Comments on: Month of Art Stars: Artist’s Choice – Dan Panosian

By: Bill Reinhold

Bill Reinhold — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:28:55 +0000

I’m glad Mark did this. Everyone should know about Dan’s work these days!

It’s awesome!!

-B*

By: Urban Barbarian

Urban Barbarian — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:57:53 +0000

No offense taken T. The work speaks for itself [ sadly! ]. I think a decade of working in the commercial art field really helped me to look outside of my comfort level [ not that my comfort level was easy on the eyes for anyone... ] and discover new inspirations and techniques. These days I find the process of illustration much more interesting and ever evolving. A little daunting at times – but certainly there’s so much room for growth.

By: T.

T. — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:23:18 +0000

You could also do artists who arguable “evolved” then “devolved” again, like Greg Land, who started out as a wannabe Image guy in the vein of Pacella, Wyman and Panosian, evolved into a great art style, then devolved into Photoshop hell.

By: T.

T. — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:21:54 +0000

One last point Brian, now that month of art stars is over, this Panosian post gives me an idea for another series you guys can do, “Art Shifts.” Artists who started with one style and shifted radically over the years to a new style. For example Bill Sincweicz starting off as a Neal Adams clone, Hitch starting off as a Alan Davis clone, Travis Charest’s evolution, etc.

By: T.

T. — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:15:14 +0000

Yeah, it’s not a big deal, I just didn’t want to see Pacella “blamed” for that issue.

I don’t blame you, even by 90s standards that was bad. In fact, let me take the time to apologize to Dan for even associating his name with that book. Sorry Dan.

By: Brian Cronin

Brian Cronin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:13:01 +0000

Oops, it was MC Wyman and Avengers Unplugged that Brian posted. The holy trinity of Liefeld ripoffs of the era were Wyman, Pacella and Panosian, so I tend to get them confused. Anyway, my point remains, Mark Pacella improved a lot as well.

Yeah, it’s not a big deal, I just didn’t want to see Pacella “blamed” for that issue.

By: T.

T. — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:41:01 +0000

Oops, it was MC Wyman and Avengers Unplugged that Brian posted. The holy trinity of Liefeld ripoffs of the era were Wyman, Pacella and Panosian, so I tend to get them confused. Anyway, my point remains, Mark Pacella improved a lot as well. Can’t find any new artwork from Wyman though.

By: Brian Cronin

Brian Cronin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:57:39 +0000

No problema, Dan, thank you for the great work you’ve been doing – it’s been a blast to read!

By: Urban Barbarian

Urban Barbarian — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:27:17 +0000

Hey Brian – thanks so much for the spotlight. Looking at the old Spiderman story makes my head hurt but it’s good to see that after years and years of studying – things can improve!

I’m honored by the mention! Thanks for all the kind words, everyone!

By: FunkyGreenJerusalem

FunkyGreenJerusalem — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:57:27 +0000

I think in Dan’s case, he always had good taste, but the early 90’s really, really didn’t reward you for that. I was always missing art jobs and having editors tell me I was too retro and so on. See also my man Tomm Coker. Both he and Dan are now bringing a strong Toppi influence that I love.

My mind was blown reading (to mock I admit) an interview with Jeph Loeb where he mentioned that Ian Churchill doesn’t like his own style and was told to draw that way, and has a much more cartoony style.
The mean part of me thinks ‘why would anyone tell him to draw the way he has been?’ but the other (smaller) part of me is now really curious.

By: Jeff Parker

Jeff Parker — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:41:44 +0000

No, then he used the old Image style of laying tile, with lots of little lines of grout everywhere.

By: Ivan Brandon

Ivan Brandon — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:16:29 +0000

i liked the old dan better. and by the old dan i mean the one who did bathroom makeovers.

By: Brian Cronin

Brian Cronin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:33:28 +0000

In fact, Brian used pages from a Pacella Avengers Annual story as an example of one of the worst all-time comic books.

That wasn’t Pacella (and it wasn’t an Avengers Annual, either, actually ).

By: Rev. Dave Johnson

Rev. Dave Johnson — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:20:01 +0000

Dan hired a very talented artist with all the money he made while at Image to teach him a better way of art. Unfortunately that artist was a ceramic tile artist. Dan didn’t realize this fact until all his money was gone. Not the kind of guy who gives up, Dan went on to use this skill to do bathroom renovations for 8 years until he decided to try comics again. How he got so much better is still a mystery.

By: Jeff Parker

Jeff Parker — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:58:05 +0000

I think in Dan’s case, he always had good taste, but the early 90′s really, really didn’t reward you for that. I was always missing art jobs and having editors tell me I was too retro and so on. See also my man Tomm Coker. Both he and Dan are now bringing a strong Toppi influence that I love.

Also I saw a lot of guys who went on to work doing animation and storyboards where the only concern was storytelling and absolutely nothing else, and then the fact that L.A. offered a lot of life drawing sessions, and artists that you would have written off later, become incredible art-monsters.

The great thing about being an artist is that you can keep growing if you keep your head in the right place. Alex Toth was still innovative right up to the end! I wish a lot of people who get stuck in a style- even if it’s a good one, would open themselves to more alternatives. They’d almost always be happier.

By: T.

T. — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:31:15 +0000

Kind of related….I asked about Mark Pacella earlier. Well he and Panosian were the two really awful Liefeld clones in the 90s. In fact, Brian used pages from a Pacella Avengers Annual story as an example of one of the worst all-time comic books.

After seeing Panosian’s incredible improvement, I was curious to see if Pacella improved as well. Turns out he’s doing storyboards now but man, he has a great style these days as well. Check it out here:

http://www.markpacella.com/

I can’t believe I would ever say this but I’m glad Panosian is back in comics and I wish Pacella would come back too.

By: Brian Cronin

Brian Cronin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:11:39 +0000

Dan has some preview pages up on his deviant art from his Agents of Atlas issues, Jeff, and yeah, they’re amazing.

By: Jeff Parker

Jeff Parker — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:41:21 +0000

Wait until you see the art he’s done for the Jade Claw story in Agents of Atlas- I had to staple my jaw back on!

By: Ryan Cody

Ryan Cody — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:19:39 +0000

Dan is insanely talented and one of the nicest guys I have ever met in the business.

By: Mark Irwin

Mark Irwin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:43:00 +0000

Thanks for putting this up Brian! And for the record, I’m not a fan of that old style of rendering either. And I would say that Dan isn’t it either; it’s just what was expected in those days. Dan’s always been able to draw well; I’m just blown away by how each piece seems even better than the last! Pick up the Drink And Draw book if you can find it and you’ll see some really creative, fun stuff out of Dan and the other fine folks that attend those events.