by Gavin Foo
Welcome readers, and appreciative viewers of sequential art! The Fine Line is a column delving into the depths of and celebrating the works of the artistic person(s) that work so hard, day and night, line after line, page after page to deliver unto us our weekly comics!
In this first instalment of the Fine Line, we will be looking at one Sean Gordon Murphy. From the East coast of America - in his relatively few years in the industry, has visualised some amazing works, and as of late collaborating with writers such as Grant Morrison and Scott Snyder, often with colour infusion by the great Dave Stewart.
Already early in his career he had delved into creator-owned comics, both writing and drawing Off Road in 2005. This was furthered by more experimentation in the fields of inking and colouring, contributing to a greater overall understanding of his craft, style and work ethic.
Welcome readers, and appreciative viewers of sequential art! The Fine Line is a column delving into the depths of and celebrating the works of the artistic person(s) that work so hard, day and night, line after line, page after page to deliver unto us our weekly comics!
In this first instalment of the Fine Line, we will be looking at one Sean Gordon Murphy. From the East coast of America - in his relatively few years in the industry, has visualised some amazing works, and as of late collaborating with writers such as Grant Morrison and Scott Snyder, often with colour infusion by the great Dave Stewart.
Already early in his career he had delved into creator-owned comics, both writing and drawing Off Road in 2005. This was furthered by more experimentation in the fields of inking and colouring, contributing to a greater overall understanding of his craft, style and work ethic.
In 2010, his team up with Grant Morrison produced Joe the Barbarian, featuring a wonderfully crafted world starring young diabetic Joe, whose story begins with a hypoglycaemic attack. The lines between fantasy and reality then begin to blur as Joe drifts between the waking world and Hypogea, a universe of his own creation.
We see very shortly after the first transition, toys in his room come to life as life-size characters, his pet rat Jack a barbarian warrior and elements from his home transformed into a surreal landscape of beauty and wonder. Sean tips his hat towards some recognisable figures in the forms of Joe’s toys from many universes, as we see appearances of Batman, Transformers and other various action, TV & pulp heroes.
One can only stare in awe as the dense world-building unravels, not only on the page itself - but also in the fact that every detail in Hypogea is mirrored in reality. From Cloud Quay to Feather Forest Falls, the Forest City of Yalway to Hearth Castle - each place a vast land in which Joe must journey across, but in reality a simple trek from his room in the attic, down the stairs and into the kitchen to fetch a soda to alleviate his blood sugar and evade certain diabetic coma, thereby defeating the final villain, King Death. Amongst others, reflected in his quest he makes a stop into the bathroom, in which he leaves the water running, which overflows, which ends up in Joe’s hallucinatory world as a newly formed river. It is moments like this that make the overall vision of this book ever more so intriguing.
John Constantine, otherwise known as Hellblazer, has always been a character that I have meant to delve into, but being such a long running series, catching up has been seemingly impossible. In struts the 2011 miniseries City of Demons, in which Sean teams up with writer Si Spencer to create a bigger story in Constantine’s legacy - delving into occultism, tentacles galore and overzealous amounts of chain smoking.
We see very shortly after the first transition, toys in his room come to life as life-size characters, his pet rat Jack a barbarian warrior and elements from his home transformed into a surreal landscape of beauty and wonder. Sean tips his hat towards some recognisable figures in the forms of Joe’s toys from many universes, as we see appearances of Batman, Transformers and other various action, TV & pulp heroes.
One can only stare in awe as the dense world-building unravels, not only on the page itself - but also in the fact that every detail in Hypogea is mirrored in reality. From Cloud Quay to Feather Forest Falls, the Forest City of Yalway to Hearth Castle - each place a vast land in which Joe must journey across, but in reality a simple trek from his room in the attic, down the stairs and into the kitchen to fetch a soda to alleviate his blood sugar and evade certain diabetic coma, thereby defeating the final villain, King Death. Amongst others, reflected in his quest he makes a stop into the bathroom, in which he leaves the water running, which overflows, which ends up in Joe’s hallucinatory world as a newly formed river. It is moments like this that make the overall vision of this book ever more so intriguing.
John Constantine, otherwise known as Hellblazer, has always been a character that I have meant to delve into, but being such a long running series, catching up has been seemingly impossible. In struts the 2011 miniseries City of Demons, in which Sean teams up with writer Si Spencer to create a bigger story in Constantine’s legacy - delving into occultism, tentacles galore and overzealous amounts of chain smoking.
Two pages I found particularly outstanding happens shortly after the beginning of chapter 2 - in which Constantine is roaming the corridors of a hospital, crutch in hand and assisted by a nurse. A new character, Gavin Ryegate, seemingly unimportant, is now approaching with his sister from the other direction as Constantine loses his footing. Turn the page and we see the upcoming panels and its layout, with a shift in colours, sitting atop the medical chart of said character. On it is his name, date of birth, the date and reason of admission. His name was not mentioned in the page beforehand, so this is a ton of information, provided and broken down in a simple and concise manner - yet the transition, its design, and its elegance was so smooth - unnoticeable but still subliminally impactful.
The city of London is represented in all its gritty, grimy glory, as Dave Stewart works his magic once again over the sombre moods Sean has presented for us. Combined with clever paneling and an almost perfect utilisation of halftones, this had to be the best introduction into a character I have never read, not to mention some of the most well-composed covers I have ever seen and yet again, the fluidity of the pacing, as he speeds up and slows down as interpreted by his lines.
The city of London is represented in all its gritty, grimy glory, as Dave Stewart works his magic once again over the sombre moods Sean has presented for us. Combined with clever paneling and an almost perfect utilisation of halftones, this had to be the best introduction into a character I have never read, not to mention some of the most well-composed covers I have ever seen and yet again, the fluidity of the pacing, as he speeds up and slows down as interpreted by his lines.
Remember to check back in next week for Part 2 as we cover American Vampire, Punk Rock Jesus and The Wake! Sorry, are you urging for more? Well, for now, keep yourself entertained with some… LINKS!
http://seangordonmurphy.com/
DeviantArt: http://seangordonmurphy.deviantart.com/
http://seangordonmurphy.com/
DeviantArt: http://seangordonmurphy.deviantart.com/
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