I went into a comic book store yesterday for the first time in a long while and bought the graphic novel Civil War, written by a man known as Mark Millar, and published by Marvel. Now, I’ve only read a few (American) graphic novels in my life, and this may have been due to the fact that I was never a big superhero guy. I mean, mad respect to Batman and all, but I kinda moved on to gigantic robots once I discovered Gundam Wing as a kid. Still, you have to respect comic book artists, and even if the whole industry is a blur of costumed superpowers, the art is nonetheless superbly refined, and a lot of the writing is actually pretty good.

So in commemoration of my unofficial Comic Book appreciation week (not to be confused with Comic Book Day), I’m posting the art of 43-year-old Tim Bradstreet and 43-year-old Steve McNiven, the first two comic artists who have earned my hard-earned respect.

Oh, and for those of you unfamiliar with comic art, their illustrations are usually penciled, inked, and colored by separate artists. Pencilers like Bradstreet (who inks as well) and McNiven typically receive the most notoriety since they are the ones that produce the skeletal vision for the artwork.

Tim Bradstreet

Steve McNiven

... and one more for the road, kiddies: