Batman may be the hero we associate most with darkness, but these illustrations by Bunka, a.k.a. Yann Le Nevé, show that a well-placed shadow can lend any character a touch of menace. DC superfolks, Marvel characters and Ninja Turtles all feel the weight of Bunka's mighty blacks, but so do his own characters: furry creatures that are adorable at first glance, only to prove terrifying as ...

Marcelo Gallegos may draw monsters, but there's nothing ugly about his watercolor-tinged illustrations. Whether he's drawing the Easter Bunny as Cthulhu, the piranha plants from Super Mario Bros. or his own wind-up creature designs, Gallegos shapes and colors each image as if preparing them for an elaborately illustrated storybook. ...

Sam Filstrup is a concept artist for the animation studio Ghostbot, so it's no surprise that his work has an animation sensibility. His illustrations of video game characters, Captain America and even Conan O'Brien look ready to spring to life on screen, and his series featuring samurai and dragons is begging to be made into a feature-length film. ...

There's a sense of humor in Warwick Johnson Cadwell's character covers, and not just because he put Luke Skywalker in a bath with R2-D2 and Yoda. Cadwell can illustrate lush action scenes where humans and beasts navigate the hazards of the jungles, scenes bursting with intensity and drive, but he can also sketch witty reinventions of familiar characters. In his hands, the Joker takes on a new ...

In Psychiatric Tales, Darryl Cunningham sought to demystify mental illness in eleven short tales. Combining scientific fact with anecdotes from his work as on a psychiatric ward, Cunningham explained schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder and more with a clarity and sympathy that not only helped readers understand these ailments, but also underscored the importance of properly ...

Adam Hoppus knows there's more than one kind of monster in the world. There are monsters who live under your bed, monsters who steal your cookies (true monsters know cookies are more than just a sometimes food), monsters who prefer a diet of raw human flesh, dapper monsters with top hats and canes, monsters with fur and monsters in leisure suits, undead monsters and monsters from outer space. ...

What separates illustration from other types of graphic arts is the narrative quality of the work, how a single piece can suggest a setting, characters and emotions. Even without words, you can gather hints about the story and wonder what is coming next. Abby Boeh's illustrations do just that, especially her murder mystery illustrations, each based on a single line from a non-existent tale of ...

When spinning stories, some writers prefer to play in a sandbox. For writers at Marvel and DC, that sandbox is a long-standing universe, slightly off-kilter from our own, pre-populated with characters waiting to have their stories told and retold. For Evan Dhm's series of webcomics, Rice Boy, Order of Tales and the currently running Vattu, the creator decided to build his own sandbox in the ...

This past month, Ursula Vernon's webcomic Digger received a Hugo Awards nomination for Best Graphic Story, making Vernon one of three webcomics creators to receive the Hugo nod. (Howard Tayler received a nom for an arc of his long-running Schlock Mercenary, and xkcd's Randall Munroe was nominated for Best Fan Artist.) Digger is a rare high-fantasy comic that doesn't feature tough-talking ...

Faith Erin Hicks is gradually colonizing my brain. Apparently, it wasn't enough that she created The Adventures of Superhero Girl, which details the events, both fantastic and mundane, in the life of an entry-level superhero; or that she wrote Friends with Boys, her recently released First Second book about formerly homeschooled girl navigating the perils of high school while being haunted by a ...