Wednesday, October 21, 2009
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Posted by
Dara
on
10/21/2009 08:54:00 PM
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Detective Comics - In praise of J.H. Williams III
I started picking up Detective Comics with issue #854, which begins writer Greg Rucka and artist J.H. Williams III's year long run featuring the new Batwoman. And while the story has been fairly solid, the art has just consistently blown me away with every issue. Or to put it another way: holy shit, this guy can draw!
Williams' breakout work was with Alan Moore on Promethea. And while I generally love Moore's work, that book read like a thesis paper on "magick" and I just couldn't get into it. Over the years, I'd seen Williams' art on other titles, but none that I collected regularly. And I must say, none that looked as amazing as the 4 issues of 'TEC that are out so far.
He uses 3-4 distinct styles in the book, each for a different aspect of the story. Kate's "civilian" life is depicted in a clean line style that reminds me of Seth Fisher and Geoff Darrow. The Batwoman sequences switch between a moody, painted look and stark black/white contrast, depending on the situation (hand-to-hand combat vs. vehicle chases vs rooftop prowling, etc.)
 
And then there are the wildly innovative page layouts:
Taken out of context of the story, as done here, they may seem gratuitous or gimmicky. But trust me, they work perfectly with Rucka's script. A sequence involving a fight inside an out of control airplane tilts the action up, down, and sideways across 2 pages, matching the disorienting flight of the plane itself. A drug-induced hallucination sequence is depicted with a vivid color palette and painterly effects.
Of course, a huge amount of credit needs to go to colorist Dave Stewart as well. These days, colorists more and more affect the final look of the art by adding volume, texture, light, and depth...which used to be the domain of inkers. Stewart does a fantastic job on this book.
I usually don't buy comics just for the art, but even if this book was a complete dog story-wise, I'd plunk down my hard earned cash to look through Williams' beautifully rendered pages.
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