Comments on: Month of Art Stars: Artist’s Choice – Graham Nolan

By: "O" the Humanatee!

"O" the Humanatee! — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:41:07 +0000

Nolan’s the real deal. He’s what I like to call an “honest” artist (which is not meant to imply that other artists are dishonest): no gimmicks, no blatant stylistic hallmarks, just good drawing and good storytelling, with each panel and pose drawn fresh rather than repeating devices he’s used before. Novice comics readers tend to be underwhelmed by such artists – other modern examples include Lee Weeks and Steve Lieber – but more experienced readers can appreciate the long-term creativity and dedication they bring to their craft. (Interestingly, Scott McDaniel, praised just above, is for me the opposite kind of artist, whose flashy gimmicks – the fisheye-lens shot, the sequence of poses within an action panel, the dramatic but not particularly coherent shading – obscure his weaknesses.)

By: Stephen

Stephen — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:30:29 +0000

“* Wow, Nightwing was able to beat up nameless, faceless henchmen but immediately lost the moment he faced a “name” fighter. What a shocker. Couldn’t see that coming.”

Nightwing has to play the Gorilla Monsoon to Batman’s Bruno (or Hillbilly Jim to Batman’s Hogan, for a less classical model). Plus, Nolan’s shot of him beaten up establishes that he knows he has no chance against Ra’s to begin with, but takes him on anyway.

Nolan’s no-frills style was such a nice match for Dixon’s plotting style. Even moreso than McDaniel (or any other longtime Dixon artists – the guy tends to keep them on his books a LONG time).

By: T.

T. — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:18:23 +0000

Man do I love Graham Nolan, great choice! Although I disagree that Dixon/Nolan were the best part of the “Knight” crossovers. During Knightfall, Moench/Aparo and the Breyfogle issues were pretty good as well. Once it turned to Knightsquest and Knightsend though I agree that Nolan was probably the best artist, although Eduardo Barretto was also kicking ass.

Some things to note:

* Morrison keeps getting credit for recently.bringing back the “hairy chest love god Batman,” but it looks like Dixon/Nolan actually beat him to it a good decade before. Oops.
* Wow, Nightwing was able to beat up nameless, faceless henchmen but immediately lost the moment he faced a “name” fighter. What a shocker. Couldn’t see that coming.
* Man was that ponytail heinous.

By: bad trotsky

bad trotsky — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:16:27 +0000

Dear Aunt Petunia?!! LOL, genious idea for a a story framework. And this guys art is awsome.

By: Eldric IV

Eldric IV — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 02:20:24 +0000

I liked all of those pages except for the actual figures of Batman and, I am guessing, Nightwing? Ra’s, the extras, the background, the action, all of it looked good but I actually laughed out loud when I saw Batman’s chest.

By: John Cage

John Cage — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 01:38:23 +0000

I was a Marvel reader mostly in the 90s so my first exposure to Nolan’s artwork was in a fill-in issue of Spider-Man (where he was saddled with poor coloring and probably the single worst Spider-Man story of the last decade), but that Fantastic Four issue looks really nice. I’d like to see Nolan on a book like Agents of Atlas — he’d be a good fit there.

Have a good day.
John Cage

By: Cass

Cass — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:25:21 +0000

The Dixon/Nolan stories were by far the best part of the “Knight” crossovers. I think Nolan’s work shined brightest in the old coloring style. His was the only Azbat which looked moderately not-ridiculous.

By: Eric

Eric — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:00:34 +0000

Nolan, especially with Hanna on inks, has to be one of the best, but most under-appreciated Batman artists of all time.

By: Greg Burgas

Greg Burgas — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:06:02 +0000

No mention of The Devil’s Advocate, the graphic novel he and Dixon and Scott Hanna did together? I always thought that his art on that was the height of his Batman work. Plus, it had that great story where Batman has to prove the Joker’s innocence for a crime and no one wants him to.

By: Bill Reed

Bill Reed — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:45:05 +0000

That run on Detective was just superbly illustrated, and quite often fun to read.

By: Dean

Dean — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:39:55 +0000

Graham Nolan has a clean line and has always been a good story-teller. Back when he was working up the ladder at DC, those were not the what the fanmen were clamoring for. It was the height of the popularity of the “Image Style”, so he was easy to over-look.

However, seeing those pages from the Fantastic Four reminds how perfect his style is for Silver Age-style “science heroes”. It would be nice to see him on Iron Man or Green Lantern.

By: Ian A.

Ian A. — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:08:04 +0000

Another bulletproof choice.

Nolan’s style is classic and fantastic.

By: Matt Bird

Matt Bird — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 14:22:29 +0000

The first thing I think of when I think of Nolan was his wonderful work on the always-great Skywolf back-up in Airboy. I love his Phantom Sundays too.

By: pedro de pacas

pedro de pacas — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 14:21:15 +0000

i also read a bunch of dixon/nolan ‘tec stories, they were great.. while maybe his work isn’t as flashy or stylish as others, he could really tell a story and he alwasy stood out in my mind as a good, solid artist. and i really like his “new” style… (those marvel adventures really seem like some good books, i gotta get my hands on em)

By: chroom

chroom — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:24:34 +0000

That Dixon/Nolan run was the only time I really followed Batman regularly. Thanks for reminding me of those looooong-ago days!

By: joe niggins

joe niggins — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:13:21 +0000

Nolan da batman!