Tuesday, August 4, 2009

C.P. Wilson Commission And The Stuff Of Legend



After a long hectic work week, I was able to unwind this weekend by heading to a local comic book show (http://larryscomics.net/ ). The Comic Book Show is run by Larry's Wonderful World of Comics and this was the show where I met Todd Nauck recently.

The main guest this time was C.P. Wilson who is drawing the indy comic The Stuff of Legend. I really liked his pencils on that book and so thought I would grab a commission, seen above.

The smallish view doesn't do the pencil shading and variations justice. I don't know how comfortable Wilson was with the subject matter of Kara but I think he did a really great job.


He said he was trying to channel Frank Quitely's cover to All-Star Superman #1 and I think it just works. And while the S-shield isn't visible, this is pretty clearly Supergirl. I especially like the addition of the Daily Planet in the commission just as it was here.


As for The Stuff of Legend, I enjoyed the first issue.

Set in WW2, a young boy (whose father is at the front) is kidnapped by The Boogey Man. A number of his toys come to life and journey into the closet to try to rescue him.

There was a lot to like about the book. One, the toys morph into more realistic forms once they enter The Boogey Man's Realm. As seen on the cover, the teddy bear becomes a ferocious grizzly. The clown in the jack-in-the-box becomes an ax wielding Harlequin.

There was a great scene where the soldier toy pleads with the others to join his quest. Only a few volunteer, many of them making excuses why they shouldn't help. I am sure this toy war is going to metaphorically link up the the World War at some point.




Spoilers ahead ...








Trust me ... this isn't Toy Story. I had originally bought the book thinking I might read it to the Primo Supergirl at home (age 10+). But it might be too dark for her.

Take for example this scene where the Boogey Man rips the Soldier in half. Then he persuades Percy (the piggy bank) to sabotage the toys efforts. After all, the boy will eventually break the pig ... why should Percy be loyal?

Wilson's art really crackles on the page with spectacular shading and detail. My guess is he will be a star in the field.

If you are looking for a smaller title and something different from super-heroics, I would recommend this book highly.

4 comments:

Saranga said...

That's a really lovely, expressive commission you've got there. :)

TalOs said...

My sentiments exactly ah! BD

Charles said...

Awesome! Thanks for posting a scan of the Supergirl sketch! The pic I took didn't come out too well.

Good meeting you at the show and I'm glad you liked the book! I hope you like the next one!

Anj said...

Awesome! Thanks for posting a scan of the Supergirl sketch! The pic I took didn't come out too well.

Good meeting you at the show and I'm glad you liked the book! I hope you like the next one!


My pleasure for posting and thanks for stopping by.

I definitely will keep my eye out for The Stuff of Legend.