GYPSY OMNIBUS from Insight Comics
A lot of you out there are familiar with Batman: The Dark Prince Charming, the collaboration between DC Comics and the French comics publisher Dargaud. It was the first time that many Americans got to see the masterful artwork of Enrico Marini. And now comes along another amazing Marini work, with writer Thierry Smoldered. Gypsy Omnibus is published by Insight Comics, an imprint of Insight Editions. It is available as of December 4, 2018. Gypsy is an excellent example of the adrenaline-fueled mega-adventure European comic book. Gypsy was originally published in 1992 by Dargaud Comics and reprinted in English in the pages of Heavy Metal. Its futuristic Mad Max edge hasn’t aged a bit.
Set in the not-too-distant future, the world of Gypsy has it all: planetary highways, the coronation of a young Russian Tsar, the resurrection of a Mongol army on the trail of Gengis Khan, an all-powerful multinational corporation that controls all earthly transport—and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! In the middle of all this, we have a Gypsy truck driver who, fortunately, knows how to look after himself.
Enrico Marini (Desert Star, Raptors, Scorpion, Negative Exposure) is an artist steeped in all the old school ways. All the artwork, including the coloring, is done by hand. Drawing, and painting, on paper sturdy enough to handle ink and watercolor, Marini provides a robust feast for the eyes. Colors get to play and expand beyond their the usual perimeters, spreading even into the word balloons. This hands-on approach compliments the gritty narrative. It’s not overdone. It’s purposeful.
Thierry Smolderen launched a career writing comic books in the mid-1980s. He has since won multiple awards for his graphic novels and is recognized as one of the leading specialists in the history of comics, having published several essays and articles in journals like Comic Art or the International Journal of Comic Art. His passion for comics is in full evidence in his script for Gypsy.
Gypsy Omnibus is a 368-page full color deluxe edition with slipcase. It is available as of December 4, 2018. For more details, go to Insight Comics right here.
“Artwork and coloring by hand”: shows how ignorant I am of comics and/or graphic novels. I kinda thought it was always done by hand. But I guess there’s some other process used to produce artwork in these kind of mediums? Maybe after the initial work is done?
Going back to the earliest days of comics, much of the work was by hand with the process evolving as time-saving technology was put into use. But even in its golden age, color was usually a mechanical process–and today it is a mostly a digital process. That said, there are a number of auteur cartoonists who choose to color their own work by hand for that extra touch of artistry and intimacy with their work.
Ah, gotcha. Thanks for the clarification. I’d like to think I’d color my own work by hand if I was an artist/cartoonist, but I can’t say that 100%. Probably very difficult. I like the idea, though. But in the end, all the artwork always looks good to me anyway, no matter how it’s done.
Good work is good work, that’s for sure. There are plenty of variations from all-hand-done to all-digital and everything in between.