The Art of Monsters with Guy Davis

"Guy Davis, whose acclaimed shadowy, atmospheric art has graced the pages of comics such as "Sandman: Mystery Theatre" and "The Zombies that Ate the World," has in recent years built his own little horror empire at Dark Horse as the regular artist of "B.P.R.D." and will soon be continuing his creator-owned of "Marquis" graphic novel series with the publisher.

Beyond the infernal beasties he concocts for these series, Davis has also become Dark Horse's go-to guy for monster designs for other comics, including creating the title villains for "Solomon Kane: Death's Black Riders," written by Scott Allie and illustrated by Mario Guevara and which released its first issue this week. Another series featuring Davis' monster designs illustrated by the artist himself is the latest "B.P.R.D." series, "King of Fear," which began earlier this month, written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi. CBR News spoke with Davis about the process behind designing monsters and how the needs of the story influence the baddy's appearance."

Comic Book Resources recently posted an interview with Guy regarding his monster designs. Read it here.

See more at Guy's website and his regularly updated blog devoted to The Marquis.

I've mentioned this before but if you're a fan of Monster Brains, you really need to check out The Marquis: Inferno graphic novel. It has some of the more intriguing creature designs I've seen in contemporary comics.

Demons and Devotion: The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, circa 1440

"The Hours of Catherine of Cleves is the greatest Dutch illuminated manuscript in the world. Its 157 miniatures are by the gifted Master of Catherine of Cleves (active ca. 1435–60), who is named after this book. The Master of Catherine of Cleves is considered the finest and most original illuminator of the medieval northern Netherlands, and this manuscript is his masterpiece.

The manuscript Catherine commissioned is a prayer book containing an unusually rich series of devotions illustrated with especially elaborate suites of miniatures. The artist's keen sense of observation combined with an interest in everyday objects was a style far ahead of its time (it would come to flower in seventeenth-century Dutch still-life painting). All the miniatures are filled with amazing detail. Narrative was also one of the great talents of the Master of Catherine of Cleves—he could tell a good story. Finally, Catherine's codex is famous for the artist's innovative borders, no two of which are alike."

Manuscript created in Utrecht, The Netherlands, around 1440.
See the rest of the manuscript at The Morgan Library and Museum website.

Alex Raymond - Flash Gordon Comics, 1930's