One of my favorite comics artists, Al Williamson, has died. I first encountered his work, as you might expect, in the context of a Star Wars comic book. His work is exceptionally detailed, and he especially excels at suggesting texture. Here are a few examples I grabbed from around the Interweb.
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| From Byzantium's Shores: chronicling the misadventures of an overalls-clad hippie |
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| From Byzantium's Shores: chronicling the misadventures of an overalls-clad hippie |
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| From Byzantium's Shores: chronicling the misadventures of an overalls-clad hippie |
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| From Byzantium's Shores: chronicling the misadventures of an overalls-clad hippie |
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| From Byzantium's Shores: chronicling the misadventures of an overalls-clad hippie |
Learn more about legendary comics artist Al Williamson in this Mr. Media interview with his friend and artist Mark Schultz, in which he discusses the book Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic.
You beat me to the punch on this one, Kelly… I love Williamson's work as well, and found him the same way, i.e., The Empire Strikes Back adaptation. It fascinated me because it was so much more realistic than the regular Marvel Star Wars art — which I loved, but of course didn't remotely resemble the actual actors or hardware seen in the movies.
I actually have a black and white lithograph of that Flash Gordon piece you posted, the second one down. I need to get that framed and on the wall…