll leave you to check the stories out on your own though!