Color Yield

Noir artist expands a world of black and white

By Brian Truitt

Via his latest project, comic creator Shawn Martinbrough casts light on a new noir approach. Courtesy of Shawn Martinbrough

Like all great artists, Shawn Martinbrough is in a new phase in his work, what he calls his “very realistic” phase. Which works out well, since his newest project has him illustrating actual people.

In his distinct noir style, the Falls Church resident has drawn the likes of Batman, The Incredible Hulk and X-Men, but graphic novel “Ayre Force: Winterfall” centers on an altogether different kind of superhero team.
The novel is in color, but still captures the dramatic, shadowy, black-and-white style typical of Martinbrough’s work. It’s the same noir bent in his illustrations that the film and production company Verge Entertainment co-founder teaches in his first book, the aptly tagged “How to Draw Noir Comics,” released late last year. The book offers lessons on creating drama and mood with shadow and light, and features his work from “Detective Comics” and other titles.

Writer Joseph Phillip Illidge, one of Martinbrough’s Verge partners, was the one who first suggested the artist take noir to the masses. And it was fellow media mogul Calvin Ayre, the head of the Bodog Entertainment Group, who reached out to both Martinbrough and Illidge for the first tale of secret agent Calvin Ayre and his G.I. Joe-like task force—made up of actual Bodog-sponsored fighters, musicians and poker players—and their fight against bear bile farming. (Martinbrough, 36, swore it’s not nearly as cheesy as it sounds.)

Now, Martinbrough’s even considering teaching art at some point down the line—heck, he already has his own textbook—but said he still has lots to learn.

“Being an artist, to me, is a work in progress,” Martinbrough said. “One of the reasons why I love going to museums and looking at different artists is that when you look at the great artists, their styles changed over the years. Like Picasso had different phases of his artwork, so did Monet and Manet. To me, I couldn’t imagine myself looking the same way now 10 years from now. As time goes by, my work hopefully improves and develops.”

Grainiacs’ Groove
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(May 2008)

Tags: comics, Entertainment, Media