Colorists

Like I said after missing last Monday's post, I want to write something on the importance of colorists in comics. However, the more I sit and try to think about what I'd say, the more I realize I'm totally unqualified to say it. I qualified myself for this whole comic blog idea because I have read and currently read and will continue to read a ton of comics. I'm pretty up-to-date on Marvel history and characters and I know enough about writing and about character to consider my own opinion somewhat worthwhile. More than that, if I was looking for a blog to read about comics, I think I'd want to read something like this one. That I could judge for myself. I can't truly qualify myself for a post about colorists because art tends to take a backseat to story and character with me. It's a bad thing about the way I see comics and I wish I was better. If I actually dedicate the time to looking at the art and fully experiencing it, that might be different, but I know I'm not coming from an artist's background. I like what I like and it almost always serves to better the book for me, but rarely does it hold the book up on its own.

Still, it's an important topic and one I'd like to speak about, so here goes. Before I start, I recommend anyone interested read colorist Jordie Bellaire's recent post on the role of colorists and the respect they're afforded (or disrespect, as the case may be). She knows why more about it than I do, clearly, and she's a smart lady. I also consider her in the top of the field, alongside people like Bettie Breitweiser and Matt Hollingsworth. Any of these three people CONSTANTLY make me jump back to the start of a book halfway through because I'm asking who colored it. Either that or I figure out a page in that it's one of them because their style is so defined for each book they work on. It may switch between books (hence the sometimes-confusion) as applicable but their skill is unquestioned. Of the three, I'd have to start with Breitweiser.

Bettie Breitweiser was the first colorist I really noticed. It did not hurt that she was the regular colorist on Brubaker's books, such as Captain America, Cap and Bucky, and Winter Soldier (at various times). The mood she sets with her colors is unmistakable and ALWAYS fits the noir style of Brubaker's writing. There are only a handful of artists who make me stop mid-book to identify them. Breitweiser was definitely one of those artists. I say "was" because I'm more or less at the point now with her where I can pick out her colors at a glance. I'm thrilled to say that she's going to be taking over as the colorist on Brubaker's creator-owned Fatale series.

Jordie Bellaire is all over the place in Marvel. She's taken on coloring duties for so many books and frankly, none do her justice as much as the colors on the last issue and next issue of Captain Marvel. Filipe Andrade's art is absolutely incredible, I can't deny that. The more that I look at it, the more I want to look at it, which is kind of a weird place to be in. However, his shapes are kind of all over the place, and his figures are often positioned strangely. Characters stretch in odd directions, they contort their bodies in interesting ways; it's chaos. Andrade's art is absolutely the type of art that needs a confident colorist to create mood and to explain how a person's body moves like that. Bellaire's shading aids in both those things while her soft colors match the tone of Andrade's pencils and of Kelly Sue Deconnick's writing.

Matt Hollingsworth epitomizes why I'm such a bad person to write about this (that's why I saved him for last). He only recently jumped on to my list. Like, really recently. Like since issue seven of Hawkeye. I had known going into that issue that the regular artist, David Aja, wasn't drawing it. On page one, though, I had to close the book again and check because I was so sure it was still Aja. The book still felt EXACTLY the same as when Aja, whose art I adore, drew it. But it wasn't Aja keeping the tone the same, it wasn't even Fraction's writing. It was more immediate than both of those; it was Hollingsworth's colors that made it feel like the same book I love. But that's not even why I'm such a bad person to write about this. I'm such a bad person to write about this because Hollingsworth has colored TONS of books that I've loved, including an issue of the newest Daredevil series, Brubaker's run on Daredevil, Brubaker and Fraction's run on Iron Fist, an issue of X-Force, and so on. I've come across him THAT MANY TIMES and only after Hawkeye 7 did I go "oh geez, he's awful good." But he is. He's awful good.



Look, I can't tell you why colorists are important. Jordie Bellaire should have already done that above. Hopefully the galleries of the colorists above and more will show you how important colorists are to the comic industry. So respect your colorist, guys.